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9 Day Spain Trip: Barcelona - Seville - Madrid

Hi folks,

My friend and I are arriving in Barcelona on Friday (different times) at the end of September, and flying out the following Sunday evening out of Madrid. Here's our preliminary Itinerary, and it would be great if we could get feedback on whether it makes sense to include either Cordoba/Grenada/day-trip to Toledo within it.

Friday: Arrive in Barcelona (Booked)
Saturday-Monday: Explore Barcelona
Tuesday: Take a morning flight to Seville (Booked)
Tuesday-Wednesday: Explore Seville
Thursday: Take a day trip to Cordoba or go to Grenada for overnight visit (so we can do the Allahambra)
Friday: Take an evening train to Madrid (or take a morning train, and spend the day in Toledo, with 2 full days remaining to spend in Madrid)
Saturday: Take a day trip to Toledo, and spend the night in Madrid
Sunday: Explore & leave in the evening back to States (Booked)

We are comfortable with our itinerary up until Wednesday, and have designed in a way that doesn't involve too much traveling time. However, we are wondering whether it makes sense to do day trips to Cordoba or overnight visit to Grenada, with an evening train in Madrid. We have allocated ~2 days to Madrid, in which we plan to take a day trip to Toledo. Also, it would be great to have feedback if it makes sense to visit Toledo.

Our overarching goal has been to minimize travel time, and see the cities/sights rather than rushing.

Posted by
50 posts

Especially since you say that your goal is to minimize travel time, I'd save Granada for another trip, so you can go to Ronda too! Plan on daytripping to Toledo. In the moment, you can decide whether or not you can stop for a few hours in Cordoba.
Safe travels!

Posted by
1178 posts

Granada .... be sure to have your tickets purchased for admission to the Alhambra...have not made it there myself as of yet (next trip) but from all postings, there is strict adherence to the admission times.

Toledo is 25 minutes AVE ride from Madrid. Am not positive of the train schedules times, but Sevilla is 2 1/2 hours via AVE to Madrid, and Granada will be even more. Not sure you can go Granada to Sevilla and then to Madrid, and then get to Toledo for a day trip.. Toledo is definitely worth visiting...I have been there five or so times, and on each visit I find something new and interesting....Purchase AVE tickets on line up to 60 days in advance and save much...in effect, you need to purchase them now...some of the best fares may have been bought up by now.

Posted by
15560 posts

Slow down. Remember that a 2-hour train ride takes a lot more. Allow another 1/2 hour from city center to train station (that's an hour each way), and more if you are changing hotels, because then you have to pack/unpack, check in/out, and drop your luggage at the hotel (or pick it up) before sightseeing. Allow enough time at train stations for security checks, especially when you have luggage.

Granada is relatively isolated, topographically. There's no short way to get there. You have 8 full days and maybe 2 half-days and you're trying to fit in 6 cities.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks for the feedback, folks. I was thinking along the same lines for Grenada, but wanted a sanity check. I think the revised itinerary looks as follows:

Friday: Arrive in Barcelona (Booked)
Saturday-Monday: Explore Barcelona
Tuesday: Take a morning flight to Seville (Booked)
Tuesday-Wednesday: Explore Seville
Thursday: Day Trip to Cordoba
Friday: Explore some more Seville & Leave for Madrid in the evening
Saturday: Explore Toledo
Sunday: Explore Madrid & Leave

With the above itinerary, we will only be staying in three cities (Barcelona (4 nights), Seville (3 nights), Madrid (2 nights)). The only question, I have is would it make sense to leave for Madrid early on Friday, so I could take a trip to Toledo. From all the feedback I have received so far, that seems to a be sight def. worth seeing.

Posted by
2927 posts

JUST REFLECTING...

I know guys most of you fly across the Atlantic to see this and other countries and, understandably, would like to "pack" as much as possible in this trip, but it's a shame because you end up not really seeing much of anything. I guess you'll agree that 'seeing' is not just ticking a box, but also soaking a bit of the ambiance, the people, the nooks and crannies, the little shops, the secluded taverns, the stories, the traditions and celebrations... in short: the whole atmosphere of the place you're visiting. And that's especially true when there's so much to see and do in this part of the world: culture, history, folk, ancestral traditions, art, architecture, gastronomy... you name it and there's something for you somewhere.

I'm pointing this out, because when I see (for example) Barcelona 3 days, Madrid 2 days, day trip to Cordoba... my heart bleeds ;) as it's materially impossible that you really get any sort of idea of these places at all in such short hops -moreover when you spend half of the trip travelling. It's not my aim of course to tell others how they should plan their trips, everybody's got his own 'style' and his own preferences and most importantly expectations too (some prefer quantity, others prefer quality), but since planning is really an art no matter how often one has traveled, I feel it's important to bring to attention that aiming too high might result in poorer experiences when visiting Europe for the reasons I mentioned earlier. If you've got 10 days, it's best to aim for a couple of 'base camps' -likely to be two major cities, best in different regions, which will occupy you quite a few of those days- and then do escapades to many little gems that are a stone throw away from them and that you can easily reach by local train or buses. Anything else leave for your next trip. This way you'll be able to really enjoy the many different communities there are this side of the pond.

For reflection: Europe is over 50 countries, but there are nearly 350 distinct regions or communities within the continent that go beyond defined 'country borders': http://www.aer.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/PressComm/Publications/Tabula/Tabula2013/TabulaJPEG.jpg This makes it a very rich tapestry of different ways of doing and seeing things, languages, traditions, history too... In a manner of speaking, some trips to 'a country' end up turning into an adventure as you discover that what you though it'd be "one" turns to be "many", in fact as if you had visited different countries one could say! A good example is Spain, where there are so many differences between regions, even the feeling of their people... would it surprise you to discover that lots of people in different regions don't feel Spanish at all?. And this happens in Spain, but also in France or in Belgium among other countries.

This is just a though from someone living here and that's passionate about the many things one can see and do around these shores.

Posted by
344 posts

Enric, yes,this is the conundrum faced by all of us when traveling. We all want to see everything, and see it all for as long as possible. And yet, most of us have limited time. The eternal question: go- go-go or slow and steady? We each have our preferences, such a difficult choice.

Posted by
2927 posts

Hi SuzieeQQ, yes I know...same conundrum for all of us indeed, we all have limited time, don't we? ;) When I travel I personally advocate for "getting to know" over "ticking the box", but that's me of course.