Barcelona Apartment? Madrid Hotel? Activities? Tours? Day Trips? Restaurants?

Since you're active people, I think Montserrat would be a good choice while you're in Barcelona, although it's certainly not off the beaten path. Enric posted detailed information in a dedicated thread not too long ago. Just scan the Spain forum and you'll find it. I believe there are plenty of walking possibilities up there that don't require hiking gear.

If you are Dali fans, Figueres for the Theatre-Museum and Cadaques (20-minute walk to the Casa-Museu in Portlligat) would be another good possibility. Cadaques is a beautiful white-washed town full of bougainvillea. It's a former fishing village turned beach town. By public transportation this would be a rather long day trip, and you'd need to check the schedules ahead of time. The Theatre-Museu requires timed tickets. Friends visited recently and raved about the jewelry display.

Girona is an especially nice side-trip from Barcelona. It has a large, lovely historic district with a couple of cathedrals, a wall you can walk on and a very nice museum. It's good for a full day or more. Very easy by train, and less than 40 minutes if you take the AVE. The cheaper trains take about twice that long.

You'll probably get quite a lot of exercise just walking around Barcelona. Montjuic, the location of a number of museums, is quite steep.

The Barcelona tourist office organizes several walking tours. I took the Barri Gotic, Picasso and Modernisme tours. The BG tour is probably best from a general-interest point of view. There are private companies also doing walking tours, of course, but I was pleased with the modest size of the T.O. tour groups.

From Madrid, I think the top three day-trips are Toledo, Segovia and Cuenca. Cuenca's quick if you take the AVE (buy tickets ASAP or it will be too costly for just one day). You'll get a workout in Toledo and Cuenca; both are hilly. If I had to choose one it would be Toledo.

Thank you, acraven! Very helpful!

Madrid Between the Prado and the Thyssen museums, you'll pass the Naval Museum. It's very interesting, well worth a 2 hour visit and a nice change from all the painting. Be sure to take your passports with you. I found the HOHO bus to be good for orientation (the historic route) and to see parts of the city I wouldn't have got to otherwise (modern route), but not for transportation. The commentary is dry but there is separate commentary for kids that's interesting. Toledo is a great day trip. The TI offers a lot of walking tours. I took a basic one, the route was good, the guide was decent. Go to the San Miguel Market for lunch early in your stay . . . you may want to return.

Barcelona Where to start? I've taken 2 TI walking tours, both excellent. The Moderisme tour opened my eyes to Barcelona architecture, well worth doing early in your stay. Try to go to a concert of the 4 Guitars. You can combine Figueres (Dali) and Girona (old city) in one day by train. It's hard to manage Figueres and Cadaques in one day using public transportation. I enjoyed the roof-top tour of Santa Maria del Mar. The Palau de la Musica tour is a must-see. Spend a full day on Montjuic. Start at the top and work your way down. There's an interesting ethnic/folklore museum between the Miro and the MNAC (be sure to allow enough time to see the collections). BTW the apt location looks great, very central and close to the metro.

Thank you, Chani!

Wow! That apartment looks fantastic. We travel with our two teenagers and I know it is not always easy to find a second bedroom with twin beds. It looks terrific.

Don't forget, Barcelona has its own beach. I actually found it quite moving to stand in the waters of the Mediterranean. We were there in April and it was warm enough to go knee-deep. Enjoy your time.

The apartment in Barcelona is in a great location. I stayed in the Born for a month when I was in Barcelona and I loved it!! I would agree with previous posters about Barcelona day trips. Montserrat, Girona and Tarragona would be my recommendations. I'm not sure if I would classify the Barcelona beaches as "glamorous". I personally think most of the East Coast beaches are much nicer. You might try further up or down the coast. Other posters might have better ideas. I was a little disappointed with Barceloneta as a beach. But that's just my opinion. Besides all the usual sights in Barcelona, check out the markets, specifically Santa Caterina and the famous Boqueria.

I'm not at all a beach person, but perhaps Sitges? The town isn't quite as pretty-pretty as Cadaques, but there's an interesting museum, and I think it's a popular beach destination.

Where are you, Enric?

Thank you, all! Glad to hear the Barcelona apartment seems to be well located - that is always the most important for us. I will look into the beach options for day trips. And yes - where is Enric? 😊