First Time. Please help with number of places to visit

People have mixed feelings about Madrid and seem to love Barcelona and Sevilla. I have been to Barcelona and loved it. Small towns close to Barcelona are Girona and Besalu. Girona is on my list of best places, ever! Besalu is a short bus ride from Girona. I'm going to Andalucia in a few weeks (in addition to Toledo and Segovia) I'm flying in and out of Madrid, because Madrid and Barcelona are pretty much the only cities I can fly to for a reasonable cost. I've done a lot of research and for me, I have a higher priority on other cities in Spain and will be spending very little time in Madrid. We have a hotel for two nights in Madrid and will use our day for a day trip to Segovia. You could easily spend your 11 days in the Barcelona area alone, especially if you wanted to visit small towns like Girona. Sevilla, to me, has more interesting history and culture than Madrid. You don't say what time of year. If I were to plan your trip, I think I'd do Sevilla and Barcelona and spend as little time in Madrid as possible. If you are going in summer, I wouldn't go to Sevilla, I would stay more in the north of Spain. It is often over 90F in Andalucia in the summer.

It's tricky but personally if you really think this would be your only visit (I know many sensibly say don't plan on that basis, but it is hard to avoid doing so), I would include one southern city as a nice contrast to the other two cities. Otherwise I'd do just Madrid and Barcelona with some day trips - saving Sevilla for a second visit focusing on Andalucia.

One option would be 4 nights in Barcelona (no day trips needed, but you might like Girona as a smaller city for a day). Then fly to Sevilla and stay 3 nights. Currently, there is a flight at around 7am, so if you were willing to get up early you would have most of that day in Sevilla plus the whole of the next two. That might then be enough time to include a half day trip to Cordoba to see the mezquita/catedral (there's much more to Cordoba but that's undoubtedly the "must see" in the city and province). Then take the high speed train from Sevilla to Madrid and stay 3 nights. Depending on your interest in Madrid you might consider leaving the capital and day tripping to Toledo. Views on Madrid's attractions vary - are you interested in art galleries and large, but dull royal palaces?

I've assumed 11 days in total means 10 nights. The above is a fast pace (faster than we usually manage), but is doable and not, I think, unfeasibly rushed. But what is your tourism style? How quickly do you like moving?

Please do specify the time of year and the exact number of nights you will be spending in Spain--not including the night on the plane.

I highly recommend that you watch Rick Steve's tv shows for Spain. You can watch them on this website or if that doesn't work for you, you can watch them on Amazon, digital. For me, watching the shows is a very easy way to get an idea where you'd like to travel. You also could go to your library and check out some travel guides. Additionally, the pueblos blancos are small towns in the mountains close to Sevilla, but I'd only consider going there if you restrict your travel to Sevilla and Barcelona at the very most.

When we did this trip last year, we flew into Madrid and out of Barcelona. From Madrid we took the train to Seville, and then took the train to Barcelona. We had 16 full days on the ground - not counting travel days. But if you have 11 days on the ground, not counting arrival and departure days, I think you can easily do both cities.

In Madrid, we took a day trip to Segovia and Pedraza. In Seville, we took a day trip to Jerez and Cadiz; and in BCN - we took day trips to Tarragona, Priorat Wine Country and Girona/Costa Brava.

If you're not into art, I would drop one day from Madrid and add it to Seville. Otherwise, I think 3 nights in each place is fine.

Thank you all for answering back!
We are flying next month on November 17. We have seen quite a bit of Europe, so like I said cathedral, art gallery, etc aren't high on our wish list this time. We don't like to check mark tourist spots, would rather see little but in a comfortable way and really enjoy the entire experience.
Is Toledo worth a day trip from Madrid? If not, I may add a day from Madrid to Seville.
We reach at about 6 pm to Barcelona. Is there anything worth seeing at night or do a leisurely walk somewhere?

Again, thank you all for your kind help!

Toledo is one of my favorite places, not just in Spain but in Europe. However, 3 nights is way too short for Barcelona. Won't you be sleep-deprived and jetlagged on your arrival day? I would count that as being only two days in a city that has tons to see. If you truly want to focus on smaller places, you could get on the train immediately and stay in the lovely Girona instead.

I haven't been to Seville recently (will be going next year), so I can't compare it to your other options. It is, however, a rather large city. Again, if you prefer smaller places, Cordoba might be more your cup of tea, and it is a shorter trip from Madrid.

"We have seen quite a bit of Europe, so like I said cathedral, art gallery, etc aren't high on our wish list this time."

Fair enough and I know how you feel. I have no great wish to go out of my way to see another giant gothic church. However, Cordoba's Catedral and Barcelona's Sagrada Familia are, I suspect, unlike any churches you've seen before.

Personally, if art galleries are not top of your list, then I'd limit the time in Madrid, take a day trip to Toledo and add a day to Sevilla with a white town visit.

We reach at about 6 pm to Barcelona. Is there anything worth seeing at night or do a leisurely walk somewhere?

6pm is not "at night", it's in the middle of the evening, plenty of places open. Actually "everything" is open.

What I meant was, after getting to the hotel from the airport, checking in and freshening up after an overnight flight, it could possibly be 7:30-8 pm. Can you please suggest if we can do anything interesting/vegetarian dinner in downtown area? I was thinking magic fountain, its not scheduled any of the days we are there. Thanks everyone for all your help!

Spaniards and Catalans tend to start dinner around 10 PM, so you will not have to skip dinner, that's for sure. There will be tons of people out on the streets. It will be too dark in November to fully appreciate building exteriors at that hour--at least that has been my experience after the sun has gone down at other times of the year.

One option for an activity other than dining or just walking around would be to attend a performance at the beautiful modernista Palau de la Musica Catalana.

"What I meant was, after getting to the hotel from the airport, checking in and freshening up after an overnight flight, it could possibly be 7:30-8 pm."

This comment is confusing to me. Where are you flying from that an overnight flight would put you in Barcelona so late in the day Barcelona time?

If you are indeed looking at being ready to get out and about around 19:30-20:00, you may be too early for dinner. Here's a link to what's eaten and when in Spain. And here's another one.