Seville or Lisbon in early September

My first choice would be Seville. It's a great small city. The Alcazar and Cathedral are great. The old center is quaint and walkable. The culture is lively with a university and flamenco performances. There are Roman ruins outside of town. It's also convenient to a few nearby cities (Granada, Cordoba, Jerez) where you can add extra sights/activities to your visit.

I haven't yet been to Portugal, mostly because when I visited Spain there was too much to do and it was really inconvenient to get from Spain to Portugal. I think you'll find you need to visit one or the other because the two don't connect conveniently.

I love Barcelona but Madrid is my least favorite place in Spain because I like history and Madrid is about as old as Baltimore. I prefer Toledo, nearby, because it's really historic.

I think you are better off picking either northern or southern Spain, not both, in your time frame. Having already been north, I think you will enjoy south. The Moorish influence gives it a completely different feel.

I have not been to Seville, but I loved Lisbon, and Sintra was really a highlight of my short visit to Portugal. I haven't been to Porto, but I've heard good things.

Lisbon has a lot of sights to see, and we spent only a couple of hours on the beach one day (one activity in a day trip to Cascais); Portugal has a lot more to offer than its beaches.

Besides Sintra (we could have used at least two days there), Lisbon has much to offer. I loved it more than either Barcelona or Madrid. It's also relatively affordable, and the food was incredible, especially the seafood.

Either city presents an excellent base for your travels. Since I used rental cars, I can't comment on touring these areas using public transportation. From Seville you could possibly visit Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda, Granada, Córdoba and Toledo on your way to Madrid.

From Lisbon, which I feel is a much underrated city, it's easy to visit Evora, Belem and Sintra on day trips. Then head north to Porto with possible stops in Obidos, Alcobaca, Batahala and Coimbra. From Porto you could also take a river cruise up the Duoro through wine country, possibly staying overnight at one of the fincas.

In planning your trip, consult Rome to Rio website which should give you point to point public transportation availability and options. From either city, you can't go wrong. Great people, excellent patrimony, wonderful food!

Thank you for all of the responses! I think I need to do some more research on Portugal. With both Seville and Lisbon sounding very appealing the decision may come down to where we can better flights.

Am I correct in thinking the climate in Lisbon will be milder/cooler than in Seville at that time of year?

When we were in Lisbon in May, it was definitely more moderate than Madrid (can't speak for Seville). However, it was still very warm.

Hi!

Concerning temperatures, you can see the average for both cities here:

http://www.accuweather.com/pt/es/seville/306733/march-weather/306733

Lisbon vs Seville
Lemon vs Orange
Gin vs Campari

Tough call.

I have been to Madrid, but not Granada or Seville and also Barcelona. I have also been to Lisbon and Porto twice and am going back for a third trip soon.

My vote would be for Lisbon and Porto. They are 3 hours apart by train.

Portugal gets my vote too, although there is plenty to do in both locales. Lisbon is a great city for exploring and taking a tram ride through the city, with some fantastic nearby towns such as Cascais. Porto - take a boat trip up the river and visit the caves of the port houses. There are several university towns inland the are great for day trips. Obidos is quaint but rather touristy.

You are visiting major cities, so why would anything be closed?

The weather in September will be good for either option.

Spanish dining hours puts me off Spain a little - I was there last week and eating lunch at 3.30 and dinner at 11 pm then going to bed is not my idea of heaven.

"Spanish dining hours puts me off Spain a little - I was there last week and eating lunch at 3.30 and dinner at 11 pm then going to bed is not my idea of heaven. "

That was my experience on my first trip too. But now I've learned that if you eat lunch at 1:30 PM and dinner at 9:30 PM, the restaurants are open, but you beat the rush. (Seriously, they can be closed if you're much earlier than this). Also, tapas bars and sandwich places are open between the standard meal hours. Portugal definitely eats earlier than Spain (more like France dining hours than Spain ones).

I personally preferred Lisbon to Seville, but they both would be a good trip. I did find that Portugal didn't feel like Spain at all, so it is a completely different experience. And I didn't go to the beach. If you do go to Portugal, in addition to the places you listed, look at Santarem and Tomar (not in Rick's book). Santarem was a small town with a wonderful vibe and a church with the most amazing azulejo tiles, and Tomar was the headquarters of the Knights Templar and has a wonderfully quirky museum of matchboxes (fascinating history - wait till you see the Nazi one!).