Everyone knows Spain is packed with amazing roads – but don't forget that it's crammed full of culture as well. This tour is brim-full of brilliant places to visit: historic destinations where you can have a relaxing day off the bike.

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But this is very much a bike tour first, with a side-order of sightseeing. The routes between the stops are all about brilliant bends, immaculate tarmac and the ever-changing scenery of Spain. From the gorges and passes of the Picos de Europa to the plains of León and the pine-clad sierras of the centre, every day is a thrilling ride.

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If you have time, you can expand the tour beyond the basic seven days with more riding. The Tour Pack includes four specially designed daytrips to let you get even more out of the roads around the key destinations on the tour.

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What’s included on the route? Each day’s route has recommended places to stop for coffee in the morning and afternoon, a suggested lunch stop and planned fuel stops – as well as info about the places you'll be visiting.

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How long is each day’s ride? Each leg of the tour is planned to be a full day in the saddle. If you check-out of the hotel and hit the road at 9-9:30am, you should reach the next night's stop by 5-5:30pm. That's with coffee stops and lunch. They are full days but relaxed days. Saddle-time rating: six out of 10.

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What are the highlights? From the riding point of view, that's a very tough call. The Navacerada and Gredos sierras outside Madrid are epic. The wilder, quieter sierras of Extremadura might be even more majestic. And that's before you even get back to the Picos de Europa on the way to Santander… Off the bike there's everything from Moorish palaces to Gothic cathedrals, broad city squares to sleepy villages to explore (not to mention a fortress that featured in Game of Thrones).  

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Why seven days? The basic tour is timed to fit in with the ferry schedule to Santander: sailing from Plymouth on a Sunday to land in Spain on a Monday, then returning from Santander to Portsmouth the following Sunday. However, add in a two-night stop in one of the destinations – either for a rest day with a spot of sightseeing or to ride a circular route – and you can get the ferry back to Plymouth on the Monday. But you don't have to use those ferries: there are options to tie into all the sailings and the Tour Pack has enough extra routes to let you expand the tour for any sailing schedule.

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When to go: Any time from the end of April to mid October should be good. It'll be very hot in the middle in August, but May, June and September would be glorious.

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How is it supplied? Everything downloads as a zip file: the basic seven-day tour contains an interactive eBook of notes plus separate GPX files for every day; the Tour Pack has the interactive eBook of notes plus printable tankbag notes, with separate GPX files for the seven-day touring route plus four daytrip routes to let you expand – and comes with hardcopy maps (posted separately). Or if you want to build elements of this tour into your own trip, you can download individual days