How much time in Madrid and Seville?

To me, Madrid "deserves" anything between 1.5-3 full days (ie 2-4 nights) depending on your interest in the museums there. You then need to factor in the day trips you would like to make, such as Toledo, Segovia or Cuenca, and add nights accordingly.

For Madrid, if you want to visit the museums I feel 4 full days is sufficient to see the main sights and get a feel for the city. For Sevilla, 3 full days should be sufficient. If you intend on taking any day trips, that time would need to be added. As is often the case, it really depends on what you want to see and how busy or relaxed you want the visit to be.

We were in Spain in November and spent 4 nights in both Madrid and Seville. That was perfect for us but we like to settle into a place for a few days. If time were limited, I'd spend 3 nights in Seville and 4 in Madrid.

I agree with the other posts. When I last visited Seville, I only allowed 2 days and I regret that I didn’t at least add one extra day from the trip. 3-4 days in Madrid is sufficient, 4 if you want to make a day trip to either Toledo or Segovia.

Madrid
The old town main tourist zone of Madrid is relatively small so your interests are key to defining time spent within Madrid. If you are HUGE into museums then take a deep dive into best times to visit museums and how to purchase online tickets to avoid lines. If not then consider the following:

https://www.museodelprado.es/en
The monster of museums where you should determine what you value seeing most. We chose to spend a couple of hours within the museum (we are NOT museum fans) and then took the short walk over to Retiro Park to enjoy a great walk and picnic.
https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/parque-del-retiro#
We exited the park at the SW corner and strolled into the Atocha train station cus it is an architectural wonder inside and out.
https://www.patrimonionacional.es/en/visita/royal-palace-madrid
The Royal Palace was a great way to spend a half day and you should keep your eye out for public events held on the Palace Grounds. Be sure and book your entry times.
Just east of the Palace is Casa de Campo park offering a number of interesting sites, activities and eating experiences.
Standing in Plaza Mayor we encourage you to walk through the South Gate and several hundred yards to gain a taste of local life (this is where we rent an apartment).
Do research restaurants as Madrid offers a number of excellent experiences and too many tourist experiences. We are NOT foodies, but found great places to eat just outside the tourist zone.
If you are traveling through Atocha Train station then take the time to explore the station. A great experience.

We did Madrid in three days which felt "right", but in hindsight wish we had used the third day for a trip to Toledo. There are several worthy day trips to be considered from Madrid. For us Plaza Mayor offered an interesting experience and Plaza Sol was Times Square. Public transport is great.

Seville
Minimum four days cus it is a rich vast menu where the edges of tourism blends into the city. We loved walking this destination and the evenings blended into the next day.
Spain enjoyment Time Tip: consider the "next day" as starting at 10 p.m. with dinner being breakfast. Slow down and stroll. Visiting during the heat of summer? Then adopt the siesta and get your meat out of the mid-day heat. Don't try and roast yourselves among the sweat inducing oven of the tourist crowds. Stay hydrated starting the day before and invest in water. BTW: local water is fine, keep refilling your water bottle. Seville in summer is a great place to invest in a hotel offering a roof swimming pool.

http://www.hotelamadeussevilla.com/en/home/
Hotel Amadeus is our favorite and, to us, worth the investment.

Enjoy your journey by taking the time to "BE in the moment" in lieu of "SEEING the site".

You need three nights in Madrid to allow time to tour the Royal Palace, Prado Museum and see Picasso’s Guernica at the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. If you add a day trip to Toledo which I highly recommend, make it four nights.
For Sevilla a minimum of two nights.

Hi Catherine,

Here’s my trip report when we visited Spain. It has the number of nights at each location and what we did during those days. Hope that helps!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/1st-time-to-spain-trip-report

We spent 4 nights in Madrid (without day trips) and 4 nights in Seville (without day trips), and that is the minimum I would recommend based on our experience.

Are you planning on visiting Granada and Cordoba? They are both lovely cities, and the highlights of course are the Alhambra (Granada) and Mezquita (Cordoba), and each city has other interesting sites as well. Personally, I wouldn't go to Andalucia and not visit Granada and Cordoba. Can you fit them into your itinerary?