Hello,
My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for 10 days in early October. We are planning on approximately 5 days in Barcelona, and then moving on to somewhere else. We've talked about Lisbon, Dublin, or Rome as potential options. Any potential benefits/drawbacks to those places, and what might be some other options?
Best.
Any particular reason you want to waste half a day (or more) in halls, waiting rooms and planes? In the understanding you are spending 5 days in an urban environment, what else would you like to do/see afterwards? another urban environment? a picturesque small coastal town to relax? somewhere to soak in nature? or does it necessary has to be another major European capital? There might be options far easier and far closer than you think. Describe your perfect "afterwards".... :)))
Emmy, very best wishes.
I have always liked the logic of embedding contrasts into a trip, to anchor different parts of it and create vivid memories.
On that score, Dublin probably provides the greatest contrast to Barcelona. But it will be colder and wetter, and there are real differences with your other destinations too. Also for contrast, some time in the country would be different from your urban begining.
Lisbon is probably the cheapest of the three, if that matters.
You are in Spain, stay in Spain - especially in Oct. Seville !!!! Granada !!, The white hill towns. The options are endless.
For a romantic city, it's hard to beat Paris. There's a fast train (6 1/2 hrs.) from Barcelona to Paris.
I would travel in Spain using high speed trains.
It is a wonderful place to explore.
It's good to mix it up between big cities and smaller ones, even small towns. Maybe take the train up to Collioure for a couple of days, then explore the Pyrenees/Languedoc area with a rental car. You might have to split up your five nights in Barcelona to make this practical. Another approach would be just to take tht train to Madrid, which is spectacular on its own and has great day trips. Actually 6.5 hours to Paris does not sound bad either.
If you are set on going to some other country after Barcelona, I vote for either Paris or Rome. Both are very nice places to spend a few days.
Rome would be my choice out of your 3 listed, as it offers a greater choice of things to do over 5 days.
Paris, as others have said, is also a great honeymoon choice. All the best. Congrats.
