Best destinations for travel in Spain

Probably the easiest flight cities from Spain to Portugal would be Barcelona, Madrid, or Seville. Best cities to fly to, direct from the US, would be Madrid or Barcelona, with Madrid easier to find.

For Five days, I would either concentrate on Barcelona, fling in and out of there. You could stay in Barcelona, or visit some of the nearby Towns.

Same with Madrid, five days are easily spent there.

The wild card would be land in Madrid, do 2-3 nights, then to Seville, and fly to Lisbon from Seville.

Normally Train or bus would be a good option, but those connections from any of these cities to Lisbon are poor at this time, so flying works out better.

I'd suggest reading a travel guide or two, including Rick Steves, on Spain. Get an idea of what you'd like to see and do. It's hard to make recommendations when you don't mention what your interests are. Museums? History? Cathedrals? Outdoor activities? Big cities? Small towns? Beach? Mountains? Etc. For transportation, figure out a general itinerary, and use Rome2Rio to see what your transportation options are. Five days isn't a bunch of time. You could fly into Madrid, stay there and do day trips to Toldeo, Segovia and more...might be the simplest.

Hello

I went to Lisbon last year and it is wonderful.

I went to Barcelona this year and it also is truly wonderful. From Austin, I had to connect going to and coming home but from Houston, it is possible that you might be able to fly direct and maybe even non stop.

There is so much to see and do in Barcelona that I suggest you do some of your own research. You will not run out f things to do and you will not get bored.

If you are not familiar with Gaudi, this might be a good time to start

From what I can see there are no nonstop flights from Houston to Spain (ES). There are nonstop flights from Houston to Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Frankfurt.
There are nonstop flights from New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Washington DC and Atlanta to Barcelona and nonstop flights from Miami, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Atlanta to Madrid.
How many nights is five days? If you sleep in ES four nights sleep in the city of arrival.

Southern Spain--including Seville--is likely to be brutally hot in July. Madrid may well be not that much cooler. Barcelona should be less hot, but it can be so muggy that it may not feel much more comfortable than Madrid (then again, maybe you'd luck out on the humidity). I love Spain, but I'd give at least the south and Madrid a pass in July.

Seville temperatures -- July 2024

Madrid temperatures -- July 2024

I fear transportation would be trickier and more costly, but the north coast of Spain has a much more temperate climate and is usually very pleasant, though possibly rainy, even in the middle of the summer. Bilbao would be the access point in the Basque Country; Santiago de Compostela is the biggest destination in Galicia.

Alternatively, you could spend your extra time in northern Portugal, in places like Porto; that coastal area should be cooler than most of Spain, and you wouldn't have transportation challenges when it's time to head to Lisbon. The average high temperature for July is 20 degrees (F) lower in Porto than in Seville!

With only 5 days I’d stick to locations in western Spain to minimize travel time while in country. As already stated, you should do some research to get an idea of where and what you’d like to see and do. Madrid and Sevilla would both work.

A rental car (which would be nice and air conditioned) is not necessarily in the cards here, because of the very high international drop fees usually charged. That means travelers to Extremadura, etc., could be bouncing around smaller cities by public transportation. I've done that, and it's not a pleasant experience in high summer to try to fill in the time while you wait on the next train or bus departure. I'd proceed with great caution, checking transportation schedules very carefully to be sure there's reasonable frequency. And then I'd decide to go to northern Portugal instead.

I very much insist on considering buses as a very safe, very clean, very cheap, very modern and very efficient means of transport, frequently overlooked by visitors for no reason at all.

If you are from Houston, summer heat would not be new to you.

I would suggest that you spend all 5 days (nights?) in one Spanish city and look at flights from Spain to Lisbon. Flights can be very cheap and much faster than train.

You can't go wrong with either Barcelona or Madrid as a first time visitor. There are so many things to see and do; you can easily fill your five days and still wish you had more time.

I actually preferred Valencia over Madrid because it is a very pleasant and laid back city which is less crowded. I have never been to Seville etc. ,but would like to visit it. Good luck.