Nice/Turin/Milan or Barcelona/Cuenca/Valencia

While Cuenca/Valencia are very nice and do have their unique art, I feel they are probably B level compared to the historic cities like Turino/Milano and their art. On the other hand, maybe that is what you are looking for, as Cuenca/Valencia will give you a more low key experience.

You mention you have been to Barcelona before and like art, but have you consider giving it some more time than just one day this time around. In terms of art, we have also Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Joan Miró Foundation, Picasso Museum, Museu del Modernisme Català, Sant Pau Art Nouveau Hospital, Casa Vincens, Dali Museum... among others?

If you do decide to visit Zaragoza, if you are interested in art, Francisco Goya was born in a village very close to Zaragoza, the Art Museum of Zaragoza has quite a few of his works, as well as Art artifacts from its Roman, Moorish, and medieval Christian days: http://www.spainisculture.com/en/museos/zaragoza/museodezaragoza.html

Apologies if my answer is not too defined, your two potential options will give different experiences.

I haven’t been to Cuenca and Valencia to give you comparison info, but we really enjoyed Torino and would love to spend more days there. Here’s the info from our trip report two years ago:

Torino: We really enjoyed our two days in Torino & left wishing for two more days! Our hotel, TownHouse 70, close to Palazzo Reale, was modern with a gigantic room & bathroom, friendly staff, and huge selection for breakfast. We visited the Palazzo Reale, took the bus & funicular up to Superga, took the glass elevator up for the views on top of the Mole Antonelliana, & saw so much beautiful architecture. A highlight was finding out the month before that Milan & Torino were hosting an all-day free choir concert event (Torino the day we arrived) in the city's churches & sites with a grand finale Sing-along of 1000+ people singing together in Piazza San Carlo. We sang several Italian songs in 4-part harmony ~patriotic, sacred, silly, opera, and they added “Yesterday” by the Beatles for “the tourists” – great memories of a fun event with the locals! Summary: great city with lots of royal history & beautiful buildings, amazing food, and an inexpensive city for hotel & meals.

And for Milan this year:

Milan – 1 Day: Our dear, late Zoe had recommended Hotel Berna, and I was thanking her. This hotel has the ultimate customer service – professional, cordial, and the room had my favorite soft drink, water & juice stocked (when you book on their site). They even had subway tickets for sale when I checked in, and their delicious breakfast buffet options catered to multiple nationalities. Since I was in Milan on a Monday, I was unable to see the Last Supper. But, I enjoyed going through the magnificent Duomo, walking through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and area. I walked a few blocks to tour the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, a home containing a private collection of paintings, glass, weapons, furnishings, interesting time-keeping pieces, glass drawers of beautiful lace, etc. There were only a few other people in the museum, making it a very enjoyable time.

Thanks so much for the thorough reply, Carlos. We have spent time in Barcelona, and have gone to Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Joan Miró Foundation, and the Picasso Museum. We loved the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and have told many people about it. We went to Sagrada Familia, but did not go in, and that has bothered us for years, which is why we want to go back. Your reply helps to understand the landscape a bit. Thank you for taking time to offer your opinion!

@IggyStooge, glad you have had the full Barcelona art experience (except for La Sagrada Familia!). To complement your potential Sagrada Familia visit, you could also visit the Hospital de Sant Pau, which is just a short 10 min walk away. Hospital de Sant Pau is a Gaudi-esque modernisme complex built in the early 20th century as a hospital. It's now a museum and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sant Pau has significantly less tourists than La Sagrada Familia.

Thanks so much, Jean, that sounds like a fabulous trip, and I appreciate the hotel suggestions as well. You are all not making this any easier! Guess a difficult choice is a good choice here.

Hi,
Going to Nice, then to Turin, just to visit a single museum in Nice involves a lot of travel time, as Nice-Turin is a 4-5 hour train or bus ride from Milan. For art lovers, Turin (especially) and Milan (to a lesser extent, but the Pinacoteca di Brera is excellent) have more than enough sights for 6 nights between them. If you have some extra time in Milan, the Certosa di Pavia is a spectacular half-day trip.

Thanks Balso, the only reason we would be doing Nice is because it is the cheapest place in that location to fly into, that's why the one day thing there. Appreciate the advice and the suggestions, I knew nothing of the Certosa di Pavia.

Hi all, thanks so much for all of the replies and suggestions. Because of the way the travel costs work out for when we are going, we are leaning toward flying into Nice and out from Milan, will do the Spain trip another time. My question now is if you were going to a city between Nice and Milan, would you choose Turin or Genoa? And would anyone just do Nice/Genoa/Turin and just fly out of Milan and not really see that city? Thanks again!