[TRIP ON HOLD] Headed to Seville - is Madrid a Must?

Nothing is a "must."

Focus on enjoying and appreciating what you see, not worrying about what you will miss.

Thanks Lane.
:)

For me, the must see sites in Madrid are:

Palacio Real: the official residence of the Spanish royal family, this majestic palace features beautiful architecture, lavish interiors. Largest official royal palace in the world.

Museo del Prado: Home to one of the finest collections of European art, such as Velázquez, Goya, and El Greco, among many many others.

Santiago Bernabeu Stadium: Home to the famous Real Madrid football club.

If none of those speak to you I'd suggest spending time in Cordoba on the way to Sevilla. I think Cordoba will be right up your alley. Once the capital of the Islamic Caliphate in the Iberian Peninsula, Cordoba's most iconic landmark is the Mezquita, a stunning mosque-cathedral with striking red-and-white arches. Other notable attractions include the Alcazar, the Roman Bridge, and the historic Jewish Quarter, which features narrow, winding whitewashed streets and charming patios.

Regarding cool Roman ruins near Sevilla, just take the bus to the nearby ancient Roman city of Italica, the birthplace of Emperors Hadrian and Trajan.

Another poster had good tips for Madrid. Also, Madrid has the Prado Museum that is fantastic.

Further, Toledo and Segovia are a quick day trip by train and must see in my opinion.

Seville is special, don't miss it. Also, consider Cordoba about halfway between Madrid and Seville.

I'm one of the very few people on here that isn't a huge fan of Madrid. To me it feels like NYC in Spanish. I love most of the rest of Spain and have visited most every part of the country except the far north. Madrid doesn't have as much of the charm as the rest of Spain. Everyone has their preferences, and plenty of people love Madrid. You have to decide what is best for you and your style of travel. Seville and Andalusia have tons to visit, especially if you will have a car for at least some of your trip and can drive around the hill towns. Also consider easy places to get to on train such as Cordoba, Cadiz, Granada and Malaga.

I love Madrid (I prefer it to Barcelona, and would live there in a heartbeat) but I also live in NYC, so maybe that tracks with the post above ;)

But! Your trip is your own. If you don't like big cities, then you don't like big cities, and you shouldn't feel compelled to do anything you don't want to on vacation.

Madrid is nice, but, for me, other Spanish cities have much more charm. That said, there are a whole lot of great cities easily accessed from Madrid, like the mentioned Toledo and Segovia.

But vacations are only so long. When I develop my itineraries, I will often try to cluster cities that have a lot in common. Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada, to me, are a natural fit, work well together having similar histories. Sevilla and Cordoba were my favorite cities. I spent two nights in Cordoba and could have spent more. Also, between Sevilla and Granada are the white villages. They are just about the cutest little towns I've ever seen. We really liked Zahara, Grazelema and Sentinil. Others really like Ronda and Arcos

If you can fly into Sevilla for the same price, that would be easier. It would be easy to spend a month in western Andalucía and not see everything. The Roman ruins at Itálica just outside Sevilla are nice. Since you have a couple weeks in addition to the conference days, there are additional Roman ruins in Mérida a couple hours from Sevilla. Also in that area are Trujillo, Guadalupe, and Cáceres. Near Sevilla is Carmona, Córdoba, and the White Towns. There are plenty of smaller towns one could visit depending on how you’re getting around.

To the original question, if you return to Spain, Madrid is worth visiting. Since we’ve been to it so many times, we use it now to wind down after seeing other parts of the country. Yes, it is just a big city with some parts not as architecturally interesting as other cities, but it does have a number of interesting things to see. As already mentioned one can take some nice day trips from it.

We just spent five nights here (along with time in Malaga and Madrid). It was fabulous. We hiked and visited a few nearby towns. The pool looked very inviting but was still pretty cold. We had already visited Cordoba and Granada on a prior trip, but you could visit them from there as well. Of course, you’ll need a car, but driving in the area was pretty easy.

https://www.casaolea.com/

Wow! So many helpful ideas and suggestions!!!
THANK YOU ALL!

The Palacio Real and Museo del Prado do sound incredible. But if Madrid is anything like NYC then probably not worth it for us. (no disrespect to @Andrew. ;) We recently left L.A. for a slower pace of life.

But @jules M., @Bill and @jaimeelsabio posts really helped me decide that Madrid might not be the right fit for us on this trip. (But perhaps if we return, we'll visit then as was suggested.)

And really appreciate the recommendations for for Cordoba and Granada and the other Roman ruins, plus the "cutest" White Towns and all the other suggestions in the area around Sevilla. I'm not an especially seasoned traveler (though my husband is). But this is all so helpful and encouraging that I think it will be a wonderful trip.

It sounds like we could do 1 week with public transportation and 1 week with a car. (Since the work conference is in between the vacation travel, prefer to not have to rent twice.)

Also, what about the weather? Read that it can be really hot that time of year in Sevilla. Will it be comfortable enough during the day to enjoy visiting some of the places mentioned in the area around Sevilla?

And what about the language? I speak some basic spanish. But nothing fancy. And my husband doesn't at all. Do the out of the way places have people who speak some english? If they speak a little english I speak just enough spanish that it might work.

And @indyhiker - is this the place you stayed? https://www.casaolea.com/

Thanks again to EVERYONE!
So appreciate your generosity and wonderful ideas.
:)

Granada (altitude) should be a bit cooler than Seville and Cordoba, as should coastal Malaga. The trick for many places in Andalucia is to do as much sightseeing as possible early and late. I think you'll find that some sightseeing attractions are closed for a chunk of the afternoon. Take an air conditioned break somewhere during the hottest part of the day. That's obviously not so easy to do when you're out of town on a day trip, but having a car will help.

I don't believe you'll have a communication problem. A lot of the folks working in the hospitality industry speak some (or more than some) English.

thank you very much @acraven. Really helpful suggestions. :)

I will just second what Bill and jaimeelsabio said about Madrid. (Sitting in the airport now after 1 night here, a second time). It has things to see and very appealing parts - but not a real draw for me personally. Most of that is simply that it is a big city - and doesn’t have the compact “old” city center that other smaller towns do.

A wonderful trip is made up of choosing the places and sights that are right for YOU. And it sounds like you are on track to narrow that down! I love Andalusia!

In Madrid you shouldn't miss Cava Baja st. Located in the oldest part of the city, the street is a food and wine heaven. 42 bars to be more precise.

I wouldn't compare Madrid to NYC at all...except both do have massive urban parks to enjoy. I might have felt differently if I only stayed around the Plaza Major or Sol. My interests were the 3 famous art museums, which are all close together and near Atocha train station. Retiro Park is nearby, and there is even a used book seller's alley like Paris. I stayed in this area of the city in an apartment so wandered down the block for my birthday bakery fix, or the green grocer's for breakfast fruit. I did venture up to Plaza Major for their National Day celebrations and then the Palace. Another evening I walked up for a special exhibit. It takes about 15 minutes on foot. So, where you focus your attention and time may change an impression of a city.
Roman ruins in Sevilla......do you mean Anticca, outside the city?

Madrid? The Butcher's Retreat — and even he was never happy staying there — preferring to gad about pretending to catch fish, hunt boar and glad hand with the dimwitted in España profunda.

I think it is all about your personal preferences. What do you want to see? I spent two weeks just in Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, and Granada. I was much more interested in those sights. I'm sure Madrid is a worthwhile place to visit (we only flew out of there), but I was more interested in other places.

Make sure to get advance tickets. Pretty soon, I would think for the Alhambra. You also want advanced tickets to the Sevilla Alcazar, especially if you want to see the royal apartments. The cathedral in Sevilla is more manageable if you buy combined ticket with Church of the Savior. You would buy the ticket at Church of the Savior to avoid cathedral line. The Rick Steves guide explains.

Thank you to EVERYONE! You are so kind and helpful with all your suggestions.
And I think you are right, @Carol Now Retired and @Texas Travel Mom. We are probably more interested in the local sights and sounds around Sevilla.
And really appreciate the recommendation from @julesM to get tickets in advance.
Can't wait to go visit Sevilla and maybe even Madrid in the future.
:))

There’s plenty to do in Madrid, enough to justify a week or more, especially with day trips (Toledo, Segovia, Aranjuez, half day El Escorial). There are loads of worthwhile museums here, especially ones devoted to art, as well as historic houses, palaces, and churches, plus other assorted attractions. It’s well worth further research.

Yes I agree! plenty to do in Madrid AND Sevilla!
Both sound lovely but each in their own way.
Can't wait to go but we have decided to postpone our trip for now.
But hopefully SOON! :))