5 extra days in Spain

What's the rest of the itinerary like? When is the trip?

Thank you, acraven - my first time visiting or commenting on this site, obviously!

I arrive in Barcelona April 22 and take a train to Valencia, where several of us will visit a friend who lives there - so, that's handled, as I will defer to her and she has big plans.
I gave myself an extra week, after everyone heads home on May 2, and will leave Valencia for...? I think I'm going to want to stay in Barcelona environs, after having read some wonderful posts on this sit, rather than zipping down south and trying to fit in a trip to Morocco, but am open to suggestion. I fly home from Barcelona May 9.
Thanks for responding!

Barcelona can keep you occupied for a week with no problem, and there are some wonderful side-trips to other places in Catalunya, too. Among the most popular are Montserrat (choose a good-weather day), Figueres for the quirky Dali Theatre and Museum, and the charming small city of Girona. There are lots of other possibilities if you have special interests you'd like to explore.

A lot of the top sights in Barcelona have very long ticket lines, so you'll want to buy tickets ahead of time if they interest you:

Camp Nou (soccer experience; I think this one sells out early)
La Sagrada Familia
Parc Guell
Casa Mila/La Pedrera
Casa Batllo
Picasso Museum (can be totally mobbed; skip it unless you really like Picasso)
Palau de la Musica Catalana (tour required, but English tours are frequent)

The length of that list makes putting together a sightseeing plan somewhat challenging, but you have enough time to pull it off. I suggest using your first time slot of each day on one of the places that needs to be pre-booked, leaving yourself flexible, time-wise, for the rest of the day. There are, believe it or not, lots of things you can enjoy in Barcelona without buying a ticket ahead of time.

You might still be able to snag a reasonably priced train ticket from Valencia to Barcelona. The cost is likely to increase quite a bit if you wait until your arrival in Spain to make that purchase. You can buy from Renfe.com (use PayPal for payment; that website doesn't like US credit cards) or trainline.eu.

For some variety you may like to experience the wonderful (and colourful) Mudejar architecture of Aragon. Teruel, and its 4 red brick towers, with glazed ceramic tiles. Zaragoza, with the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and Aljaferia Palace - it’s a great mid size city to enjoy.

May
2..Train from Valencia to Teruel - 1 night
3..Train to Zaragoza - 2 nights
5..Train to Barcelona - 4 nights
9..Depart Barcelona

Some train timings ...
TRN18504
Dep 12:15 VALENCIA-ESTACIO DEL NORD (Spain)
Arr 14:50 TERUEL (Spain)

TRN18504
Dep 14:51 TERUEL (Spain)
Arr 17:08 ZARAGOZA-DELICIAS (Spain)

AVE 3083
Dep 09:46 ZARAGOZA-DELICIAS (Spain)
Arr 11:15 BARCELONA SANTS (Spain)

David's idea is excellent. I forgot Teruel is accessible from Valencia. It's a really interesting place, and it gets very few foreign tourists because of its location. Zaragoza is worth visiting, too, and your timing is good; that area can be really miserably hot in the summer.

So unlike you, Ann. Normally so thorough, detailed, exhaustive. :-)

Wonderful info and suggestions! Thank you both. I hope to have information to share on my return.

Hasta pronto -

Marie

If you and/or any of your friends are 60 or older, do get the "Tarjeta Dorada" (Gold Card) from Renfe before you buy your train tickets.
Cost is only 6 euros and you get great discounts for train travel as well as local & suburban rail transport (not metro, not buses).
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/tarifas/tarjeta_dorada.html

In Barcelona, you can buy the card at train stations like Sants and the beautiful Estació de França simply by showing your passport.
Not sure how / if it works via Internet and from abroad.

Also good to know :
If your train ticket Barcelona-Valencia or Valencia-Barcelona says "Combinado Cercanias" on it, that entitles you to free transport to and from the main station via rail (not metro or bus).
In Barcelona, handy for a free ride from & to the main Sants station, from & to several stations in the city center - Plaça de Catalunya, Estació de França. Arc de Triomf, Passeig de Gracia and others.
If somewhere with self-service ticket machines, you type in the 5-letter code you see after "Combinado Cercanias" and the machine spits out a ticket. Or ask railway staff for help (show them your train ticket & point to the "Combinado Cercanias" part).

N.B. Renfe also has PROMO prices or other deals that may be cheaper than Tarjeta Dorada rates in some cases. When you book, click on "Details" or "Information" for the different options & check what you get for each rate - seat reservation or not, for example.

Bon voyage !