If you had only 4 nights in Spain....

From Madrid look at Toledo, Segovia, Avila, Cuenca. Enjoy Spain, quite a contrast from Central Europe.

Given the short time (is it really four nights, seems more like three from your "four days later") and need to fly from Budapest, plus get to Madrid airport on day four, I wouldn't stray far from Madrid. Toledo is the obvious choice and will be in every guide-book.

Consider Alcalá de Henares which is attractive to just wander around and has some specific sights. I believe there is a direct bus between the town and the airport avoiding the need to change in Madrid city, which is needed for many other towns (such as Toledo?), unless you book a car transfer. Alcala also has the "free" proper tapas tradition.

I wouldn't worry about not being proficient in Spanish. I'm fairly hopeless at it, but still manage to survive. Anyway, Alcala is a university town, so plenty of locals speak English, including students working in cafes and bars.

Toledo would be my choice as well. Magnificent small city.
And if after 2 days, you want to see something else, you can still make a very easy day trip to Madrid. 30-45 minutes by train

I would not avoid Sevilla because of the Féria; I would go! Especially if you or your mom loves horses. We went in 2011 and did not find the city particularly crowded. We had a hotel near the Cathedral and walked to the fairgrounds from there during the afternoon. In the evening we stayed in the city and wandered the old town area when most people were at the Féria. We did not go into any tents but really enjoyed the parade of horses and carriages through the grounds.

We were able to get discounted tickets on the AVE train for around 33€ each way. But hotels are definitely more expensive during the Féria.

If you prefer not to do that, I will also recommend Toledo. We spent two nights there and walked all over. The town is crowded with daytrippers during the day but peaceful at night.

Toledo, Segovia, and Cuenca are all nice, but not 4 days nice. If you chose Segovia you could do a day trip to San Lorenzo del Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen if so inclined. If you didn’t want to take any day trips, then Toledo would be my preference. While Sevilla would be great, you’d be using some of you limited time traveling to, and from, it. In my opinion, Avila is only worth a few hours at most.

Because you want to stick close to Madrid, my immediate favorite would be Toledo. It is a wonderful city for strolling and exploring. Wandering its narrow alleyways in the evenings is especially beautiful. The cathedral in Toledo is my favorite in all of Spain. Check out the different gates into the city. You can easily take the high speed train and be there in less than half an hour. As a daytrip from Toledo you can hop a bus to the small town of Consuegra and visit the windmills standing guard over the plains and imagine Don Quijote de la Mancha bravely ready to fight the giants. If Toledo seems too big for you then the previous suggestion of Alcala de Henares would fit the bill. Far fewer tourists there than in either Toledo or Segovia. Segovia would also be a good choice but again more touristy.

Although I like Sevilla very much and I would love to go there for the feria, I agree with the decision you made to skip it this time based on your preference for low key, stress free activities and limited time. The feria will be very crowded.

Another vote for Toledo. We stayed two nights at Hotel Pintor El Greco which I think you would like because it was on a quiet street but still handy to everything. Their breakfast options were wonderful.

I have been to all the suggested places and support them--except Avila. It is, indeed, suitable for only a brief visit.

Be aware that Cuenca and Toledo are both hilly. Alcala de Henares is basically flat, as I recall, and Segovia isn't bad though I believe there is an uphill walk from the bus and/or train station to the historic center.

Toledo would be my top choice. As of 2016 it had a package deal on 6 or 7 second-tier sights that I really loved. The cost at the time was probably around 20 euros, and you got a paper bracelet that you could keep on your wrist for at least two days (despite showering) if you were just a bit careful. The bracelet was good for entry to the sights as long as it was on your wrist. Many of the sights included a short bilingual tour, typically offered twice a day, so it really did take more than a day to get to all of them. Toledo is really lovely. It will be busy/very touristy along the path between Zocodover Square and the cathedral, but just a bit off that path will be a different story.

If you choose Alcala de Henares and for some reason don't want to go straight to and from the airport, there is extremely frequent train service from Atocha Station on what I guess is a commuter line. It's frequent even on Sundays.

I liked Sevilla a lot, but its Spain's 4th largest city. That said, we didn't feel like we were in a big city. Our hotel was in the Jewish quarter close to the Alcazar which is a pretty amazing place to visit.

Close to Madrid, my ideas would be Segovia, Toledo and Cordoba. So if you want a taste of Andalusia, you could take a train ride from Madrid(I think about 2 1/2 hours) and spend your time in Cordoba. The Mezquita is amazing and the Jewish quarter where the Mezquita is located is quaint with the prettiest white homes with blue trim and courtyards/patios with lots of flowers. The only thing might be that it is starting to get warm that time of year so I would check typical weather for Cordoba.

I was just at Segovia and I thought the 1st century aqueduct was beyond incredible and the town is very quaint. The Plaza Mayor by the cathedral is a great place to people watch and I toured the Alcazar which was interesting but I enjoyed it very much for the views of the countryside from that area. But I'd be hard pressed to spend 3 days in Segovia. I'm not sure if its possible, but if you like the idea of staying in Segovia, you could look into train or bus service to Avila for a day trip. I didn't go to Avila, I would have liked to.

I also liked Toledo, tho I did think Segovia was "prettier and quainter". Toledo would be a good place if you enjoy the art of El Greco. I believe there were like 13 in the cathedral! There were other works by great artists, as well. Of course, the cathedral is beautiful and interesting by itself. We climbed to the top of the bell tower for great views of both Toledo and the cathedral. We also hired a taxi to drive us outside the city, across the river to get some views of Toledo up on the hill. Toledo also has a pretty amazing train station. I didn't do any research but it seemed to be a blend of mudejar and modernista architecture.

But, I'd be hard pressed to spend three days in Toledo, too. You said you don't enjoy large cities, but it would be pretty easy to stay in the old part of Madrid on the Puerta del sol and take day trips to Toledo and Segovia. Also within walking distance of Puerta del sol is the royal palace. I walked there one evening to see the exterior. It was quite pretty and all lit up.

All in all, if I were to have a vote (which of course I don't) I'd go to Cordoba and perhaps stop for a day in Toledo on the way back to Madrid.

In terms of food and wine, we had great meals and really good and inexpensive wines in Cordoba, Sevilla, Segovia and Toledo, so you won't have any problems there!

I would do the following...(although you need to be much more clear and honest about exactly how much time you have)...

On your day of arrival from Budapest, head for Toledo, arriving in the early- to mid-afternoon (right when the crowds of tourists start to drain away). Check in to your hotel in the old center, and enjoy the town in late afternoon and into the evening, when it's relatively empty and most magical. Spend the night there. Get up early, enjoy a few more hours in Toledo before the day-trippers roll in and wreck the atmosphere. Rent a car there, and depart around 11 am.

Drive to Avila. Spend a couple hours (as long/short as you like) checking out the town's massive walls (and try to remember every movie you've seen that was filmed there). When you've had enough of that (there's not too much more to Avila but the walls are impressive), back in the car, drive on to Segovia, arriving mid- to late afternoon. Drop the car there, check into your hotel in the old center. Enjoy the late afternoon and evening seeing the sights. Sleep there. Next morning get up early, check out of your hotel (but leave your bags there), spend most of the day exploring Segovia. Then, late afternoon, grab your bags, head for the train station, hop on the train for Madrid. Arrive Madrid, head for your hotel, check in, go out and explore a bit of Madrid.

This is easily and comfortably doable in 3 days. You don't need to speak any more Spanish than "Gracias" and "Por favor", you're on the major tourist path, everyone you encounter will speak enough English for all your needs.

In my opinion (and I do.not.like.El.Greco) there is plenty to see in Toledo to fill two full days (3 nights), and I think 3 full days would be fine for me as well. I'd definitely prefer a third day in Toledo to a few hours in Avila, given the hassle of getting there from Toledo.

I found Segovia easy to wander around in; there's more there than just the Aqueduct. However, it doesn't have as many sights as Toledo. I spent 3 nights in Segovia but took a day-trip, so I had a bit over a day for Segovia itself, and mostly just strolled.

Another vote for Toledo. Sounds like just what you are looking for.

I wouldn’t be bored with three days there, but if you were, as Claude C. suggests, just do a day trip to Madrid. Easy 30-minute train ride.

However, if you really want to go to Sevilla, then you can absolutely make it happen. It will just mean more train time getting there and back to Madrid.

We were there last April for the Féria (not my first trip to Sevilla), and I didn’t find it any more crowded in the Centro than other visits — I assume the extra crowds are at the Fair itself (which you should definitely visit if you decide to go). Lodging prices were very much higher than standard April rates, so check those out before you commit.

But I like Toledo more than Sevilla and would choose to go there if I were in your place.

If you do go to Toledo, I highly recommend El Trebol, for great tapas, open faced sandwiches and a great variety of inexpensive wines. We went there for dinner and again the next day for a small snack before we left town. It is at Calle Santa Fe 1, just off Plaza Zocodover. I also recommend seeing el Greco's painting at the Church of Santo Tome'. I'm not a huge fan of Spanish artists or el Greco, but this painting is one of his finest, if not the finest of his work, and it is a very interesting painting to look at. We stayed a bit south (?maybe?) of the cathedral and it was a quiet, interesting area to be in over a busier area like Zocodover.

A city is only as big as the neighbourhood you choose to stay in. Having said that I would stay in Madrid for 4 nights, in La Latina or Lavapies, near the Atocha Station. Take a day to Toledo, a day to Segovia and a day in Madrid itself. This is old Madrid, far from frantic chaos of Paseo Castellana.

Without hesitation, I would go to Cordoba. There is a patio festival, but it's low key so prices and crowds shouldn't be too bad. You can easily day trip by train to Sevilla to see Feria. There are a number of interesting sights in Cordoba besides the amazing Mezquita, it's more walkable than Toledo because it's flat, while Toledo is San-Francisco-hilly. Also Toledo gets floods of day-trippers from Madrid, not so with Cordoba.

Chani makes a good point about Toledo. Not only is it on a huge hill, but on top of the hill (where the old town is) is also very hilly. Cordoba is very flat. I just personally think that you have enough time to get to Cordoba and to make it a very nice trip covering a lot of the different sites, and I would LOVE to be in town for the patio festival.

Another voice speaking out for Cordoba, a lovely city, with various sites, highlighted by the unique and magnificent Mesquita. I walked everywhere, except to and from the train station. Relatively flat, diverse types of good food, including gelato! I found the Patio Festival to be very pleasant, but not really extraordinary. I stayed in a lovely small apartment at “Mi Casa en Cordoba”, a converted residence very near the Mesquita.

Toledo is the best of the bunch, most to see and do, great food (way better than Madrid) and lots of medieval twisty roads to explore - plus it's handy by train from Madrid, which is rare in Spain.

I like Segovia too, It's nice having an aqueduct, castle, cathedral and town all in walking distance. There's also a Templar church just outside of town, probably a little far for walking distance. I went with a car and it seems like the best option (possibly a bus?).

Avila has a great wall but inside town is just okay. I liked how the Cathedral is built into the wall.

I didn't visit Cuenca but later found out more about it and wished I had. Again a bus is probably the best bet to get there.

Also convenient by train, but a little further, is Cordoba. The old quarter and Mesquita is pretty great. Cordoba adds a Moorish flavor while Toledo has more of a classic Spanish feel.

All things considered though, Toledo fits the bill better than anywhere else.