Spain as a "tourist destination" has gotten a pretty bad rap over the years.

And with good reason: Spain has more tourists than nearly anywhere in Europe. Most are on package tours to beach resorts or through-the-tinted-window bus tours.

So why should I want to bring Spain to you?

At Heritage Tours, the Spain we love is the "other" Spain… a "hidden" Spain. It is a Spain not visible at first blush, a Spain that does not jump out at you. A Spain that one has to know about, has to be introduced to…

We offer you a living Spain - a real Spain. Our Spain is a Spain of private gardens and medieval cloisters…Spain through the eyes of an archaeologist or a historian or nobility…a Spain of farmers and villagers…people who stay up late with their families and eat home-cured olives and drink local wine….people who forget their lives for the week of the fiesta - and the hour of the siesta - and people who walk stone hallways their ancestors built 600 years ago.

Our Spain is a vibrant Spain of color and fragrance. Of the joy of food and of wine. Of a stylish and strong-willed new generation that has thrown off with abandon the gray blanket of the Franco years and has re-created a Spain that is magical and hip, cutting-edge and hospitable - a Spain of both the Alhambra and the Guggenheim, of Don Quixote and Almodovar.

It was through the mountain villagers of the Pyrenees that I first saw Spain some 20 years ago.

One part of Spain led to another….not on tour buses, but through the eyes of people along the way…a descendant of a famous Marquis…. a once-imprisoned Franco opponent… recent immigrants…hip café owners...the guardian of a 12th century chapel ….a modern-day pilgrim retracing the route of Santiago on mountain bike... Madrilènos dancing at four in the morning…

The Spain we offer at Heritage Tours is a reflection of these people: passionate and knowledgeable, proud and willing to share their Spain with you.

A young architect walking with you through old Madrid …a stonemason showing you the craft of his grandfather… a young woman working to recover the long-lost Jewish patrimony of Barcelona… kind-faced matrons at oak-lined chocolate shops… a Basque chef recalling his father's gentlemen's cooking society…a Rioja winery owner showing you the secret tunnels of her wine cellar…

It is this Spain that we endeavor to bring to you…

Spain has more World Heritage sites than any country in the world. Hard to imagine, but more than 90% of Spain's heritage remains unvisited…undiscovered…sometimes not even signposted.

It is in these special places - no tourbuses, not even parking lots - where Spain comes alive.

Behind each monument, beyond every wrought-iron gate, there are stories and families. There is history and legacy and lore, secret lives and masks, pride and the joy of life…From royalty to the humblest gatekeeper, their Spain is our Spain.

Let Heritage Tours make their Spain your Spain.