DETAILS
From Monte Carlo to Lisbon, sail a route connecting medieval trading centers, imperial capitals, and cultural powerhouses where individual genius created lasting masterpieces. Cruise the Western Mediterranean aboard the luxurious Crystal Symphony. From Tuscany’s perfectly preserved Renaissance fortifications to Barcelona’s Gaudí masterpieces, from Napoleon’s Corsican childhood home to Picasso’s Andalusian birthplace, each port reveals the specific places where extraordinary creativity flourished and continues to influence how we see the world today. Along the way, enjoy private access to world-class museums, behind-the-scenes tours, expert-led conversations, and exclusive culinary and musical experiences—all set against the backdrop of the sea.
- Pricing from
- $10,399
- Trip Type
- Group Travel Tour, International Ocean & Sea Voyages
- Departure Dates
-
Oct 7, 2027 - Oct 18, 2027
Fully renovated in 2023, Crystal Symphony carries 606 guests in spacious suites and staterooms, with 24-hour personalized butler service, a curated pillow menu, in-suite dining, and a crew-to-guest ratio of nearly one-to-one. Many accommodations include verandas, walk-in wardrobes, and separate living areas. Nine complimentary dining venues range from Osteria d’Ovidio’s fine Italian menus to Nobu Matsuhisa’s Umi Uma and the casual Trident Grill. The Vintage Room hosts wine-paired dinners, while Marketplace serves buffet-style breakfasts and lunches with open-air seating. Amenities include a glass-roofed observation area, full-sized paddle tennis and pickleball courts, golf nets and putting green, and the Crystal Life Fitness Center with Technogym® equipment, yoga, Pilates, and spinning classes. The Aurōra Spa features sauna and steam rooms with treatments from aromatherapy to reflexology. Public spaces include the light-filled Palm Court for afternoon tea, the Connoisseur Club for cigars and cognac, a well-stocked library, onboard boutiques, and the central Crystal Cove lounge. Guests enjoy a balance of enrichment, wellness, and leisure at sea.
Full Terms & Conditions CLICK HERE
TOUR MAP
ITINERARY
-
day 1
DEPARTURE
Depart on an overnight flight to Nice, France, the gateway to Monaco.
-
day 2
NICE, FRANCE / MONTE CARLO, MONACO
Arrive at the Nice airport, where you will independently transfer to Monte Carlo in Monaco, the world’s most densely populated sovereign state, where a casino saved the tiny principality from bankruptcy in the 1860s. Transfer to Crystal Symphony and check into your cabin. This evening, join your fellow travelers for a welcome reception and dinner on board.
-
day 3
LIVORNO, ITALY / LUCCA / TORRE DEL LAGO
From the port of Livorno, travel inland to Lucca, a city that presents one of Italy’s most complete medieval townscapes. During a guided walking tour, discover its massive circuit of Renaissance-era walls, completed in 1648 after a century of construction. These 40-foot-high ramparts run for more than two and a half miles and remain entirely intact, making them among Europe’s best-preserved Renaissance fortifications. Afterwards, journey to Torre del Lago and the nearby Villa Puccini, the lakeside Art Nouveau retreat where Giacomo Puccini lived from 1900 to 1921 and composed many of his most famous operas, including Madama Butterfly, Tosca, and Turandot. Puccini’s two-story villa features interior pictorial decorations by Plinio Nomellini and a small Japaneseinspired garden with flowerbeds of irregular shapes surrounded by hedges and a large palm tree. Return to the ship for lunch and an afternoon at leisure.
-
day 4
AJACCIO (CORSICA), FRANCE
This morning, explore the “imperial city” of Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1769. Begin with a guided visit to the Maison Bonaparte, the ancestral home of the Bonaparte family, now a national museum displaying period furnishings and family artifacts, including the room where Napoleon was born. Continue with a curator-led tour of the Musée Fesch. Founded by Napoleon’s uncle, Cardinal Joseph Fesch, it holds France’s largest collection of Italian paintings outside the Louvre. The collection includes masterpieces by Botticelli—including his Vierge à l’Enfant Soutenu par un Ange (Mother and Child Supported by an Angel)—as well as works by Titian, Giovanni Bellini, Fra Bartolomeo, and Veronese. While in Corsica, you will also have an opportunity to sample the island’s famous eau d’immortelle fragrance. Return to the ship for lunch and an afternoon at leisure.
-
day 5
MAHÓN (MENORCA), SPAIN
Mahón, on the Spanish island of Menorca, sits on a nearly four-mile-long natural harbor. Founded by Carthaginian general Mago Barca, Hannibal’s brother, Menorca shifted between British, French, and Spanish control in the 18th century before returning to Spain in 1808. The island’s interior preserves the UNESCO-listed megalithic stone monuments of the prehistoric Talayotic culture, which flourished from around 1600 B.C. Menorca’s early inhabitants left behind an extraordinary density of talayots (large, cone-shaped defensive towers), taulas (monumental T-shaped religious structures), and navetas (collective burial chambers shaped like inverted boats)—structures found nowhere else on earth. R,D B,L,D You may visit Mahón at your leisure, purchase an excursion from the ship to explore these ancient monuments, or enjoy the amenities on board at leisure.
-
day 6
BARCELONA
Your time in Barcelona is dedicated to Antoni Gaudí, the defining architect of Modernisme, the movement that expressed Catalonia’s cultural reawakening in the late 19th century. Begin with a private guided visit to the UNESCO-recognized Cripta of Colonia Güell, which served as Gaudí’s structural laboratory where he developed techniques he would later apply to the Sagrada Família. At the Cripta, Gaudí experimented with his revolutionary polyfunicular model of weighted strings and small bags of birdshot that, when inverted through mirrors or photographs, revealed the optimal architectural forms. Conclude with a wine tasting on the porch of the Cripta. After lunch in the city, enjoy an exclusive after-hours visit to Casa Vicens, Gaudí’s first commissioned house, which launched his career. Admire its Neo-Mudéjar style featuring exuberant use of colorful ceramic tiles inspired by French marigolds growing on the property. Your visit includes a guided tour and a sunset reception in the garden.
-
day 7
BARCELONA
A second day in Barcelona offers the opportunity to explore the city at your leisure. You may choose to delve into the Gothic Quarter, the heart of the medieval maritime empire that once ruled the Mediterranean, or further explore the world’s foremost repository of Modernist architecture. Independent shore excursions can be arranged through the ship at an additional cost.
-
day 8
DAY AT SEA
A day at sea provides an opportunity for reflection. Attend lectures that will enrich your understanding of the art, architecture, and history of the Iberian Peninsula.
-
day 9
MÁLAGA
Arrive in one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, founded by the Phoenicians around 770 B.C. This morning is dedicated to Málaga’s most famous native son, Pablo Picasso, born here in 1881. Enjoy special access to the Museo Casa Natal de Picasso, located in the building on Plaza de la Merced, the artist’s birthplace and childhood home. The museum houses personal belongings of the Picasso family, early sketches, and a collection of graphic works. Continue to the Museo Picasso Málaga, whose extensive collection fulfilled Picasso’s lifelong desire for his art to be displayed in his hometown. Opened in 2003 in the 16th-century Buenavista Palace, it contains over 200 works donated by his family, spanning his entire career from early academic studies to his late paintings of the 1970s. Afterward, a guided walking tour will reveal the city’s layered history at the first-century A.D. Roman Amphitheatre and the 11th-century Alcazaba, a formidable Moorish palacefortress built with stone quarried from the Roman ruins below. Return to the ship for lunch, enjoying an afternoon at leisure in Málaga.
-
day 10
CÁDIZ / SEVILLE
From the port of Cádiz—the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe, founded by the Phoenicians around 1100 B.C.—travel inland for a full day in Seville, the former economic center of the Spanish Empire. Your day includes expert-led tours of the city’s UNESCO-listed wonders. Visit the Seville Cathedral, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, built on the site of a 12th-century Almohad mosque. The cathedral houses the tomb of Christopher Columbus, whose remains were brought here in 1899. Next, explore the Alcázar, the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe and the foremost example of the Mudéjar style. Built by King Peter I in the 1360s using Muslim craftsmen from Granada and Toledo, it represents a fusion of Islamic and Christian artistic traditions. Conclude with a privately guided tour of La Casa de Pilatos, a 15th-century residence considered the prototype of the Andalusian palace, known for its vast collection of 16th-century azulejo tiles.
-
day 11
PORTIMÃO, PORTUGAL
The ship calls today at Portimão on Portugal’s Algarve coast. For centuries a center of fishing and shipbuilding, the city was once a primary hub of Portugal’s sardine industry, a heritage now preserved in the Museu de Portimão, housed in a restored 19th-century cannery and named Museum of the Year by the Council of Europe in 2010. While much of the city was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the main church retains its original 14th-century Gothic portal, a survivor of the cataclysm. You may explore the city at your leisure, purchase an excursion from the ship, or remain on board.
-
day 12
LISBON / DISEMBARK / RETURN
After breakfast, disembark in Lisbon and transfer to the airport for your flight home.
Everything you need to know about the tour
Save this information for later by downloading the full tour brochure.
Be prepared with the National Trust Travel Plan
Since 1973, USI Affinity Travel Insurance Services has served travelers just like you, to help protect their travel plans