Granada or nada?

All good except I could not really get too excited about Madrid. It’s only 2.5 hours from Barcelona so I would spend a day and see museum. Seville is great and another 3 hours more. Stay near train station and take the cheap frequent buses. Day trip to Cadiz. Then maybe 3 hours to Granada. Then short trip to Cordoba. Then back to Barcelona in 5 hours.

I wouldn't day trip from Seville to Granada. The 2-1/2 hours (at least) on the train each way is just part of the travel time. First you must get to the train station in Seville, which probably won't be terribly close to where you're staying. Then, when you arrive in Granada, you're nowhere near the Alhambra and must take either a tram or a taxi over there. At the end of your sightseeing day you'll need to do those things again, in reverse.

Seeing the Alhambra can be nearly a full-day activity. Yes, you can rush a bit, but it's still going to take a lot of time, and what about lunch? I don't see that you'd have time to do anything other than the Alhambra.

Are you early risers? If you don't catch the 7:42 train or the 8:01 train, the next departure's at 9:43 AM, and it doesn't get you to Granada until 12:24 PM.

The last two relatively fast (less than 3 hours' travel time) trains back from Granada leave at 6:57 and 7:25 PM. You certainly wouldn't want to return on the 3:35 PM train. Even the 7:25 PM train would give you less than 6 hours of sightseeing time.

There are also ALSA buses connecting Seville and Granada. They take a more direct route than the trains, but they're scheduled to take 3 hours and could potentially suffer from traffic delays.

Whatever else you decide to do or not to do, I would urge you to see the Alhambra above any other experience in Spain. It's probably the single most important travel experience I've ever had.

I'm not as big an Alhambra fan as the previous poster but I wouldn't do a day trip from Seville to Granada. Give Granada at least one night, two would be better. Between the Alhambra and the cathedral and tombs and Moorish quarter you'd have a busy full day of sightseeing.

Shift a night to Granada from Madrid or Sevilla. Granada is fabulous.

Joining the chorus. Go to the Alhambra. Make it a fabulous experience by using Margarita for a private guided tour. Many on this forum can attest you will not be disappointed. [email protected]. Send her an email to check availability.

I am not the Seville fan that many (most? all?) that post here are. Personally, I would take a day from Seville and spend it in Granada. Alhambra, of course, but see if you are interested in other areas such as Sacromonte, old town, Royal Chapel, etc.

I found Seville very crowded and unpleasantly busy even during non-high season. Also, I don’t particularly enjoy cafe sitting and people watching- if you do, Seville may be more appealing. Not a criticism of anyone’s travel style or choices, just an observation.

I enjoy Madrid. Personal choice, others prefer Seville or Barcelona. Point is - look at some of the literature and weigh what you enjoy. Everyone is different.

To add another complication, can you visit Cordoba for the Mezquita, Jewish quarter and old town? Day trip from Seville or stop between Madrid and Seville. Unique mosque turned church.

As you can tell from the responses, everybody has differing opinions on how long to stay in each city and which is their favorite. If I wanted to reduce hotel moves based on your cities and the planned number of nights in each, I’d cut out Granada. In the end it’s a throw of the dice based on which sites you think will be of interest to you in each place.

Don't be misled about Madrid; it's a nice visit, with more than you can see in three nights. I'd reduce Seville to 3 nights, maybe including a daytrip to Carmona and Italica. But your schedule is not bad. Unless you have a personal interest in things like Art Nouveau, I think this board's infatuation with Barcelona is too strong. Granada has artistic, political, literary, and civil war history. It deserves two nights, not a rushed daytrip.

I agree that some people don't want to hit four major art museums in less than 4 days, but there are a lot of people who do enjoy all Madrid has to offer. (#4 is Real Academia de Bellas Artes, often overlooked.)

Have you glanced at Google Maps? You're talking about the width of an entire country, not a city bus ride to Granada!

Keep your days in Granada. There is so much to see and a smaller town than the others. Get a guide for the Alhambra. We did and it was the best thing we did.