Hi - we are headed to Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Barcelona February 19 - 28.
There are 10 -12 places that RS suggests we pre buy tickets - but which one's really need it in February? I will absolutely do it if necessary!! Thanks!
Sounds like a lot - and it is, but some are side trips from Madrid.
Madrid - 4
Sevilla - 2
Barcelona - 2
Madrid - 1
Only the Prado Madrid the Picasso and Sagrada Familia Barcelona and Alcazar in Seville. But don't go by what's in the guidebook nowadays; it was not written to give travel advice to follow during COVID-19. You have to check the website of each place you plan to visit to see the current rules.
What sights do you want to visit?
Prior to the pandemic it was the Gaudi sights in Barcelona, plus the Picasso Museum, that were the toughest; they all were capable of selling out, and the most popular times (such as the first time slot of the day) sometimes sold out days ahead of time. You seem to be allowing yourselves only about 1-1/2 days in Barcelona, which is seriously short. If you don't pre-purchase tickets, you may not be able to get them for the times you need. If you want to see many of the top sights, you're going to have a challenge putting together your itinerary for that city. The tickets have specific entry times, so you're going to need to guess how much time you will spend at each place, consult Google Maps for estimated walking time, and decide when you're going to have a real, sit-down meals vs. just grabbing someting and eating the run.
The cathedral and the Alcazar in Seville are notorious for annoying lines, and the Mezquita in Cordoba is also very popular.
You two are awesome!! What great and quick replies - THANK YOU!
Knowing about our different world now - I have looked at the websites and am ready to purchase! And now, with your help I have a list of the important ones to get and will do just that today!
We plan to arrive in Barcelona by plane before 10 on Friday so have most of that day (since Spain stays awake long into the evening!)
We hope to find a late AVE train to Madrid on Sunday evening so we have most of that day as well. I do know it's not enough - it is NEVER enough time! I looked at just flying out of Barcelona but it didn't seem good for some reason??? Maybe I will look again at changing that. SO - as is, I'm looking at it as 2 full days. (again, not enough - but not willing to give up Sevilla).
I have learned though, it's better to wait (and hope for a next time) than to try to cram too much in to enjoy! So I promise to remember that and plan accordingly.
Will I miss beautiful scenery traveling from Barcelona to Madrid in the dark? Dumb question, I'm sure.
Gracias Jazz+travels and Acraven!!
Melany
I don't think most of the Barcelona-Madrid scenery is particularly interesting, so I wouldn't worry about doing that run at night.
I would, however, be concerned about being barely awake on my arrival day. Have you traveled to Europe before and found that all members of your travel party deal well with the overnight flight? (For me, it is utter misery; I'm ready to sleep for 12 hours when I arrive.) I'd put my top-priority sights on the second day in Barcelona as much as possible. On the arrival day, I'd try to be outdoors (you'll need to hope for good weather)--maybe seeing Parc Guell, the Barri Gotic and the exterior of the Palau de la Musica Catalana. You're more likely to stay awake if you are outdoors and vertical. You could also walk past the exteriors of Casa Mila/La Pedrera and Casa Batllo and do some wandering in that area (the Eixample), which has other interesting modernista buildings. There's also La Sagrada Familia, but it's a bit farther from the other places I've suggested, and it probably doesn't make sense to get yourselves over there twice. I assume you'll be visiting the interior on your second day in Barcelona.
Acraven,
Thanks for the encouragement of riding the train at night!
Yes - because of my love for travel and my husband's job, we have traveled to Europe and have experience handling jetlag. Ugh!
Madrid will be the place that we have jetlag and we planned a verticle and outdoor day there. Barcelona is at the end of our trip.
Oh, that's good. You should be fully on Spanish time then. Somehow I thought Barcelona was first.
I recommend Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona. It was more appealing to me over Park Guell (due to the crowds in PG). The hospital is easily a two hour visit including the outdoor and many interiors. Casa Batllo was my favorite Gaudi house. We bought tickets to the Sagrada and Gadi houses ahead of time.
La Cova Fuma is a small, family own tapas bar and was amazing. It has limited hours and gets very crowded. We went in the afternoon and then rented bicycles and rode the waterfront boardwalk near by.
