Advice for Solo 3 Weeks in Andalucia

tkbunch, you have done a great job planning your itinerary. Although your dates are confusing. I assume you mean you will arrive in Madrid on February 23, not March 23.

I have been to all of your destinations except for Cadiz. I have a few suggestions for tweaking your itinerary if you don't mind adjusting some of your accommodation's reservations.

Since you will arrive in Madrid at 5PM, and you want to take a daytrip to Toledo, perhaps spend 5 nights in Madrid and 4 nights in Seville.

I haven't been to Cadiz yet, but I understand it is a lovely small city on the coast. Of course, at this time of year, you won't be swimming. If you think this is your last time in Andalucia, perhaps you should include Cadiz.

If it were my trip, I would spend 4 nights in Granada, and I would add one night to Cordoba and one night to Malaga. When we visited, we spent 2 nights each in Cordoba and Malaga, and I wish we had an extra night for each place.

OTOH, you mention that you are a full-time caregiver so this trip is more about relaxing, so if the 6 nights in Granada makes the trip more relaxing for you, then keep your 6 nights there.

You mention that you like mercados. Seville has several mercados we visited and enjoyed. We loved the Victoria Mercado in Cordoba, the Atarazanas Mercado in Malaga, and of course Madrid has the San Miguel Market and quite a few others.
https://www.citylifemadrid.com/markets-of-madrid/

In Cordoba, you might like the Palacio de Viana with its 12 patios. We also loved Casa de Pilatos in Seville. I know that Seville has several other small palaces and museums that we didn't have time to visit. While in Seville, be sure to explore the Triana neighborhood.

kmkwoo, Yes, sorry! I meant to say arriving Feb 23 in Madrid. I appreciate your perspective as well as the specific mercados, etc. that you suggested. Thanks very much!

I've been to Andalucia 3 times and am going back in December (and very excited about that). I've been to all your cities and a few more. Here are my opinions and advice.

First, you've landed on a great time to visit. Temps are mild, sunshine is usually abundant, crowds are few and you get low season prices on lodging.

Madrid is the least interesting European capital and the least interesting city on your list. If you love European painting, you'll want 2 days just for the art museums. The Palace is really worth seeing, takes about 1/2 day. I'd spend the first night here near the Atocha train station and head to Cordoba in the morning. Stay in Madrid for 2-4 nights at the end of your trip. If you want the art museums, you'll enjoy them more when you aren't jetlagged/sleep-deprived on your first full day or two in Spain.

Cordoba (2N minimum) is my choice for relaxing, soaking up the atmosphere and getting over jetlag. It's a 2-hour train ride and pretty laid back in the evenings and early mornings. Take an evening walking tour. There are several excellent small museums; two of my faves are the Al-Andalus in the Callahora Tower and the Palacio de Viana. You might also be able to see a horse show at the Royal Stables. Spend time admiring the exterior walls of the Mezquita. Binoculars are very helpful to enjoy the intricate details of the interior walls and ceilings.

Cadiz may be skippable. I felt I'd seen all the sights in a day trip and you've probably seen them too.

Granada for 6N is a lot of time. I spent 4N there on my first visit and in retrospect would have been happy with 3. I spent a full day at the Alhambra after an evening visit to the Nasrid Palaces - and recommend doing both. I enjoyed wandering in Sevilla and Cordoba much more and feel there are more sights in either of them than in Granada.

Malaga is lovely. I enjoyed some of its small museums; 3 I remember well: Picasso, Thiessen, Arts & Culture. My only question is if it's worth going south for 2N.

Toledo is okay as a day trip from Madrid but much better as a 2N stay. There's a lot to explore. Note that it is "san-francisco-hilly". Allow 1/2 hour to admire the train station.

I was in Madrid and Seville this part March and fell in love with the country.

Everyone experiences places differently, but I thought Madrid was wonderful.

My trip report might give you some ideas:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/we-love-spain-a-trip-report

I agree with chani that 6N in Granada is overkill, even if just relaxing. Maybe take a night from it and add it to Córdoba.

To me, Cádiz merits a full day at most. If you leave it in the itinerary and get bored, you could always take the short ferry ride over to either Rota or Puerto de Santa María.

After the day trippers leave, Toledo is very relaxing in the evening. Depending on what you want to see while there and how long you spend visiting those sites, one could easily spend a couple full days.

Another option is to go straight from airport to southern most point and work your way north. This will avoid a check in and check out twice in madrid and perhaps get a bit warmer as you make your way to madrid in march. Perhaps starting your trip in smaller cities and towns might be nice way to decompress both from the journey and caregiving responsibilities . If you are going to stick with two checks in in madrid perhaps you spend one night when you arrive since you’re arriving at 5 pm and keep the longer stay for the last part of the trip.

Chani, thank you so much for your insight and specific recs. Definitely hope to take an evening walking tour. I keep having that nagging feeling that 6 nights in Granada might be too long. Leaning toward giving an extra night to Malaga and skipping Cadiz to give 4 nights to Cordoba. Thanks for taking the time to share your ideas!

Carrie, thanks so much for sharing your trip report. I enjoyed reading it again and so appreciate the many, many helpful tips you included. And I have to say, when I first booked this trip, I wasn’t overly excited about Madrid, but the more I read, the more I think I will enjoy it. I’ve tripped across many interesting sounding restaurants there too. Thank you again.

Jaimeelsabio, another vote for maybe too much time in Granada! Thanks for your Cadiz ideas too. I’m on the fence about Cadiz, for sure, even though it is a lovely place. I also think Toldedo sounds great and deserving of more than a day trip. I am already making notes for a future trip. Thanks!

Cupcake, your idea about heading south immediately has a lot of merit. If my arrival time was earlier or if my husband was able to be with me on this trip, I would absolutely consider that. It would be nice to chase the warmer temps that way! Thank you.

I love Spain and spending three weeks there sounds wonderful!

I recommend visiting the Automobile and Fashion Museum of Malaga. My husband and I went there in late 2024 on a cruise stop in Malaga and it was very interesting. It combines beautiful classic cars with gorgeous clothing and despite how weird that sounds, it was a great visit that we both thoroughly enjoyed.

We stayed in Granada 8 nights and could have stayed longer. This is a post I wrote about our slow stay there:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2019/04/slow-travel-in-granada.html
Cordoba is also lovely, ideal for strolling around and the climate will be a lot milder than in Granada.
Cadiz is very popular for the Carnival so check your dates don't coincide with festivities - unless you enjoy the crowds

DO NOT miss Toledo and Segovia near Madrid.

You’ve received great advice thus far.

I agree with the others, and my suggestion is to consider taking some nights from Granada & either adding them to Córdoba, or better yet, consider staying in Toledo instead of visiting as a day trip (overcrowded)

I like Chani’s suggestion to spend your first night in Madrid then taking the train to Córdoba the following morning, spending 3-4 nights there, before heading to Sevilla or Granada, and leaving Madrid/Toledo to the end of your trip.

My mom & I spent 3 wonderful weeks in Spain years ago and this was our itinerary;
Arrived in Madrid (late morning) >> train to Córdoba on day or arrival 5N > ALSA Bus to Granada 4N >> ALSA Bus to Sevilla 5N > train to Toledo (via Madrid) 5N >> Madrid 1N (We’d visited Madrid previously) hotel near airport.

My original plan was to visit Ronda between Granada and Sevilla but then decided to skip it since travel days were the most tiring and stressful for my mom who was 88 on this trip.
Our favorite cities were Toledo & Córdoba.
We had visited Toledo as a day trip on a previous trip and promised to go back for a longer visit which we appreciated very much.

Make sure you visit Plaza de España while in Sevilla, and book your Alhambra tickets way in advance!

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Sherry in AZ, I recently tripped across the Automobile and Fashion Museum in someone’s trip report. Sounds neat! Thanks for the reminder.

Tinac, thanks so much for the link to your Granada post. I LOVE your blog and have read quite a few entries already, including some I read last year ahead of my first solo trip to Italy. I so appreciate all the details you include and your beautiful photographs! Thank you for sharing all your hard work!

Geovagriffith, I absolutely have Toledo and Segovia in my sights. Thanks for the suggestion!

Priscilla, thank so much for all you shared. And how wonderful that you were able to travel with your mom! I have booked my Madrid hotel using points, but I may be able to shift that around. Will skip Cadiz this time and add those nights to Cordoba. I’m very tempted to see about a couple of nights in Toledo. So many options! Thanks too for the reminder to book the Alhambra way in advance. Will definitely do that.