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6 weeks in Andalucia (mainly Seville) -- help with itinerary

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We are a family of four with two children (11 and 9). We will be spending 10 weeks in Spain this winter, from mid-January through the end of March. We have 6 weeks in Seville as a home base (1/2 of Jan and all of Feb). We plan to take some classes there and want to really get to know the city, but obviously with that much time we will travel to other places in Andalucia. (Our other 4 weeks will be split between Valencia (1 week), Madrid (1 week), and Barcelona (2 weeks) with day trips from each of those home bases, so we will not need to try to add any non-Andalucian cities into our 6 weeks in Seville).

While we are in Seville we are planning at least 3-4 days in Granada and 2-3 in Cordoba. We also plan to see Ronda and some white villages. Both due to the weather/season and our desire to avoid too many ex-pats, we aren't particularly interested in beaches or the coast, but we would love some additional thoughts on places to travel. Of course I've read the guidebooks and know there are many places to travel in Andalucia, but I would love people's thoughts on some of the less obvious places. (any you can think of, some that I have looked into e.g. Gruta de las Maravillas in Arcena, skiing at Pradollano, Las Alpujarras in the Sierra Nevadas, Doñana National Park).

If you had six weeks in Seville what would you do?

Posted by
15582 posts

It sounds like a wonderful experience and opportunity. Here are a few suggestions:

Cadiz - good for a day trip. Check the dates for Carnival. It's big in Cadiz and should be especially fun for the kids. One caveat, the weekend (esp. Sunday - when I went), it got pretty crowded by early evening and the teens were getting drunk and a little rowdy.
Jerez - take the kids to see the horse show at the Royal Equestrian School. Go early and you can walk around the paddocks before the show. Take the Tio Pepe sherry tour - it's fun (not as much as the horses, tho). On Sundays, there's a flea market at the base of the Alcazar.
Malaga - don't rule out a couple days in this very pretty town. There are fine Roman ruins and interesting museums.
Sevilla - one sight that opened last year and may not be in the guidebooks yet is the Palacio de las Dueñas. The best place for a flamenco show is La Casa de Flamenco. It's not over-long, the show is in a patio, and it's just flamenco, no food/drinks.
Antequera - There's a very pretty old town up top. There are prehistoric dolmens at the base of the town. Nearby is El Torcal for hiking and the "pink lagoon" where flamingos winter. By the end of February there should be a decent number of birds already.

Valencia - there is a very fun, interesting, unusual event called Las Fallas every March 15-19. Take a look here. It gets more crowded (and hotel prices increase steeply) toward the end - so plan to go before the 15th and leave by the 18th.

You will miss Semana Santa in Andalucia! In 2018, it's the last week of March.

Posted by
7175 posts

Based in Sevilla for 6 weeks and making a foray into Andalusia each week ...
1. Cordoba (2nts)
2. Ronda & Pueblos Blancos (3nts)
3. Baeza+Ubeda & Jaen (2nts)
4. Granada & Sierra Nevada (4nts)
5. Jerez & Cadiz (2nts)
6. Malaga & Gibraltar (3nts)

Posted by
6 posts

also adding,
Since we are paying for our apartment in Seville the whole six weeks, to the extent any of these trips can be done as day trips that would be great (so we aren't paying for two places to stay on the same night). Which of the places mentioned really need overnights vs. can be done as day trip from Seville?

Posted by
542 posts

I'd suggest a day trip from Seville to Carmona. The old part of this town still has tiny, winding streets from centuries ago, along with an ancient defensive wall and entrance gates. There's a Roman necropolis outside of town. You'll find plenty of tourist information about it online.

From Cordoba, you could easily do a day trip to Medina Azahara. This is the remains of a large, fortified Arab Muslim palace/city from the tenth century.

Posted by
15582 posts

From Sevilla, the only reasonable day trips (to places I've been to) using public transportation are Cadiz, Jerez and Arcos. The train to Cadiz stops in Jerez. To get to Arcos, take the train to Jerez, then bus to Arcos. Each of these is best as a separate day trip.

You can day trip to Cordoba - the cheap slow trains take up to 1.5 hours, the fast expensive trains are about 45 min. But Cordoba has lots to see and do, so do the math - train fares back and forth vs. hotel room.

Posted by
7175 posts

I prefer to set a 90min maximum travel time each way when looking to make a day trip.
So easy options include ...
Jerez - 1 hour
Arcos - 1 hour 50 min
Cadiz - 1 hour 40 min
Cordoba - 45 min

I wondered about the doubling up with accommodation, but as you mentioned overnight stays in Granada and Cordoba, I assumed you were willing to wear it.

What I would suggest is pulling back your time in Seville by a week if you can, and making a road trip to Valencia. I also assumed you were planning a car for some of the time at least.

So then, after Seville, travel by car to ...
•Ronda & Pueblos Blancos (2)
•Malaga (1)
•Granada & Sierra Nevada (3)
•Baeza+Ubeda (1)
Then on to Valencia, returning the car, before heading to Barcelona and Madrid.

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