First Time in Spain - Please help!

If you only have 10 days, your itinerary is going to be very tight.

You wish to see
Barcelona 3 nights Monserrat is nice, but with only three days, your itinerary in Barcelona will be LONG.
Madrid (day trips to Toledo and Segovia) 3 nights
Cordoba 1 night
Seville 3 nights

Ok, you don't want to do the Prado (which is great), but try to do the Royal Palace in Madrid. Toledo is a MUST see for Spain in my opinion.

1- as an overnight
2- Toledo
3- Barcelona and Granada
4- Barcelona. It’s further from the other listed places. If you cut Madrid you’d be cutting Toledo or Segovia. If you cut Sevilla you’d be cutting Córdoba.

Unfortunately you need to make some tough choices and those could partly be made for you depending on which airport you’re flying into.

We didn’t visit Barcelona until our third trip to Spain. During the first trips we focused on Madrid,Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada.
And one trip was just the Basque areas of Spain and France.
You shouldn’t try to see so much in your amount of time, rather focus on fewer places in more depth.
1. overnight
2. Segovia, order the suckling pig!!
3. Barcelona, save it for when you can give it enough time.
4. Barcelona. Look at a map and you’ll see why it makes sense to include Madrid and save Barcelona for your next trip to Spain.
Madrid is Spanish; Barcelona is Catalan. They are based on different cultures.
Madrid is so much more than museums!

Thank you everyone!!
Originally, didn't have Barcelona in this plan at all given where it is on the map, but after someone suggested it to me and I started looking it up more, it really piques our interest as a place to go. Figured we could do a flight there from the south (or vice versa) given it's distance.

Noted about Cordoba being best as an overnight. Will see if I can prioritize fitting it in that way.

My husband is SO interested in the suckling pig, it would be hard to omit this place (not just on that basis, but that adds to it haha). I did a quick preliminary search on trains to segovia on the date I think we would be there if we went, and it shows basically all trains sold out??? Is that right, or do they add more trains/seats as it gets closer? I find it hard to believe they are mostly sold out of trains 2 months in advance

Yes I know Madrid is more than just museums! haha was oversimplifying. But just generally if a lot of the main things to do there is that then it may not be the best place for us. I also am unsure if it will feel too "big city" to us. We enjoy the cities but also like nature and unique landscapes

How many nights can you spend in Spain? On short trips, every night matters. "10 days" could mean you're departing from the US/Canada on Day 1 and flying back home on Day 10. That would mean only 8 days in Spain, and the first day (Day 2) would be short and possibly severely compromised by sleep-deprivation and jetlag. In order to give you solid itinerary suggestions, we need to know exactly how much time you'll have in Spain. Otherwise, we're could lead you astray and send you off on a trip focused primarily on catching trains.

Seville and Cordoba can be quite hot in late May. That part of the trip will potentially be a lot more pleasant if you're going to travel early in the month. I see that the Patio Festival runs May 6 - May 19.

How would you feel about flying RT to Malaga and doing a circle of Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada? You could save Barcelona and the Madrid area for a second trip, or do Barcelona and a piece of France together and skip Madrid.

Purchase your tickets for the major sites ahead of time. We were just in Sevilla again a few weeks ago, and the entrance line for the Alcazar was huge.

Was thinking of flying May 1st (flights are overnight so would land the morning of May 2nd) and would fly home either May 10th or May 11th. So yes you're right that it would give me about 8 or 9 actual days to be in Spain. Sorry didn't give more specifics on that before, we are a little flexible and can add or subtract a day here or there, just don't want to take TOO much time off from work since we have a few other trips planned this year. Otherwise I'd be spending a month to properly visit Spain haha

Thanks Jean, interesting thoughts. I don't think we were as interested in Malaga, but just doing Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada is certainly an option too. Something to think about. Hard to cut out Barcelona and Madrid, but I know the cuts need to happens somewhere haha. Definitely noted on purchasing tickets in advance, thanks!

We just came back from a 10 day trip to Spain and had to make decisions ourselves. Debated regarding flying into Madrid etc. What we ended up doing is flying into Seville and out of Malaga. Malaga has a small airport close to the city center, so an easy airport to navigate. We spent time in Seville 5 nights with a day trip to Cordoba, Granada 3 nights, and Malaga 2 nights with a day trip to El Chorro to hike the El Caminito del Rey. It worked out nicely, so no regrets. We didn't want to do a hotel change for 1 night, thus why Cordoba was a day trip, but it's a nice enough place to add an overnight or two. I like Malaga, not as exciting as the other places, but that is part of its appeal with it's old town. It's a relaxing place to end the trip and fly out of its airport.

Thanks for sharing your itinerary that sounds like an amazing trip! I will look a little more into Malaga and see if that would work out better

Cochinillo, roast suckling pig, is served in many restaurants. In Madrid, Sobrino de Botín is a popular and pricey restaurant for that dish. Reservations made well in advance are needed.

In Segovia, Mesón de Cándido, is known for its suckling pig. It is located at the base of the aqueduct on Plaza del Azoguejo.

Thanks for the input on that, I’ll jot down those places!

After taking into consideration all these comments I did some soul searching and have come up with doing Madrid (with daytrips to Toledo and Segovia if we can fit both), Seville, and Cordoba. Please let me know what you think. We found great airfair roundtrip Madrid so will likely do that. Would rather Fly into Madrid and out of Seville (or vice versa) but prices and logistics didn't make sense (a lot more expensive and very long layovers). Please let me know which itinerary you think would be best logistically. Basically one is starting with the Madrid portion and the other is ending with it. Also the alternative is to not do any overnights in Cordoba and only treat it as a daytrip from Seville, however I think we'll be regretful not spending at least one evening there. I understand we are not giving Madrid proper time in the city on both itineraries by the way, but we are okay with having 1 full day for one or two main sites and then having the evenings there after the day trips. Unless people think that's not worth it, in which case maybe we'll take out one of the day trips.

Option 1

• Day 1: arrive from overnight flight into Madrid, enjoy Madrid for the day (we're aware we'll be jet lagged)
• Day 2: Day trip to Toledo, overnight Madrid
• Day 3: Day trip Segovia, overnight Madrid
• Day 4: morning train to Cordoba with an overnight
• Day 5: enjoy Cordoba during the day, take an evening train to Seville
• Day 6: Seville
• Day 7: Seville
• Day 8: Seville most of the day, evening train to Madrid for an overnight before flight the next morning
• Day 9: Fly home

Option 2:

• Day 1: arrive from overnight flight into Madrid, train straight to Cordoba
• Day 2: Cordoba overnight
• Day 3: Morning train to Seville
• Day 4: Seville
• Day 5: Seville
• Day 6: Madrid
• Day 7: Day trip to Toledo, overnight Madrid
• Day 8: Day trip to Segovia, overnight Madrid
• Day 9: Fly home

I like the idea of having the Madrid time at the end of the trip, and I appreciate the logic of using the jet-lagged arrival day to move on to one of your other destinations, but the arrival-day train to Cordoba is a bit dicey. It's difficult to know when you'll be ready to hop on that train (flight delays, luggage delays, Immigration delays), so the typical advice is to accept you'll be paying more and buy a ticket only after you land in Spain (and maybe after you've picked up your luggage). You can buy that ticket at the airport train station, where they'll make sure to sell you one that's timed properly. However, express trains on the Barcelona-Madrid-Cordoba-Seville line sometimes sell out. Occasionally I see several such trains in a row marked as "Full", so there's something of a risk there. You might arrive in Madrid in good time but have to wait multiple hours for a train that's not sold out. The fast trains require reserved seats, so they don't sell more tickets than there are seats on the trains.

Let's see what the other responders say.

Ahh I see the logistical issue there. Alternatively can just go straight to Seville and then do Cordoba as a day trip during our stay there one of the following days.. was trying to see if I could fit in the overnight but if logistics are too difficult we may pivot plans.

It's not really Cordoba that's the issue--it's going anywhere outside of Madrid on your arrival day that involves a train with seat reservations. Seville would potentially be worse, because Madrid-Seville rail fares can be very high due to the distance involved. You can save a lot of money by buying a Madrid-Seville ticket well ahead of time--another way of saying that buying such a ticket after you land in Spain will probably cost you a lot of extra money. And it's possible a bunch of trains in a row would be sold out.

Toledo is a good first-night destination because the rail fare to Toledo doesn't change. You won't be spending extra money if you buy that ticket at the Madrid airport. However:

• Trains to Toledo sometimes sell out (maybe more often than trains to Cordoba--I'm not sure). There is also bus service, but it takes a lot longer and requires you to get to the appropriate bus station.
• When you're ready to move on to Cordoba or Seville from Toledo, the trip starts with a train back to Madrid, because Toledo is at the end of a spur rail line with no connections to the south. The trip back to Madrid is fast, so this isn't really a significant impediment.

Everyone is different and has their own ideas and interests. I have to be honest and say that I couldn't go to Andalucia and omit Granada. But that's me. Why? The Alhambra is absolutely stunning! It's one of the most impressive sites I have seen anywhere. But your interests might be different from mine. I like Toledo but I would not give up Granada and the Alhambra for Toledo or Segovia.

Can you add an extra night so you will have 9 nights, so possibly something like this to include Granada:
Madrid - 1 night - get over jet lag and see a bit of Madrid
Cordoba - 2 nights
Granada - 2 nights
Seville - 3 nights
back to Madrid for 1 night

I know that some people do take the train to Cordoba right after landing in Madrid, so that is a possibility if the plane/train schedules work.

Obviously, this is your trip, so if it's more important to you to see Toledo and Segovia, by all means do so, and come back to Spain some day to see the Alhambra!

Thank you for the advice, I like your laid out plan a lot. I have to see if I can squeeze in an extra night, but if not, can maybe just not do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville in addition to Granada. Mostly just use Madrid as an overnight the day we land and the night before our flight out. Still get a small sense of the city but not use it at our primary base for half the week. I'll run that by my husband, but may end up doing something like this!

We travelled to Barcelona in February for business then added Sevilla and Granada. I agree with the other posts that Barcelona takes time to explore. We managed to see the highlights in 3 days and it was a good introduction. Yet not enough time to visit the museums and do a deep dive. Metro is easy to navigate and taxis plentiful. Barcelona is very expensive for accommodation. We found the Eixample area to be a great location. The Majestic Hotel is central and very lovely.
It was a challenge to plan the trip as I wanted to see everything however, it is a large country and it is not reasonable to fit in too many locations. I was pleased that we took time to relax and enjoy.
We really wanted to see the Real Alcazar in Sevilla and the Alhambra in Granada. We were not disappointed and would recommend both locations. In my opinion these are two outstanding historical locations not to be missed.
We flew from Barcelona to Sevilla (3 days); train to Granada (3 days); train back to Barcelona. Excellent train system and stations very easy to navigate.
In Sevilla we stayed in the Barrio Santa Cruz area. We were in walking distance of the cathedral and Alcazar, great restaurants etc. it is a very pretty place with lovely parks and plazas. The Alcazar was beautiful and the gardens were very lovely for a leisurely visit to relax and enjoy the orange trees and palms.
The Alhambra in Granada is beautiful. The palace of Charles V, Museum, Fort and Palacios Nazaries are close together with the Generalife Gardens a farther walking distance from the buildings. It takes a full day to enjoy. The remainder of the city can easily be seen in a day.
While in Granada we stayed in the Albayzin. It was a very steep climb and the cobblestone streets have very few handrails. We found it difficult to get a taxi in and out of that location. At one point we waited for two hours for a taxi to arrive. As we had an early train we opted to stay in a hotel in town for the last night.
Based on our overall experience I would recommend staying in town near the plaza Nueva. It is much more convenient for sightseeing, restaurants and shopping. The Catalonia Granada is a lovely hotel and close to the train station (10 minute walk) and to the heart of the city. Well priced, modern, comfortable, with a beautiful rooftop patio.
Do purchase entry tickets to both the Alcazar and Alhambra in advance on line. They have a timed entry. Use the official websites. They are strict about entry times. At both the alcazar and the Palace Nazaries they will not permit entry even 5 minutes before. And will refuse entry if you arrive late. I found it best to check at the top of the line where the ticket checkers are before deciding to join any line! Also, don’t forget your passport as they do check identifications.
We always find the hop on, hop off bus a great way to see the highlights of the cities we visit especially if we are short on time or simply need to get oriented.
The people of Spain are lovely and we found everyone we came in contact with to be helpful and friendly. Rick Steves “Best of Spain” was a very useful resource. Happy travels!

Wow thank you so much for your detailed report and insights! Sounds like an amazing trip! After a LOT of thought we’ve decided on 4 nights Sevilla and 4 nights Madrid, with day trips to Toledo, Segovia, and Cordoba. It pains us to not do Granada but we really didn’t want to travel 2-3 hours every 2-3 days. Felt like we’d really immerse ourselves better by having 2 home bases rather than 3. Appreciate the insight on locations of where to stay in the cities. I’ve been looking at different hotels all days trying to figure out the best places to stay.