Barcelona to Madrid 2wks or more ?

The Alhambra is in Granada, which is, unfortunately, not on the way from Barcelona to Madrid. It's considerably farther south and east than Madrid. But Spain has a network of fast trains to some major cities, plus slower trains to many others. There are also comfortable buses that are practical for many trips. Where fast trains are available, they are often much, much faster than a car, so it may be totally unnecessary to drive yourself around, depending on what your itinerary ends up looking like.

The Spanish high-speed rail network goes to these cities (among others): Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid, Toledo (spur line connected only to Madrid), Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Rail service to and from Granada isn't especially frequent, and many folks who want to go to both Seville and Granada (highly recommended) find buses useful due to schedule and/or frequency. On that particular leg, buses take a more direct route than the fastest trains, so there's not a great deal of difference in scheduled travel time.

I'd recommend getting a copy of Rick's guide to Spain. It's a fabulous country with many interesting cities. The architecture is very different in Barcelona, Madrid and the major cities of the south. And of course the Alhambra is truly stunning.

You might like to take a look at the high-level sightseeing tips Rick has on this website. After choosing one of these links, click on At a Glance:

Barcelona sightseeing

Madrid sightseeing

Toledo sightseeing

Cordoba sightseeing

Granada sightseeing

Seville sightseeing

These destinations just scratch the surface of Spain's great destinations.

If those are your intended destinations, and you are flying into Barcelona, I would spend a minimum of five days in that city (I just spent 6 and I've been there a few times before).

From Barcelona, then take the direct dueling flight to Granada; spend three nights there which will allow time for the Alhambra and ambling about the city.

Then, if you have the time, you could rent a car (renting at the airport makes it easier to live the city) and visit a few towns in Andalusia of your choice.

After that, you could drop the car and either take the train or fly to Madrid and spent the remaining time there.
OR if you are willing to skip Madrid, you could return the car at an airport that offers direct flights to Barcelona (those include Jerez and Sevilla) and fly home.

I did not understand if you are flying home from Barcelona; it would be best if you could fly home from Madrid to avoid backtracking.

It is extremely easy to drive in much of Andalucia; roads are excellent and drivers a polite.

You wouldn’t need a car for the two cities you mentioned. As acraven stated, Granada isn’t between them.

For the remainder of the trip it’s a matter of personal travel style and whether you prefer cities or smaller towns. One could easily spend a month (depending on what you like to see and do) driving between Barcelona and Madrid visiting out of the way sites that would be difficult to reach by public transportation.

My intention is to fly back home to Chicago from Madrid.

Sounds very good...you will not need the car. Once you have the plans confirmed, come back and maybe be can give you some tips...make sure you buy those Alhambra tickets well in advance.

Do not miss Toledo and Segovia on day trips from Madrid.
Also, plan for at least 3 days in Seville.

I'd suggest that you do some studying up on Spain, what it offers in terms of history, art, culture, food and recreation.

It is a large country with history that includes having been part of the Roman Empire and contests with the Carthaginians, conquest by the Visigoths. There was the conquest by the Moors, followed by the long and slow "reconquest" by the Catholics from El Cid to the Catholic Monarchs (Isabella and Ferdinand), the Inquisition, a bloody civil war in the 1930s and more. You can see residual history - and sites - of the Moors/Moslems and Jews who were driven from Spain in 1492 and the ensuing Inquisition.

Spain had wealth from what the Conquistadors stole from New World - particularly gold and silver. Big, heavy, Baroque Churches were built with that plunder. There are impressive Alcazars in Sevilla and Cordoba, and monumental churches in Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca and Sevilla. The university city of Salamanca goes back to medieval times.

There is art from El Greco to Velasquez to Picasso, Dali & Miro. Great museums in Madrid - the Prado rivals the Louvre and includes Ancient Greek and Roman marbles, paintings by works by El Greco, Goya and Velasquez and Hieronymus Bosch; the Netherlands were ruled by Spain for a while. Just down the street in one direction is the really remarkable Thyssen (19th Century to modern) and, down the street in the opposite direction you'll find the Reina Sofia which houses Picasso's masterpiece Guernica - installed only after Franco died.

Barcelona has an incredible Picasso Museum, as well as a wonderful Miro Museum. There is the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in the Basque region along the Atlantic and a Salvador Dali Museum in Figueres - just a bit north of Barcelona. (I know you don't need to see every museum, but these are truly world class museums that merit consideration.)

Moorish architecture - especially in the southern region of Andalucia - includes the Alcazar in Sevilla, the Mezquita in Cordoba and the Alhambra in Granada. There are the white hill towns along the frontier between Catholic and Moorish Spain in Andalucia from the 1200s - 1400s. There is a Roman Aqueduct in Segovia that was still in use in the early 1900s and the Roman Temple of Diana in Merida.

Mountains in the North - the Pyrenees & Picos de Europa. The Sierra Nevada Mountains near Granada.

Mediterranean and Atlantic beaches.

There are Basques, Catalans and Spaniards with their own languages and cuisines.

We've been to Spain twice and spent time on each trip with friends who lived in Madrid (part-time) and also in Extremedura (a region distinct from all the above locations). We've missed large portions of the country in our roughly 4 weeks in Spain, though we have seen much (not all) of what I mention above in those 4 weeks.

Once you've done some homework, you will be in a far better place to start with your plans and ask questions, with a more definite time frame in mind and more specific ideas of what you want to see.

After some research I would like to see Granada and Seville. I'm wondering if it more efficient to go from Barcelona to Madrid, then take the train to Granada, see Seville and fly home from Seville with a short layover in Madrid. I'm looking to fly out on Oct 12th. So I believe that should give me ample time in each location without being rushed.

You should be able to do that. If, however, you don't like the airfare home from Granada or Seville, you might consider flying from Barcelona to Granada then going on to Seville and Madrid by train (or bus between Granada and Seville). For some airports in the US, Barcelona and Madrid are the cheapest Spanish gateways.

**Glad you’ve done some more studying. Your current plan is for 13 nights in Spain. 12 days. Arrival and departure days don’t really count.

Hypothetically ….

3 days Barcelona
Travel day to Madrid is 4

3 days Madrid. That allows a single “day trip” to Toledo or Segovia or somewhere else like El Escorial That makes 7

Travel day to Granada is 8

1 day Granada (2 nights) is 9

Travel to Seville is 10

That leaves 2 days/3 nights for Seville, assuming you fly home from Seville.

If you have to head back to Madrid, it leaves only one full day for Seville and perhaps a little afternoon time the day you arrive from Granada and a little morning time the day you head back to Madrid for a sleepover before your flight home.

You could cut Barcelona down by a day and add it to Seville.

If your return flight day is really “negotiable” and if you really want a “laid back itinerary for a wonderful taste of Spain,” then I suggest you add 2 or 3 days …

• 4 nights/3 days Barcelona
• 5 nights/4 days Madrid base to include one or two day trips
• 2 nights/1 day Granada
• 4 nights/3 days Seville to include a day trip to Cordoba.

That is 15 nights and 14 full days. Add one more night and travel day if you have to get back to Madrid to fly home.

Wow- we just did this trip last September!!! Flew to Barcelona and flew home from Madrid! Our cities in order were
Barcelona
Granada (we flew and would highly recommend)
Ronda
Seville
Toledo
Madrid
We took trains for all other distance travels. We also did a day trip to Cordoba from Seville and a day trip to Monserrat from Barcelona. I did book a private tour at the Alhambra in Granada-well worth it. And I booked the walking tour in Sevilla and a palace cathedral tour in Seville. I used the Rick Steves Spain book extensively and used their tour guide suggestions. They were excellent.

We were gone 15 days and we tweaked a bit as we went along. For example, we were scheduled to leave Granada on an evening train, we ended up changing it to mid day the day before due to seeing what we wanted and ready to move on. I will say I found it much easier to book trains through Rick Steves site, there is a small surcharge ($8 I think) but well worth it- it did connections, routes etc and paying was so much easier. Trying to navigate the trains sites and then trying to pay was not easy-especially the paying part.
The weather was amazing, but it was extremely crowded. We walked constantly and saw a lot of hidden gems and discovered things we ming not have. Also used chat gpt (just for ideas and making sample itineraries but be careful it had info wrong ie) museum closed day it scheduled it. However, I asked it things like "what hidden gems or off the beaten path in Seville". Last bit- well worth the price of paying for premium economy for long flight-we flew in and out of Chicago

I've been playing with the itinerary and I think this might be a good fit

Fly into Barcelona ....4 nights Sept 28th - Oct. 2nd
Train to Cordoba ....2 nights Oct 2nd - 4th
Train to Sevilla .........3 nights Oct 4th - 7th
Train to Granada .....3 nights in Granada...Oct 7th- 10th
Train to Madrid .....4 nights Oct. 10th-14th (with side trip to Toledo and possibly Segovia since we are not interested in Art museums)
Fly home on the 14th

Please let me know if I need more time in one place, I can easily add on another day somewhere.
or maybe I don't need 4 nights in Madrid.

Great that you’re up to 16 nights (15 days). Looks like a solid plan.

Look at the DK Eyewitness books for the cities you’ll be visiting, as well as the RS Guides, videos and podcasts or audio guides. The Eyewitness Guides are great for walking tours.

And you have time to read … El Cid, or For Whom the Bell Tolls or Don Quixote.

Washington Irving wrote a book, Tales From the Alhambra, about his visit there in the early 1830s that is a treat.

I might shift one night from Granada to Seville. Seville's quite a lot larger and has a longer list of sights folks tend to want to see. However, the time of day you plan to arrive in Granada and later leave for Seville is a factor here.

Just in case your INBOUND date is not yet fixed :)

https://www.barcelona.cat/lamerce/en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIUnswHERaM

#lamerce #barcelona #september #heritage #tradition #catalan

I’d recommend adding one night to Seville if you can. The rest looks good.

What are your opinions about doing this trip basically in reverse? Flying to Granada from Barcelona instead of taking the train to Cordoba. Staying in Granada 3 nights , renting a car to drive through Ronda and the white hill towns on the way to Sevilla. Spending 4 nights in Sevilla then taking the train to Cordoba for 2 nights , then on to Madrid via train ?

I feel like flying to Granada would give me a little more time on the ground and less time travelling

great posts Fred.

That works, Sue. It's quite a distance between Barcelona and Granada, and you're dealing with it all at once (in one direction) by plane. There's not a lot of rail service in and out of Granada, which can complicate schedules a bit. By flying in and driving out, you avoid that potential issue.

Do check flight costs, though. You may be on a budget airline that not only charges extra for seat selection and a checked bag but also has strict requirements about size and weight of carry-ons and personal items.