• Date: Jan. 11
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

The Monasterio de Piedra was founded in 1194 when Alonso II granted an Arab castle to the monks of Poblet to build a monastery in the hopes of consolidating Christianity in the area. Legend says that this monastery is where the first chocolate candy was made. The natural park of Monasterio de Piedra offers an unbelievable experience, with a two-and-a-half hour walk through a lush parkland with waterfalls and grottos hidden in one of the driest areas of the region of Aragón.

Sign up on welcome day or at the finance office. This day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday before each event.

• Date: Jan. 12
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9:00 a.m.

Toledo is a World Heritage site located just outside of Madrid. It is known as the “city of the three cultures” because Christians, Arabs and Jews lived together in this city for centuries. Behind its walls, Toledo preserves an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues.

Sign up on Welcome Day or at the finance office. This day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday before each event.

• Date: Jan. 18
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

Salamanca has been declared a “City of Mankind’s Heritage” by UNESCO World Heritage site, and is best known for its university which was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. Don’t leave Spain without visiting one of the most breathtaking Renaissance cities in Europe and exploring its Romanesque and Baroque architecture.

Sign up at the finance office. Day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before each event. 

• Date: Jan. 19
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Segovia is one of the must-do day trips while in Madrid. Join us in visiting this World Heritage site, famous for the Roman aqueduct that stands tall in the center of the old quarter. In addition, you will see numerous Romanesque churches and the Cathedral and Fortress (Castle).

Sign up at the finance office. Day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before each event.

• Date: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 150 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall at 10 a.m.

Open to all students of all faiths. Travel to the Basque countryside of northern Spain and visit the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. This is an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises in the place where Saint Ignatius was born and lived his life.

• Date: March 19-22
• Faculty: Olaya García Pérez, Ph.D.
• Courses: EAS 1010 Earth Systems I: Solid Earth (Volcanoes of Spain) (Mandatory trip) and EAS 1020 Earth's Environment I Lab 
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: 510 euros

Travel to the volcanic island of Tenerife, the capital of the Canary Islands. Created over eight million years ago, the island is a geological wonder of different micro climates. Its 2,034 square kilometers are home to over 140 species of plant life unique to the island. The Teide volcano is also the tallest summit in Spain, measuring at 3,718 meters (12,198 ft).

• Date: TBA
• Faculty: Drs. Chris Ealham and Mary Prendergast
• Course: POLS 3567 Political Development in Contemporary Spain, ANTH 3390 Studies in Spanish Culture
• Approximate price: 15 euros

Ealham will lead the tour of the Cathedral and Abbey built into the Sierra Guadarrama mountains to the northwest of Madrid, which houses the tombs of General Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Spanish Fascist Party. The focus of the visit will be the symbolic and political significance of this landmark of 20th-century Spanish architecture and the contemporary debates relating to its past and future. Mandatory for all students enrolled in these classes.

Group M01
Date: March 19-22
Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar, Ph.D.

Group M02
Date: April 23-26
Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar, Ph.D.

Group M03
Date: March 26-29
Faculty: Olaya García Pérez, Ph.D.

• Course: EAS 1050 Introduction to Oceanography
• Mandatory trip
• Price: 370 to 399 euros

The field trip will take students to Cabo de Palos, in the region of Murcia on Spain's southeastern coast. As one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the Mediterranean Sea, it proves an ideal site to study the main environmental issues the region is facing. The field trip includes visits to nearby oceanographic institutes, a desalination site, natural reserves and natural parks. The excursion includes a dive at one of the most important Mediterranean reserves, Islas Hormigas, off the coast of Murcia, which provides the opportunity — weather permitting — to snorkel in its crystal blue waters and identify the different organisms studied in the course. The trip also includes kayaking along the most developed Mediterranean coastlines, to identify coastal issues and successful restoration projects. Price includes transportation, lodging, excursions (as programmed in the final itinerary) and breakfast.

• Date: TBA
• Faculty: Eduardo Fernández-Cruz
• Course: PSY 1010 General Psychology
• Approximate price: 15 euros

At Granja La Esgaravita we are going to meet a group of psychologists (Psicoanimal) specialized in the field of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). The use of animals (e.g., dogs and horses) as a support or complementarity in therapy has been widely documented in recent research. The trip will offer hands-on experience in a beautiful setting near Alcalá de Henares to understand the basic method of AAT and to interact with different horses.

• Date: To be decided between professor and the students in the class
• Faculty: Aitor Bikandi, Ph.D.
• Mandatory activities
• Course: SPAN 4790 Spanish Culture and Civilization
• Price: 36 to 38 euros

Flamenco is an artistic expression fusing song (cante), dance (baile) and musicianship (toque). The Gitano (Roma) ethnic community has played an essential role in its development, but it also has deep roots in Moorish musical traditions. Although Andalusia in southern Spain is the heartland of Flamenco, it has become one of the icons of Spanish culture, and in 2010 UNESCO named it an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Museo Reina Sofía is a world-renowned contemporary art museum. The focus of our visit will be the art collections of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, two of the most important painters in the history of art. Among other masterpieces, we will see the crowned jewel of the museum: “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso.

• Date: April 14
• Faculty: María-José Morell
• Course: BIOL 1265 Principles of Biology II Laboratory
• Second mandatory trip of the course. First mandatory trip: Zoo visit.
• Approximate price for both mandatory trips for this course: 30 euros

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Madrid are home to an impressive diversity of plant life. On this class trip, a guide will lead students through various garden displays and greenhouses which exhibit the evolution and adaptations of different plants.  The class will meet at the gardens for the visit. Students are responsible for arriving via public transportation.

• Date: March 13
• Faculty: María José Morell
• Course: BIOL 1265 Principles of Biology II Laboratory
• First mandatory trip of this course. Second mandatory trip: Royal Botanical Garden.
• Approximate price for both mandatory trips for this course: 30 euros

The visit to the Madrid Zoo will be focused on studying the different adaptation strategies, threatened species and conservation efforts, species interactions, survivorship curves and life history strategies of the animals in situ. The class will meet at the zoo for the visit. Students are responsible for arriving via public transportation.

• Date: TBA
• Approximate price: 300 euros
• Staff: Paloma Gómez de Salazar

Start your Spanish experience on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) before your summer classes begin. Meet people from all over the world as you walk the Camino through the north of Spain, known for its beautiful landscapes and delicious cuisine. Walking the Camino de Santiago is an opportunity to follow in the steps of pilgrims who have hiked the same route since the ninth century for personal, health, religious and recreational purposes. Price includes transportation from Madrid to the starting point (to be determined) and from Santiago to Madrid, daily lunches and lodging in the Camino albergues.

• Date: May 29 and July 3
• Optional trip
• Approximate price: 50 euros
• Minimum number: 20 students
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m. or from Chamartín train station.

On November 2, 1984, UNESCO declared The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo of El Escorial a World Heritage Site. It is a popular tourist attraction; more than 500,000 visitors come to El Escorial every year.

The Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial commonly known as Monasterio de El Escorial was built while Philip II of Spain reigned in Spain between 1556 and 1598. It is a historical residence of the King of Spain in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of the Spanish capital, Madrid. It is one of the Spanish royal sites and has functioned as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital.

• Date: May 30
• Faculty: Bradley Mollmann, Ph.D.
• Course: HIST 3930 M01 The Making of the Spanish Nation: Identity, Myth, and History
• Approximate price: 45 euros

Toledo is a World Heritage site and one of Spain’s best-preserved medieval cities. It was built by Romans, became the capital of the Visigoths, and reached its splendor in the Middle Ages under Muslim and Christian rulers. During their visit, students will explore Toledo’s rich cultural heritage as a “city of three cultures” where Christians, Muslims, and Jews lived together for centuries. The trip will include visits to a 10th-century mosque, a 12th-century synagogue, a gothic cathedral, and renaissance masterpieces. Mandatory for students enrolled in HIST 3930.

• Date: TBA
• Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar
• Mandatory trip
• Course: EAS 1050 Introduction to Oceanography
• Approximate price: 450 to 480 euros

The field trip will take students to Cabo de Palos, in the region of Murcia on Spain's southeastern coast. As one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the Mediterranean Sea, it proves an ideal site to study the main environmental issues the region is facing. The field trip includes visits to nearby oceanographic institutes, a desalination site, natural reserves and natural parks. The excursion includes a dive at one of the most important Mediterranean reserves, Islas Hormigas, off the coast of Murcia, which provides the opportunity — weather permitting — to snorkel in its crystal blue waters and identify the different organisms studied in the course. The trip also includes kayaking along the most developed Mediterranean coastlines, to identify coastal issues and successful restoration projects. Price includes transportation, lodging, excursions (as programmed in the final itinerary) and breakfast.

• Date: Sept. 19
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

The Monasterio de Piedra was founded in 1194 when Alonso II granted an Arab castle to the monks of Poblet to build a monastery in the hopes of consolidating Christianity in the area. Legend says that this monastery is where the first chocolate candy was made. The natural park of Monasterio de Piedra offers an unbelievable experience, with a two-and-a-half hour walk through a lush parkland with waterfalls and grottos hidden in one of the driest areas of the region of Aragón.

Sign up on welcome day or at the finance office. This day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday before each event.

• Date: Sept. 20
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Toledo is a World Heritage site located just outside of Madrid. It is known as the “city of the three cultures” because Christians, Arabs and Jews lived together in this city for centuries. Behind its walls, Toledo preserves an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues.

Sign up on Welcome Day or at the finance office. This day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday before each event.

•  Date: Sept. 26
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

Salamanca has been declared a “City of Mankind’s Heritage” by UNESCO World Heritage site, and is best known for its university which was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. Don’t leave Spain without visiting one of the most breathtaking Renaissance cities in Europe and exploring its Romanesque and Baroque architecture.

Sign up at the finance office. Day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before each event. 

• Date: Sept. 27
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Segovia is one of the must-do day trips while in Madrid. Join us in visiting this World Heritage site, famous for the Roman aqueduct that stands tall in the center of the old quarter. In addition, you will see numerous Romanesque churches and the Cathedral and Fortress (Castle).

Sign up at the finance office. Day trip sign-up closes at 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before each event.

• Dates:
  • Tablas de Daimiel—Lagunas de Ruidera: TBD
  • EDAR & ETAP: TBD
• Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar
• Course: EAS 1310 Water - Our Precious Resource
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: 35 euros
• Departure from front steps at Padre Rubio Hall

Two mandatory day trips:

The first day trip takes students to Spain's most important wetlands in the heart of the Peninsula, Tablas de Daimiel and Lagunas de Ruidera. These two very important ecological and historical places, declared National Parks and European Areas of Interest, will aid students in the comprehension of the historical uses of water, the consequences of mismanagement of vital ecosystems, and the international and national initiatives to recover these wetlands.

The second day trip takes students to the mountains in the north of Madrid, where they will start at the head of the river that supplies drinking water to Madrid, and then follow the ecosystems along the river channel down to the Manzanares River. Students will hear firsthand from the city managers who have reinstated the natural channel, and they will learn how the river has recovered vital ecosystems. The trip will end at the sewage treatment plant, where students will gain insight into the end of the cycle of the water used in Madrid.

• Date: TBD
• Faculty: Paul Vita, Ph.D.
• Course: ENGL 2350 Faith, Doubt and Literature
• Optional trip
• Price: 55 euros

Among the thousands of pilgrims flocking to Ávila this year, SLU-Madrid students taking ENGL 2350 Faith, Doubt and Literature will visit Avila. Saint Teresa's autobiography is one of the most widely read Spanish prose classics after Don Quixote. The proximity of Ávila to Madrid means that students can visit many of the sites that the great mystic and religious reformer wrote about in her works, including the shrine that stands on the site of her birth, the Augustinian Convent where she went to school, the Monastery of the Incarnation where she lived for 30 years and San José, the reformed convent she founded.

• Date: TBD
• Faculty: Drs. Chris Ealham, Mary Prendergast, Laura Tedesco & Daniel Blanch Courses: POLS 3567 Political Development in Contemporary Spain, POLS 2930 ST Global Politics and POLS 4590 Crisis of Leadership, ANTH 3390 - M01 Studies in Culture: Spain
• Mandatory trip
• Courses: POLS 3567 Political Development in Contemporary Spain, POLS 2930 ST Global Politics and POLS 4590 Crisis of Leadership, ANTH 3390 - M01 Studies in Culture: Spain
• Approximate price: 15 euros

Dr. Ealham will lead the tour of the Cathedral and Abbey built into the Sierra Guadarrama mountains to the northwest of Madrid, which houses the tombs of General Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the Spanish Fascist Party. The focus of the visit will be the symbolic and political significance of this landmark of 20th-century Spanish architecture and the contemporary debates relating to its past and future. Mandatory for all students enrolled in these classes.

• Date: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price per student: 120 euros as it is 50% subsidized by SLU-Madrid. (Really the cost is 240 euros). Includes transport, accommodation and full board Friday to Sunday late afternoon.
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall at 8 a.m. on a Friday.

Open to all students of all faiths. Travel to the Basque countryside of northern Spain and visit the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. This is an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises in the place where Saint Ignatius was born and lived his life.

• Date: TBA
• Faculty: Aitor Bikandi, Ph.D.
• Course: SPAN 4790 Spanish Culture and Civilization
• Mandatory activities
• Approximate price: 36 to 38 euros

Flamenco is an artistic expression fusing song (cante), dance (baile) and musicianship (toque). The Gitano (Roma) ethnic community has played an essential role in its development, but it also has deep roots in Moorish musical traditions. Although Andalusia in southern Spain is the heartland of Flamenco, it has become one of the icons of Spanish culture, and in 2010 UNESCO named it an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Museo Reina Sofía is a world-renowned contemporary art museum. The focus of our visit will be the art collections of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, two of the most important painters in the history of art. Among other masterpieces, we will see the crowned jewel of the museum: “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso.

• Date: TBD
• Faculty leader: Belén López Marti
• Mandatory trip
• Course: PHYS 1130-M01 Introduction to Astronomy
• Approximate price: 15 euros
• Departure from front steps at Padre Rubio Hall

• Date: TBA
• Faculty: Eduardo Fernández-Cruz
• Course: PSY 1010 General Psychology
• Approximate price: 15 euros

At Granja La Esgaravita we are going to meet a group of psychologists (Psicoanimal) specialized in the field of Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). The use of animals (e.g., dogs and horses), as a support or complementarity in therapy, has been widely documented in recent research. The trip will offer hands-on experience in a beautiful setting, near Alcalá de Henares, to understand the basic method of AAT, and to interact with different horses.