In our 70’s escaping Michigan winters is a must. We’ve done California and Florida and want something new. We’re thinking six weeks in Spain and six in Greece. Is there an area or section of Seville that would be best for us? Train access a must. I will also post this on the Greece Forum but if you have suggestions please let us know. Thanks.
Posted by
11570 posts
Greece- very few trains exist.
Two recommendations for places to stay are Napflio on the Peloponnesean Peninsula and Chania, Crete.
Historic, charming towns on the water.
Good bases for day trips.
Posted by
Massachusetts
847 posts
If you do six weeks in Seville starting in February you will be getting to Greece by mid or late March. That is still too early to really do the islands. So the Peloponnese would probably be best. If you could go a bit later - say don't leave for Seville until mid March then you could at least do some islands towards the end of your time in Greece. Of course the problem with that is you don't get out of Michigan till winter is mostly over. I'm from the northeast so have the same dilemma. But the reality is that when it's not nice where you live, it won't be all that nice anywhere in Europe either. So you need to decide if the number one priority is getting out of Michigan or seeing Spain/Greece. I always think that at least if you do a big city during the worse months (weeks) at least there are things to do whereas in rural areas if the weather is bad you are just spending money to sit in a hotel/apartment. But if you are content to do that in order to get out of Michigan that's another thing.
Seville is well situated to do smaller trips by train but I don't think anywhere in Greece really is.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
I've been to Andalucia 3 times, 2 in February, 1 in March. It's the warmest, driest part of Europe. Barcelona also has mild weather, been there once in Feb, twice in March. If you want to settle in to one place for 6 weeks, Barcelona is a much better choice. Andalucia is fabulous but it's a big area and the top towns are spread out. From Sevilla you can day trip reasonably to Cadiz, Jerez, Arcos, and Cordoba. Everything else I can think of is at least 2 hours away.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
I'd suggest checking the monthly average temps, sunrise/sunset times of potential destinations. Anything's better than a northern winter, but none of these places are warm paradises in Jan/Feb.
I just spent the month of January in the Canary Islands, escaping upstate NY.
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
Chani's right if you're looking mostly to stay put in your base city. However, there are some smaller towns that could be added to the list of potential side-trips from Seville: Carmona, Ecija and I think I've read that Osuna is also nice.
Honestly, I'm not sure whether I'd choose Barcelona (more local sightseeing options) or Seville (better weather) in your shoes. The fact is, I wouldn't want to spend six weeks in one place as long as I still have so many places I haven't seen. And I say that as someone who dearly loves to spend 7 to 10 days (or longer in a few cases) in a major city.