My husband, my 17 yr. old son and 15 yr. old daughter and I are traveling to Spain for 13 days. We are flying into Barcelona to visit our daughter who will be studying there. We plan on 4 nights in Barcelona. We arrive in Barcelona on July 22 and fly out of Madrid on 8/4. We are thinking of spending 3 or 4 nights in Madrid. We are trying to decide what other cities to visit. Originally were thinking of Seville and Malaga but I hear it is very hot at that time of year. Another suggestion was Valencia. I would really appreciate any suggestions on one or two other cities we should stop at. Currently we are not planning on renting a car and would travel either by AVE or short hopper flights. We are interested in culture, art, sporting activities and a little relaxation. I appreciate any feedback.
Thank you very much!
Posted by
San Francisco
1008 posts
San Sebastian? You are the husband can walk around all of the pinxto bars after you ditch the kids at the beach!!
Posted by
Washington DC
28102 posts
The weather in the Basque Country is usually much cooler than what you'll have in Barcelona, Madrid or (especially) Andalucia in the summer, and there are three interesting cities and many attractive small towns to visit. Unfortunately, train service is not nearly as quick to that area as it is between Madrid and Barcelona. While flights are available, you have the hassle of dealing with airports two additional times on a relatively short trip--something I wouldn't want to do. I'd give serious consideration to simply splitting your time between Catalunya and the area around Madrid if youmthink you'll be OK with rhe weather.
Barcelona itself could keep you busy for considerably longer than 4 days, especially if you're interested in modernista architecture. It also has some excellent day trips (Girona, Montserrat--probably cooler due to altitude, the Dali sites in Figueres and outside Cadaques, plus beach options). I spent several nights in Girona. Aside from being extremely picturesque, it's a convenient base for seeing the Dali sites.
Madrid is likely to be hotter than Barcelona, but it has some magnificent day-trip possibities, too, of which my favorites were Toledo, Segovia and Cuenca.
I've never made it to Valencia so can't compare its atteactiveness to the other places. Cuenca, however, is located on the AVE line between Madrid and Valencia.
All the places I've mentioned are accessible via public transportation. Those AVE tickets will get quite pricey if you don't buy them well in advance, and the cheap tickets will be non-refundable/non-exchangeable. I believe the fares to Toledo and Segovia do not change, so you don't have to make an early decision about those destinations. Girona has local train service as well as AVEs, which offers a spur-of-the-moment (though slower) cheap optiom.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Three ideas I'd consider for 5 nights between Barcelona and Madrid ...
1) Cadaques (2N) >> Girona (1N) >> Zaragoza (2N)
2) San Sebastián (2N) >> Pamplona (1N) >> Bilbao (2N)
3) Tarragona (1N) >> Valencia (2N) >> Cuenca (2N)