Excursions

Educational Trips on the Knox Program in Barcelona

Experience Spain's geographical, architectural, and cultural beauty with guided educational excursions. Unlike some study abroad experiences, the Knox Program in Barcelona includes these excursions in your program tuition giving you the best opportunity to connect classroom knowledge with up-close, personal experience.

See the artistry and ingenuity of Roman ruins, medieval pueblos, and gothic monasteries, the intriguing Figueras, and the breathtaking beauty of Costa Brava. Much more than a tourist experience, each excursion is guided by Universitat de Barcelona professors who offer you a deeper interaction with these treasures of Spain.

Fall term excursions

• Costa Brava - Enjoy a relaxing beach holiday at Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar on the beautiful Spanish coast. Soak up the sun on beautiful beaches; explore secretive coves and majestic cliffs.
• San Pedro de Roda - Explore the unique architecture and living environment of this 11th century Benedictine monastery.
• Figueras - Salvador Dalí's hometown is also home to the Salvador Dalí museum. Surrounded by the museum's surreal architecture - designed by Dalí himself - you'll view the world's best Dalí collection and visit the artist's unique burial site.
• Ampurias - Discover the ruins of this 6th century B.C. Greek settlement, captured and colonized by the Romans in the 3rd century B.C. View the vestiges of Roman society evidenced in the excavated ruins.

Winter term excursions

• Poblet - Restored in the 1930's, Poblet Abbey offers you a magnificent example of 12th century monastic architecture complete with royal tombs and a central courtyard.
• Santes Creus - Tour the largest and best-preserved Cistercian monastery founded in 1168. Walk in the footsteps of monks through the chapter house, the scriptorium, the monk's large dormitory and the Gothic cloister with its elegant carved decoration dating from the 14th century.
• The Calçotade - A unique cultural and culinary experience awaits you at the Catalonian festival celebrating the harvest of the calçot.

Spring term excursions

• Ripoll - Travel to this small town in the Catalan Pyrenees and view the monastery of Santa Maria. Invaded by Moors and reclaimed by the Benedictines in the 9th century, Santa Maria shows you impressively preserved examples of Romanesque monastery architecture with Moorish influences.
• Girona - This so-called "city of four rivers" was founded by the Romans in the 1st century B.C. when the original city wall (still standing) was built. The many examples of Christian art and architecture and Arab and Jewish art from the Middle Ages are a testament to the harmonious living of these religious cultures in Girona.
• Besalú - See the most well-preserved and intact medieval pueblo in Catalonia, which includes the 12th century Iglesia del Monasterio de Sant Pere and the 12th century Miqvé (Jewish purifying baths), the only Jewish ritual bath in the Iberian Peninsula.

December trip through Spain
One of the most unique aspects of the Knox Program in Barcelona is a two-week trip through the south of Spain. Included in the price of the program for two- and three-term participants, this educational adventure makes stops in Valencia, Granada, Ronda, Sevilla, Córdoba, Toledo, Madrid and Salamanca introducing you to the unique culture, environment, and peoples of each location.

This trip is also open to parents of program participants. Students studying during the Fall term only may also pay to join the trip. Cost is approximately $1,000 per person and includes four-star hotels; dinner and breakfast; entrance to museums, cathedrals, and other attractions; and tour guides.