My wife and I have caved into a whim and at the last minute have booked a flight to Spain to see some of La Vuelta de Espana at the end of August and first of September. We've done this before with the Giro d Italia, and loved it. Yes, we are big cycling fans (former racers.) We have a few (5) stages of the race circled we will be watching but with a lot of other days we will be free to travel elsewhere. I'm looking for some suggestions. We have fixed dates we need to be in certain places but otherwise we are open. 18 days--Arriving Barcelona August 24 and departing Barcelona September 10.
Tentative itinerary:
Barcelona 4 or 5 days
Valencia 3 or 4 days
Madrid (with side trip to Toledo) 3 or 4 days
Zaragoza 3 or 4 days
La Mongie, France 3 days, two nights (fixed)
Back to Barcelona via Zaragoza.
We will be in Barcelona four days to see the start of the race (three stages). We will have plenty of time to do and see things other than just the race. Planning to travel to Valencia by train for three days (one stage.) We will need to rent a car in Valencia to travel to the end of the stage on Aug 31 at Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre. We will be there to see the end of the stage, not necessarily to visit the observatory.
We are then free from race commitments until September 7. Planning on Madrid by train for four days with side trip to Toledo. Then Zaragoza by train for three days where we will rent a car to travel to the French Pyrenees to watch a stage finish on the Col de Tourmalet staying in La Mongie, France, for parts of three days. Back to Zaragoza, turn in car, and train to Barcelona.
We have some flexibility to lengthen or shorten stays but we are working around the dates of the stages.
Any thoughts? Longer in Valencia or Zaragoza and less time in Madrid? Unfortunately the way the race lays out with our schedule, the Basque Country is a no go (except the Tourmalet.) Must see spots not race related: Picasso's Guernica in Madrid and the El Grecos in the cathedral in Toledo.
Also, we are dropping the car in Zaragoza the afternoon of Saturday, Sept 9 and flying out Sunday noon from Barcelona. Could we stay in Zaragoza and train to Barcelona the morning of departure and make the noon flight, or should we travel to Barcelona Saturday night and take a room there? Is it too tight to stay in Zaragoza Saturday night and still make the flight Sunday noon? Train schedules show we would arrive in Barcelona 10:00 for a noon flight. Too tight?
Any thoughts and suggestions appreciated.
Thank you!