Package 3:
Madrid, Avila,
Compostela, Porto

Days in the diocese, WYD

Overview

This package includes

• Round trip flight Montreal-Madrid / Lisbon-Montreal with Transat 
• Transportation in a private air-conditioned tour bus according to the itinerary 
• 6 nights accommodation in hotels and religious houses during the cultural tour  
• 6 breakfasts and 6 dinners included 
• All visits included in the itinerary  
• Service of a guide during the cultural tour 
• Services of a Spiritours representative in Lisbon during the WYD 
• All taxes (including airport taxes) 
• 24-hour emergency services
• Mission Jeunesse & WYD Kit administration fees
• Solidarity fee
• Insurance (unless you already have your own travel insurance)
• Days in the Diocese registration fee
• WYD registration fee

This package does not include

• Some meals (depending on the itinerary)
• Tips
• Personal expenses
• Expenses related to the COVID-19 (Tests, vaccination, etc.

Detailed
itinerary

Day 1: Departure from Montreal – 07/21/2023

Departure from P.E. Trudeau Airport, Montreal, for your flight with Transat

Day 2: MADRID – 07/22/2023

Arrive in Madrid in the morning. Take a guided panoramic tour of the Spanish capital, including Plaza Espana, Plaza de Oriente, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Puerta de Alcala, Prado Museum, Retiro Park and Plaza de Toros. (no entrance fee included), check-in at the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Madrid

Day 3: MADRID – SAN LORENZO EL ESCORIAL – AVILA

Drive to the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Guided tour of the Basilica of the Valley of the Dead, a monument that stands out for its gigantic size, and of the Royal Monastery of El Escorial, an architectural heritage site of humanity.

Late afternoon drive to Ávila. Dinner and overnight stay

Day 4: AVILA – 07/24/2023

Day of pilgrimage: Avila, a marvel registered as a World Heritage Site! Its ramparts, more than two kilometers long and marked by a hundred towers, make the city one of the best preserved medieval fortified enclosures in Europe. Avila, the birthplace of Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross, is home to a large number of churches and convents. Walk in the footsteps of Saint Teresa: the convent of Santa Teresa, located on the site of her birthplace, the church of San Juan, where Teresa was baptized, and finally the convent of the Incarnation, where Saint Teresa took the veil in 1533. She lived there for 27 years before undertaking her reforming mission. Rest of the day free. Dinner and overnight in Avila.

Day 5: AVILA – SAN JACQUES DE COMPOSTELLE – 07/25/2023

Drive to Santiago de Compostela. Stop at the tiny (but very emblematic!!) village of O’Cebreiro on the Camino Frances. With its thatched cottages, its church built around the year 1000, Cebreiro takes us back to the medieval past and its legends.

Arrival at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela on foot (1 km walk). The city was, throughout the Middle Ages, the most important place of pilgrimage for thousands of pilgrims flocking from all over Europe to the tomb of St. James the Great, which was miraculously discovered in the 9th century. Officially declared one of the three great pilgrimage sites of Christendom in 1492, the city now welcomes more than 200,000 pilgrims a year. Time of prayer in the cathedral and participation in the pilgrims’ mass. Check-in at the hotel: dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6: SAINT JACQUES DE COMPOSTELLE – HOME DIOCESE – 07/26/2013

In the morning, guided tour of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, then drive to the host diocese (within 200 km of Porto).

Day 7: Day in the host diocese – 27/07/2023

Program of activities organized by the host diocese in Portugal

Day 8: Day in host diocese – 07/28/2023

Program of activities organized by the host diocese in Portugal

Day 9: Day in host diocese – 07/29/2023

Day 10: Day in host diocese – 07/30/2023

Day 11: Host Diocese – Lisbon – 07/31/2023

Transfer from host diocese to Lisbon by bus. (simple accommodation provided by the official WYD organization)

Day 12: WYD Lisbon – 01/08/2023

Opening ceremony of the WYD

Day 13: WYD Lisbon – 02/08/2023

Catechesis morning, WYD Youth Festival events.

Day 14: WYD Lisbon – 03/08/2023

Morning catechesis, Welcome Ceremonies of the Holy Father.

Day 15: WYD Lisbon – 04/08/2023

Morning catechesis, WYD Youth Festival events, and Way of the Cross.

Day 16: WYD Lisbon – 05/08/2023

Pilgrimage walk, prayer vigil with the Holy Father.

Day 17: WYD Lisbon – 06/08/2023

Morning Mass with the Pope, pilgrimage walk to accommodation.

Day 18: Lisbon – rest day – 07/08/2023

Rest day to enjoy the beach and/or walk around Lisbon.

Day 19: LISBON – FATIMA – 08/08/2023

Departure from Lisbon with your guide. Visit to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, a major world pilgrimage center since the Catholic Church recognized, in 1930, the apparitions of the Virgin Mary received by three little shepherds in the village of Fatima during the year 1917.

In the afternoon, time for a free visit to Fatima (small train ($), houses of the saints, Way of the Cross…). Settling in to your accommodation in Fatima in a religious house within walking distance of the sanctuary. Torchlight procession in the evening on the site of the shrine. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 20: FATIMA – COIMBRA – PORTO – 09/08/2023

Departure in the morning, stop in Coimbra to discover the old medieval city and the university. In the afternoon, guided tour of Porto with its cathedral, the Clerigos church, the Sao Bento train station and its azulejos, lookouts with spectacular views, the Douro docks and the Porto cellars, the Eiffel Bridge ! Late afternoon at the beach. Check-in at the hotel: dinner and overnight.

Day 21: RETURN FLIGHT – 10/08/2023

Transfer to Lisbon airport for your return flight.