Best areas to stay in Barca, Madrid, Granada, Sevilla, and Toledo

Posted by jonathanhandrews on 11/26/25 01:47 AM

Good Evening,
My wife and i are in the very early stages of planning our next trip and are starting to look for accommodations. Right now, we are thinking of going for two weeks end of Sept/beginning of Oct to Barca, Madrid, Granada, Sevilla, and Toledo. We are connecting all by train so parking or not wanting to drive in a city are not factors. We are not fancy and generally prefer Airbnb's or actual BNB's over hotels, but not opposed to hotels if the price/location is right. We will be asleep by midnight most nights so we don't need to be close to the trendy clubs, but love cool neighborhoods with cafes/restaurants, ideally near where we will be exploring during the day.

I know this forum isn't my travel agent, so I am not looking for specific hotels (but wouldn't say no either if you had a great option), more so looking for parts of town or "stay near ABC" and we can do the rest.
Thanks,

Posted by jules m

Twin Cities of MN

11/26/25 01:59 AM

7784 posts

Oh, please don't miss Cordoba. It is a charming little city with plenty to see. Its on a river with a Roman Bridge, a gorgeous, white little old Jewish quarter, they are known for patio gardens and of course the Mezquita. Some do it on a day trip. We were there 3 nights and could have stayed longer. It was really nice in the mornings and the evenings when the day trippers were gone.

In Toledo we stayed close to the cathedral.
In Granada, we stayed at Hotel Anacapri, the area was great for us.
We stayed in the old town of Sevilla, minutes from the Alcazar and the cathedral. Hotel El Rey Moro.
In Cordoba we stayed about 10 feet from the Mezquita, at Hotel Mezquita

Posted by Jane

Sapulpa, OK, USA

11/26/25 02:15 AM

6849 posts

In Sevilla earlier this year, we enjoyed the Hotel Fernando III. I started writing a review, but haven't finished or posted it yet. Here's a preview:

After our recent Rick Steves Best of Spain tour, Stan and I opted to stay on in Sevilla a few days. As is usual for us, we switched hotels as soon as the tour ended. The tour had been staying at Hotel Amadeus Sevilla, and we moved to the Hotel IMG Fernando III, San Jose 21, just around the corner from the Amadeus.

There wasn’t anything wrong with the Amadeus, but the Fernando III was
much less expensive, an average of E170 per night, as opposed to E260.
I had seen it recommended on the Forum as an alternative to the
Amadeus, and was delighted that we did.

The Fernando III is modern, with light bright surfaces, and is larger
than our usual choices. But in spite of the size, and the impression
of a more “business class” hotel, the staff was wonderful, and always
eager to help.

We had a standard double this time, on the first floor up.

The rest of the review would have been more specific about the room's appointments, as well as the rooftop bar. I guess I should finish the review and post it, no? Maybe I'll have time tomorrow while the turkey is roasting...

Posted by jonathanhandrews OP

11/26/25 02:22 AM

57 posts

We'd love to go everywhere, but, you know, only so much time. We prefer not to stay places for just one night. I'm a big proponent of "less is more." Right now we are thinking:

Barca 4 nights (including the night we arrive, which to me doesn't count)
Madrid 4 nights
Granada 2 nights
Sevilla 3 nights
Toledo 2 nights

With training into/out of each location, all of these locations are cut by half a day (at least). So Granada and Toledo are only 1.5 days. Would you prioritize differently?