Me and my partner are looking for a trip to Italy and Spain. We have 1 week for each country. I am trying to make an itinerary which generally I feel I plan well based on my previous experiences. But I just can't do it for these two countries. Please help us by listing the must see places in these two countries.
Posted by
Paris
7322 posts
Most people here, myself included, will recommend to limit yourselves to ONE country in such a timeframe. Moving between countries makes you lose a day, and 6-7 days per country is not much time at all!
If you really want to experience two countries in the same trip, I would spend 5 nights in Barcelona, 3 in Madrid, 6 in Rome - thus flying into Barcelona (or Madrid) and out of Rome.
Otherwise, two weeks is a good amount of time for a Venice - Tuscany - Rome combo in Italy, or a Barcelona - Andalucía (Sevilla, Granada) - Madrid combo.
Also, when would the trip take place? Southern Spain is not recommended in summer, and Madrid and Rome do get quite hot as well.
Posted by
5158 posts
They are two of the most popular places to visit in the world, and you only have time for two cities max per place--you really have no idea at all what you want to see?
I don;t believe in must sees--there are simply places you want to see, and places you don't.
Posted by
11647 posts
Focus your trip on one country!
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7276 posts
Focus on 1 country.
If you don't already have guide books you can start by reading info here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy
Note- a lot of us here feel that the suggested itineraries here are far too fast paced., use them as a starting point only to figure out where/what you are most interested in.
Posted by
North Carolina, USA
371 posts
you have two weeks and you want to visit two countries. great, it's not my place to question the timeline. since i have not been to spain, i will not comment on that either. for italy though i will suggest basing yourself in one or at most two places that are in themselves worth visiting and with easy access to smaller but perhaps more charming and less touristy sites. rome and florence are the obvious choices. you could also choose a smaller town like siena or perugia and do day trips to even smaller towns and villages like orvieto, san gimignano, and spello. all of these are my favorites. i could go on listing places but it all depends on what you are interested in. for me it's mediaval brick and stone towns, churches (older the better) and art. hope this helps. i am happy to share more details of my experience if you like. no matter what, have fun planning and happy travels!
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7246 posts
One week means either Madrid, Sevilla, or Barcelona; not all three. One could spend 6 months in Spain and still not see everything. For Italy, it’s easy to spend a week in Rome. You can’t do any country real justice with only a week. As others stated, stick to one country and save a travel day to use elsewhere.