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Granada & Toledo - which way is better

Our family is visiting Spain in June/July for 10-12 days. Here is the list of cities that we want to visit

  • • Day 1: Arrive in Barcelona (and sleep) • Day 2: Barcelona • Day 3: Barcelona • Day 4: Barcelona Day 5: Early Train to Madrid • Day 6: Madrid • Day 7: Toledo Day Trip • Day 8: Madrid to Granada train • Day 9: Granada ( 2 nights) • Day 10: Seville • Day 11: Seville • Day 12: Seville - Córdoba Day Trip • Day 13: Seville & Fly home

Is the above itinerary possible? Also Granda and Toldo is it better to go from Barcelona or Madrid? Any events happening in summer? Any other suggestions or changes that I should make?

Thank you in advance.

Posted by
8455 posts

Great plan, but I think you have too many cities in your plan. Seville deserves more days. Also, you don't have much time in Madrid and didn't include Segovia, which is a great one to see.

Consider skipping Granada for this trip, since it is a bit far from your other cities.

Posted by
28447 posts

Trains from Barcelona heading for Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Granada all pass through Madrid.

Although treating Cordoba as a day trip saves you one hotel change, you will pass through Cordoba on the trip from Madrid to Granada and possibly also on the trip from Granada to Seville--assuming you travel by train.

If you are departing for the US/Canada on Day 13, it's unlikely you'll have any significant sightseeing time that day.

It will probably be very hot in Seville and Cordoba, and only somewhat less so in Granada, during the summer. Be sure you choose lodgings with reliable air conditioning. It could also be very hot in Madrid and Toledo.

Posted by
5 posts

Thank you for your advice.

Yes, we will be taking the train.

Lots of people recommend Granada that is why I included it.

@acraven - so you are saying to stop at Cordoba on our way to Madrid. Yes we will be traveling to US.

Posted by
28447 posts

I'm not saying you necessarily should do that, just that if you're taking a train between Madrid and Seville or Granada, you could do that. There are luggage lockers at the Cordoba bus station, which is very near the train station, but I've read on this forum that sometimes the lockers are full. Therefore, it would be essential to check online for other luggage-storage options; I believe at least some of them require pre-booking.

Posted by
81 posts

What does "family" mean?

Are you all active, healthy adults, able to do nonstop sightseeing multiple days in a row? If so, then you can probably accomplish your itinerary, but you will be frequently on the road, living out of a suitcase, and not really taking too much time to fully know a place or relax. If you have young children, I would break up the trip with perhaps a beach day or some other fun type of activities. Visitors of all ages should definitely see a flamenco show.

There is so much to see and do in all of these places that you need to decide on what are your priorities. For us, castles, cathedrals, historic sites, and museums always come first. Some people dislike the hotter weather of the South in the Summer, but it never really bothers me.

Is this your one and only trip to Spain? It seems you want to just create a checklist of places visited, which is okay, but I always say travelers should know WHY they want to go somewhere, and WHAT they want to see and do once they arrive! I think the reason people go to Granada is to mainly see the Alhambra, which is a gorgeous and famous historic site to visit. I especially love the gardens of the Generalife. No, I do not think you should necessarily skip it, since you are already in the South.

I would remove one day from Barcelona and add another in Madrid. The Royal Palace and the Prado are must-sees, as well as Guernica in the Museo Reina Sofia.

Are you trying to accomplish all this travel on public transportation? If so, you should start checking out train schedules, and map out the distance between places and the travel time required. Is budget an issue? Hotel prices can vary widely, so start doing some research there as well.

Finally, remember that nowadays many sites require advance reservations to visit, so it is not too soon to start planning in more detail what you will visit, and when to make the reservations.

¡Buen viaje!

Posted by
5 posts

@PhilaLady - thank you for the great information. After reading your post and doing some online research we decided to skip Granada for now. Family - 2 teens (15 & 17) all active. If you have a list of must-do things for Barcelona, Madrid, & Seville, can you let me know? This is our first time in Spain, my husband & I will go again but not kids. my daughter is starting her college so wont have a family vacation like this. Can you please see below and let me know if this is durable or if you have any other suggestions that teens will enjoy more? I really appreciate any help you can provide.

Here is what I have so far:
Barcelona (3 nights) :
Day 1 - Exploring the Gothic Quarter & A Walking Tour
Day 2 - Sagrada Familia & Barceloneta
Day 3 - Casa Vicens, Park Güell & Learning to Make Paella
Madrid( 4 nights) :
Day 1: A Walking Tour, the Royal Palace + Cathedral, and La Latina
Day 2: The Prado Museum, Parque El Retiro, and Malasaña
Day 3: Take a Day Trip to Toledo
Day 4: Madrid
Seville ( 4 nights) :
Day 1: Royal Alcázar of Seville
Day 2: Seville Cathedral, Plaza de España
Day 3: Seville

Thank you in advance.

Posted by
81 posts

Okay, I think your new itinerary is much less hectic, and will allow for limited travel movement and unpacking. I always recommend to get the suitcases in the hotel room ASAP so you have less worries about valuables while touring.

I think that you have done a lot of good research figuring out your day-to-day schedule, but always allow for flexibility (kids can get tired and/or sick). Remember to make your advance reservations for special sites like Sagrada Familia.

It is impossible to ever see and do it all, so compromises have to be made. Be content with your decisions.

The mixture of historic touring and fun activities that you have integrated overall should be great for the family--don't forget a flamenco show (in Sevilla)!

I am not an expert on teenage interests, but some things I have seen that teens enjoy would be --bicycle tours, golf cart tours, shopping, tapas tasting, churros and chocolate, sword-making in Toledo, etc. They should learn some simple Spanish phrases so they can practice with locals.

The most important thing is to make great family memories, take lots of photos, and enjoy!

¡Buen viaje!

Posted by
5 posts

@PhilaLady Thank you for all your help. I will add flamenco show for sure. Any other activities like this which is unique? also you mention shopping - which city shopping is better?

Thanks again.

Posted by
28447 posts

Something else you might do on your Gothic Quarter day in Barcelona is at least walk past the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It's another stunning modernista building, but by an architect not named "Gaudi". There are English-language tours offered of the interior, but you will already be seeing La Sagrada Familia and Casa Vicens.

Speaking of which: I am nuts about modernista architecture. I've seen a great deal of it, not just in Barcelona. I was a bit disappointed by the interior of Casa Vicens. It seemed much less interesting to me than Casa Mila/La Pedrera and Casa Batllo. The exterior of Casa Vicens is very eye-catching, but at the time of my 2019 visit, the interior was underwhelming. Perhaps they've done additional restoration work since then. If they haven't augmented what you can see, I wouldn't recommend Casa Vicens to someone with just a few days in Barcelona. Now, the walk from that area back down to the center of the city is a different matter; it takes you through an attractive, relatively non-touristy part of town.

I really liked the tour of the Gothic Quarter offered by the tourist office back in 2016. The tour groups were smaller than the so-called "free tour" groups (for which you must tip generously, because the guide has to pay the tour company several euros for each tour participant). I trust tours offered by tourist offices more, because those guides are paid outright; I count on them to provide accurate information rather than possibly spinning tall tales to try to generate better tips.

I also liked the tour of Madrid's historic center offered by the tourist office in that city.

I am not a shopper. You'll probably see a lot of interesting things in the normal course of your sightseeing. I'd think the larger cities (meaning not Toledo) would offer more options. There's a large department store, El Corte Ingles, right on Placa de Catalunya in Barcelona. That might be a decent place to try if you're in the area. The Barri Gotic probably has more quirky stuff.

Sightseeing tickets to purchase ahead of time--more because the ticket lines can be more than an hour long than because things are likely to totally sell out way ahead of time:

Barcelona: Buy your tickets for La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell before arriving in Barcelona. The tourist office's walking tour has a limited capacity. The English tours of the Palau de la Musica Catalana can sell out. I haven't heard that Casa Vicens is an issue at all. Casa Mila and Casa Batllo most definitely are. All the tickets I've mentioned are timed, by the way, which is a pain in the patootie. At some places you may be held at the door beyond your ticketed entry time as the door-minder waits for some people to leave. Don't forget to also allow for travel time from place and for meal breaks.

Madrid: You might run into a line-up at the ticket window for the Royal Palace or the Prado. The Royal Palace in particular seemed to me very popular with out-of-town Spaniards. It might be busier than average on holidays and weekends.

Seville: Lines for both the Alcazar and the Cathedral are very long, outdoors and uncovered. At the time of your trip Seville may very well see temperatures over 100F. You don't want to be standing out in the sun on days like that. You can get those tickets online. I know the Alcazar ticket is timed; I'm not sure about the Cathedral ticket.

Toledo: I think the busiest sight in Toledo is the Cathedral. I happened to run into a bit of a line there, but it was a religious-holiday weekend. That may have been unusual.

Keep in mind:

  • Spain eats late. Lunch--usually the big meal of the day--is about 2 PM to 4 PM. Dinner is equally late.

  • Barcelona has perhaps the world's most skilled pickpockets. Protect your valuables, including your smartphones. Be careful in at all your destinations, but especially so in Barcelona along the Ramblas and in the Gothic Quarter.

Posted by
4328 posts

We took a one hour Flamenco dance class in Seville. It was so much fun and our teacher was a young lady who was just serious enough to add to the fun. It was inexpensive.
Also, our food tour guide took us to a small bakery/cafe which was just around the corner from the churros and hot chocolate place Rick always recommends. So much better and very much less crowded. I can look at my notes if you are interested in either the cafe or the dance class. Let me know.

Posted by
433 posts

My suggestions would be to take a day from Madrid and add to Sevilla for a daytrip to Cordoba. The Mezquita is amazing! Madrid is less exciting, except for the incredible food (SDD2 is delicious and great fun). Would also recommend, in Sevilla, the rooftop tour of the cathedral and churros with chocolate at Bar El Comercio.

Posted by
5 posts

@PhilaLady, @acraven, @Barbara, and @mml - You have all been so helpful. Thank you so much.