17 Days in Spain - How Would You Split Your Time?

Hi. Given your parameters, I would take the train from Barcelona and stay 5 nights in Madrid. That should give you sufficient time in Madrid and a possible day trip to Toledo, up to you.

Then I would take the train to Andalusia and spend 7 nights in some or all of Seville/Cordoba/Granada. Which of the cities or how many nights is up to you. Andalusia is a big area and you would have to make some choices if you really want to "slow travel".

Finally, I would fly back from Andalusia to Barcelona and spend 5 nights. This gives you just enough time to visit the main sites and maybe do a day trip to Montserrat.

Good luck.

Do spend at least 3-4 days in Seville. Also, consider a day trip from Madrid to Segovia as well as Toledo.
Segovia has a perfectly intact 1800 year old Roman aqueduct that was in use until the mid-20th Century.

How many nights do you have in total on the ground? It would be great if you could visit Seville, Cordoba, and Granada (the jewels of Andalusia) but given your injury and desire to slow travel, that probably won't work.

I would spend a minimum of 4 nights in Madrid, 4 nights in Seville, and 5 nights in Barcelona.

I would choose Granada or Cordoba as the other city. My first choice would be Granada to see the amazing Alhambra, but that's further away from Seville. Cordoba is closer to Seville so that might be easier for you to visit. Spend a minimum of 2 nights in either Granada or Cordoba. Which city you choose for the extra location would depend on how easy it is to get to Barcelona from there.

Good morning! I have 16.5 days on the ground, including my 1/2 day morning train travel to Madrid, Thanks for asking! Love some of these suggestions already.

Flying back to Barcelona is something I didn’t think of at all. Love hearing ya’ll’s ideas!

SC

Most non-Art museum aficionados find 5 nights in Madrid is more time than you need. You can easily spend an entire day in Toledo—note that many Toledo attractions are free on Sundays and many are closed on Mondays. Reserve your return train to Madrid because the last few trains returning to Madrid often do sell out.
So, four nights in Madrid should be enough time.
Seville can easily take as much time as you want, but
4 nights with a daytrip to Cordoba (45 minutes by high-speed train) is reasonable. Most of Seville’s attractions are condensed into a small area near the Alcázar and the Cathedral. Try to hang out in Toledo and Cordoba until a bit after sunset because that’s when the floodlights light up all the historic buildings. And with the golden light, these cities seem magical.
Granada is about 3.5 bus hours from Seville and that almost makes it mandatory to overnight there—if you were thinking about visiting the Alhambra. Reserve your Alhambra entry ticket online well ahead of your trip, otherwise you may not be able to see it.
Barcelona can easily take 5 nights or longer even to just start to see the main attractions and Barcelona is another place where you need to reserve timed entry tickets for Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, and the Picasso Museum. Then there are daytrip possibilities to GIRONA, TOSSA DE MAR, MONTSERRAT….there are so many!

Well, I wrote a beautiful reply last night and lost it while trying to post, so I'll try again!

While I wouldn't consider myself an art aficionado, I do enjoy museums. You won't find me poring over the art for tens of hours, though. I will likely spend a couple of hours each (or less) at the Prado, Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen. I'd describe my interests as well-rounded. I love architecture and history, immersing myself in local culture, neighborhoods, experiences and attractions, big on local gastronomy, and will end most days on a rooftop or sidewalk cafe having a cocktail overlooking my current locale.

I mention my injury, but need to add that my hesitation to move around pertains to slinging 35+# 5-6 times a day moving quickly from place to place. One of the things I will do daily on this trip is walk and/or bike to explore. Exercise is integral to all of my trips and thankfully it's part of my recovery.

So, based on the recommendations: 4 nights Madrid (one day trip to Toledo), 4 (or would 5 be a better choice?) nights Seville (day trip Cordoba), 2 nights Granada to experience the Alhambra (i can handle this I do beleive), 6 nights Barcelona. Of the following Barcelona day trips you suggested, how would you rank these in terms of must-do's? GIRONA, TOSSA DE MAR, MONTSERRAT

I see the train trip back to Barcelona is about as long as the bus trip, taking up a day. Flying is 1.5 hours. Would flying be the better choice even with the waiting times and moving from airports to city centers? Ryan and Vueling flights price between $40 and $100 for my date. Not including bag fees I'm sure.

Thanks for the tips about attraction and train tickets. As soon as I have the dates squared up, I'll make those purchases.

Thanks to everyone for the continued help!

SC

If you only intend to visit the Prado and Reina Sofía for a couple hours each, consider their free hours and save some money.

If you can be in Barcelona on a weekend, check for events such as festivals and castellers. Otherwise, you could probably spend a little less time there. We spent 3 nights in Granada (one day at Alhambra, another day we took a bus to a Monastery on a hill and walked down to town). If you can spend a night in Cordoba, the Mezquita night tour is beautiful. You'd want to also visit during the day.
In Madrid, we loved the Archeological Museum and later walked in the park. We also enjoyed a day trip to Segovia.

envirochick, The only problem with visiting the Prado and Reina Sofia during their free hours is that those museums will most likely be very, very crowded. More so than during the days and hours when you have to pay. At least that's what I've read.

Regarding your revised itinerary, if you plan on seeing Cordoba as a daytrip from Seville, then I would spend 5 nights in Seville instead of 4. Seville is larger than Cordoba and Granada, and it has many, many wonderful historical, cultural and beautiful sites. We spent 4 nights in Seville (no daytrips), and I wish we had an extra night. Seville is also a great city for wandering around and exploring with its beautiful architecture, plazas, fountains, parks, etc.

Regarding the Barcelona daytrips, it really depends on what your interests are. We did not go to Montserrat but that doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile to see. I am sure that we would have loved Montserrat but we didn't have time to see and do everything. Instead, we spent 5 or 6 whole days in Barcelona, and then we visited Girona and Tossa De Mar while on a roadtrip along the Costa Brava. Spent a few hours in Tossa (it's beautiful!), and we spent 2 nights in Girona, a very interesting medieval walled city with a river running through it. Montserrat is the closest to Barcelona.

I think someone on this forum found a day trip guided tour that includes both Tossa de Mar and Girona. Not sure if you would be interested in something like that.

Yes, I generally only leave free museum and attraction offerings for going back to view something I missed. I find free days are always the most busy. I do enjoy a guided tour of museums and attractions. I plan to take a few, in addition to historical tours.

I like the idea of adding a day in Seville. Is Segovia also a worthwhile day trip? Will think about a couple days in Cordoba instead. The more short stays that get added on, the more I feel like I'm creeping towards forfeiting my longer term home bases for continually checking in and out of hotels, living out of suitcases and moving them up, down and around.

I think a 6th or 7th day in Barcelona will suit, especially if I take two day trips: to Montserrat and Girona. Both sound like places I'd enjoy.

Any thoughts on flying or training or bussing from Girona back to Barcelona?

Hi Envirochick, Madrid is a great city even just for taking a walk to enjoy all the classic architecture. Be sure to walk one of the city’s great streets—the Gran Via. Near the Royal Palace is the Temple of Debod— an Egyptian temple saved from flooding when the Aswan dam was built in the 20th century. The temple was completely dismantled in Egypt and reconstructed in a Madrid park with the interior artwork restored. Visits to the Temple of Debod are free.
Madrid’s major art museums have free admission days: Thyssen-Bornemisza ( fantastic collection!) free Mondays noon-4pm; Museo Prado free M-Sat 6pm-8pm, Sundays 5-7 pm; Reine Sofía free Mondays and Wednesday-Saturdays 7-9 pm and Sundays 12:30-2:30 pm
The Thyssen Museum was not overly-crowded on a Monday visit— I would beware of weekend visits during free hours at the Prado and Reine Sofía—weekdays are less crowded.
The National Archaeological Museum is also a fantastic museum I just stumbled upon on one of my visits.
Flying from Granada to Barcelona is definitely preferable to taking trains for an entire day. If you really want to see the Alhambra, this is your chance. The Albaicin neighborhood in Granada is the ancient residential area going back to the Moorish period.
Barcelona is really spread out over the map which is why staying near the Passeig de Gracia makes visiting the Gaudi buildings ( Casa Mila, Casa Battlo) a snap. From the Passeig de Gracia transit center, you can catch the Rodalies trains to/from BCN airport as well as to GIRONA, and it’s also a Metro station for Barcelona’s metro system. Stayed at BacHomeGallery B&B a few blocks away from Rick’s listings in his Spain guidebook.
As far as the nominees for daytrips, I would have to say GIRONA is numero uno for all the historic architecture it has surrounding its Cathedral. There are tower ruins from Roman times, Arab baths from the Moorish period and a great Museum of Jewish History in the heart of the ancient Jewish quarter. You can walk Girona’s city walls which date from the 1300’s.
The visual feast of Girona is why several scenes in the “Game of Thrones” series were filmed here.
Tossa de Mar, a castle-topped seaside town on the Costa Brava would be my second choice. Express buses from Barcelona’s Nord bus station reach Tossa de Mar in 75 minutes. Tossa de Mar has beautiful beaches below its castle in a historic town of just several thousand residents. That is just about perfection during the summer months.
Have a great Trip!

I agree 100% with kenko's descriptions of Tossa de Mar and Girona.

And I, too, recommend staying near Passeig de Gracia. We stayed at the Hotel Gran Via on Gran Via, just a few minutes walk from Passeig de Gracia. It was a short walk to Casa Battlo and Casa Mila, and other places as well. And I recommend visiting the neighborhood of Gracias in Barcelona. It's not a touristy area; families live here; we saw school children walking home from school and playing in the plazas; there is a nice plaza with a church and cafes for drinks, etc.

Thanks so much for your advice. It's much appreciated.

I know I can find info if I search through individual threads, yet since you gave recommendations for what you think is the best area to stay in Barcelona, would you be so kind to do the same for Madrid, Seville and Granada? Considering I'm using the train and I'm a single 50 something female. My trip is almost two months total, thus I lean towards aparthotels, but nice clean 3.5-4 star hotels are great....if breakfast is included that's a plus.

In Madrid, we stayed at Mercure Madrid Centra on Calle Lope de Vega. It's an excellent location for visiting the museums you mention. Just a short walk to the Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen. Lots of tapas restaurants on nearby Calle de Jesus. Within walking distance of Retiro Park. We took a taxi to see the Royal Palace. We paid extra for their excellent breakfast buffet.

In Seville, we stayed at Apartamentos Suites Sant Cruz, located in Barrio Santa Cruz. We had a one bedroom apartment. Barrio Santa Cruz is pedestrian only, so the taxi couldn't drop us off in front of the hotel. We had to walk a short distance to where the Reception Desk is located (not the same building as our apartment). There is a restaurant right next to the Reception Desk, called Vinela Tapas and Wine Restaurant, where we had breakfast every morning. Barrio Santa Cruz is very centrally located; however, the drawback, IMO, is that this neighborhood is very crowded, and we had to sidestep large tour groups all the time.

The hotel we stayed at in Granada has closed permanently. It was located on Carrera del Darro which parallels the narrow Rio Darro, and is at the bottom of the Albayzin. This area is within walking distance of Plaza Nueva. Hopefully someone else can give you some recommendations for Granada.

We traveled exclusively by train on this trip, too. We took taxis from the train stations to all of our hotels.

The historic central neighborhoods are what draw me , so my picks are very similar to kmkwoo’s excellent selections. In Seville, the labyrinthine Barrio Santa Cruz neighborhood is an immersive experience and it’s near everything in Seville—the Alcazar, the Cathedral and the Plaza de Espana. Santa Cruz is a 15-minute bus ride (2.5 miles) from Seville’s Santa Justa train station.

In Granada, a small city of 250K residents, I would aim for the historic Albaicin neighborhood ( Albayzin) as it’s only one mile from Granada’s train station and one mile from the Alhambra.

Central Madrid has a number of neighborhoods that are all pleasant— Sol of Puerto Del Sol fame, Cortes, Justicia, Malasana, Salamanca, Chueca, Recoletos— all are central and teeming with the excitement of Madrid.

Perfect. Thanks again for all of the help. I made great strides today!

I'll follow up on the thread with the itinerary and where I secured accommodations. It may help someone in the future : )

SC

One more quick questions (well, as I work through booking accommodations I may need more!). Lavapies in Madrid...maybe nt the best area? Looks like things are less expensive there? And perhaps for a reason? Thanks.

Lavapies is a really diverse, multicultural neighborhood with restaurants serving cuisine from around the world.
There’s a lot of street art in Lavapies, and that’s one reason it’s known for being one of Madrid’s “coolest” neighborhoods. Because it’s near Atocha station, it may not have been the most desirable location a decade ago. But its central location near the remodeled Atocha train station has transformed Lavapies, A convenient neighborhood to base yourself in, with the added advantage of being just a hop from Atocha and a jump from all of Madrid’s nearby art museums.