Barcelona/Seville/Granada

It's busy, but do-able. We were in Madrid, Barcelona and Granada in June. Loved them all. Sorry it took so many years for us to make it there. They're actually affordable cities to visit--vs. other large European cities.

To me the tentative time alloted for both Barcelona and Seville is really tight, and Holy Week activities will probably slow you down significantly in both Seville and Granada. I was in Andalucia during Holy Week this year, and I ran into some issues with early closings, not necessarily publicized in advance. In addition, it was very difficult to move through the center of Seville while processions were going on. I had allowed a lot of time and was able to go with the flow. Being a visitor on a tight schedule would have been terribly frustrating.

Even aside from Holy Week complications, the time you'll want in each city depends on how many of the local attractions you want to visit. You really need to take a look at your guide book and see what sounds appealing to you. If you leave it up to me, I'll have you in Barcelona for seven nights! I'm a big fan of both modernista and Moorish/Mudejar architecture and would rather skip Granada on this trip in order to see more of Barcelona and Seville.

Doing that would probably allow time for at least a day-trip to Cordoba, though that city deserves at least 2 nights; 3 or even 4 would be better. Cordoba lies on the AVE line between Madrid and Seville, so you could travel at least one way by train. Most of the trains from Barcelona to Cordoba take less than 5 hours, generally requiring a change in Madrid.

The train from Seville back to Barcelona can take as little as 5-1/2 hours. I find dealing with airports mid-trip a joyless activity and would choose to take the train.

Alternatively, you could just decide (flights to and from Barcelona notwithstanding) you're going to spend all your time in Andalucía on this trip since it's a great time to be there, weather-wise. You can return to Spain later to see Barcelona, the rest of Catalunya (Girona is great), Madrid and the many great side-trips from the latter. Then on the third trip you can begin tackling the other wonderful destinations in Spain. It is a very large country.

Semana Santa - from Palm Sunday, April 5, through Easter Sunday, April 12, is hugein Andalucia, especially in Sevilla. Hotels fill up at their highest rates. Thursday night's procession (from about midnight to 6-7 am Friday is the biggest of the week. The main streets around the cathedral in Sevilla (and probably Granada) are closed to vehicles for the week. Other central streets are closed for hours at a time when processions are scheduled for those streets. In Sevilla there are likely to be 2 or more processions in different parts of the center at the same time. The processions begin between early afternoon and evening and most last for 5-6 hours, some for 8 or more because they move so slowly. I got to Sevilla by train on Tuesday afternoon and took a taxi to my hotel. The streets around the hotel were closed to traffic for a procession and the driver let me off somewhat farther than was necessary. Luckily I'd been there before and managed to find my way to a familiar spot on foot and from there knew my way to my hotel.

Unless you want to embrace the celebrations in Andalucia, go there as early in your trip as possible and leave the last few days for Barcelona, where life is much as usual. Cordoba is less intense than Sevilla and may be a better place to stay. Take bus or train from Granada, and train back to Barcelona. There are direct trains that take less than 5 hours, making the train a viable alternative to flying. Day trip to Sevilla from Cordoba by train. There are fast trains that take about 3/4 hour and slower cheaper ones that take about 1-1/4 hours.

Chani's idea of possibly basing in Cordoba rather than Seville is a good one, but do stop in at the Cordoba tourist office to get the Holy Week schedule for the local attractions. You will not have time to make multiple visits to the same part of town, as I did, due to schedule anomalies. You'll need to make a serious plan. I hope you'll have time to see a few of the patios.

These replies have been so helpful and well thought out. Thank you!! This is a trip we are taking to celebrate my daughter's graduation from high school, so I really want to plan our time well. We will be traveling with two teenagers, so they are not as patient for long waits as we might be. If you are so inclined, I'd love more feedback as I plan details further. Thanks again!!

As you continue you research, let us know what sights you hope to go inside. There are some places (quite a lot in Barcelona) for which you'd want to buy tickets in advance to avoid long ticket lines and possible sell-outs.

The three places I'm aware of that sell out very early are:

• The Alhambra. Tickets for your time period are not on sale yet, but selected days, and especially the early time periods on selected days, may sell out very rapidly--as in months ahead of time.

• The royal apartments at the Alcazar in Seville. I don't think these are a top sight (as opposed to the general-entry area, which is fabulous), but capacity seems very l limited, and the few tickets get snapped up. I'm not recommending this, just warning that it's not something you can decide to do on March 28 and hope to get in.

• Camp Nou Experience. This is a soccer thing in Barcelona about which I know nothing except that you need to plan way ahead for it. The other buy-in-advance sights in Barcelona are not nearly as problematic; you don't need to worry about them until 2020, beyond checking on days they might be closed and trying to figure out what you'll want to combine on the same day.

I will! Thank you! On to much more reading and research. Thanks again!