Four nights in Barcelona, Madrid, or somewhere else?

Posted by jeff (Boston) on 07/17/26 09:57 PM

My cousin is getting married in Cadaques outside of Barcelona next June, and I'm trying to figure out where else I should go while I'm in Spain. The wedding is on a Thursday, so my plan is to fly out Friday night, arrive Saturday, spend 4 nights in Barcelona/Madrid/somewhere, then go to Cadaques on Wednesday before the wedding on Thursday, then spend Friday in Cadaques and fly home from BCN on Saturday.

Barcelona is the obvious option for those 4 nights since it's right there, but is Madrid or somewhere else a better option? My main interests are food and museums/churches/palaces.

Posted by valadelphia

07/18/26 02:45 PM

6933 posts

It’s not difficult to hop on a fast train from Madrid to BCN, so I’d pick whichever one that appeals the most to you.

Posted by Slate

Virginia

07/18/26 08:11 PM

878 posts

It would be great if you were able to take at least a few more days and do both, but if you can only go for a week, that will have to do. Many people love Barcelona; I’ve been there three times (and those trips were before its current problem with severe over tourism), and while I don’t hate it, it just never has really grabbed me. On the other hand I love Madrid. In terms of museums and palaces, far superior to Barcelona. Churches, Barcelona has the Sagrada Família, but personally I’m not a big Gaudi fan, and if you could make a daytrip from Madrid to Toledo, the cathedral there is very good. Food, I would say equal, Madrid does the tapas thing better IMO but Barcelona has that too, and you can eat well (or not so well) in either city. Barcelona is the obvious choice though given its proximity to your event and your very limited time. Madrid gets plenty of visitors to be sure but doesn’t have the problem of hordes of cruise ship passengers.

Posted by SD

Ardmore

07/21/26 12:22 AM

28 posts

I would go Barcelona since you’ll be nearby. You easily spend four days there and never bored . But I did like the museums in Madrid. The Prado is great. As is the Reina Sofia. Plus the Royal Palace is wonderful too. Still I think I’d stay in Barcelona.

Posted by mml

07/21/26 02:10 AM

771 posts

Suggest that you spend your time in Barcelona, plus perhaps Montserrat, and then go to Figueres for the Dali Theatre-Museum before heading to Cadaques.

Posted by Lane

Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico

07/21/26 03:38 AM

2369 posts

The Prado is generally ranked among the top 5 or 10 art museums in the world, so if museums are a big draw, I'd go to Madrid. The Reina Sofia and the Thyssen-Bornemisza are also excellent.

For food, I'd give a slight edge to Madrid over Barcelona, but there are certainly fine restaurants in both cities. Barcelona has the added attraction of some of the greatest food markets in all of Spain.

With Sagrada Familia and the Gothic Cathedral, Barcelona has the edge over Madrid for churches. But if you take an easy day trip to Toledo from Madrid, as has already been suggested, the Cathedral there is outstanding.

I didn't visit any palaces in either city, so I can't speak to that.

Day trips from either city can be very rewarding. In addition to Toledo, from Madrid you can get to Segovia easily. And El Escorial is magnificent. From Barcelona, Montserrat has already been mentioned; Girona and Sitges are also nearby.

I'd recommend you get a guidebook, read about both cities, and see which seems to have the most appeal.

Good luck deciding!