If You Had to Pick: Barcelona vs. Madrid

Hi Steve...

That's frankly easy: because Barcelona is the best city in the world, ha! But again, you'll probably say I'm biased.

Just wanted to say feel free to ask whatever you need re:Barcelona, in the meantime, even if out of curiosity....

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/
http://www.infocatalonia.eu/
http://www.timeout.com/barcelona
http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en
http://www.barcelonaesmoltmes.cat/en/inici
http://patrimoni.gencat.cat/en/discover/search

PS. Thus, maybe your wife and I can show you the Light... and the path of Righteousness... and then you realize how wrong you were to even doubt this, LOL!

For art museums, Madrid is hard to beat, from the exceptional Prado, to the Reina Sophia and Picasso's Guerinca, to the surprisingly fabulous Thyssen-Bornemisza. For a large, capitol city, you're right, the downtown area feels compact and intimate, and exudes a significant vibe.

In Barcelona, Gaudi's cathedral, even though still under construction and fraction of it's eventual scale, is truly impressive. And we've had some of our most fantastic meals in that city. It's also a lot closer to the sea than Madrid, for what that's worth, but here in Colorado we're a long way from the ocean, too.

You could offer a similar question about Andalusia -- what's better, Sevilla or Granada? Impossible to answer, all are great in their own ways, and Spain (and the world) are better off because of each of them.

Interesting question, especially in light of the fact we just returned from both those cities last week! I loved visiting Barcelona and enjoyed every minute of the 5 days we spent there. The architecture is fab, the beaches were great, we had awesome meals, Barri Gotic was intriguing etc etc. But would I go back? No. I feel like I saw and enjoyed everything I needed to see and enjoy. I felt like we were surrounded by tourists everywhere we went, even in the Eixample area where we stayed. Yes, I realize we were some of the tourists. It was our 2nd trip to Madrid however and we didn't have an agenda, other than a soccer match we attended. We day tripped to El Escorial and Vaille de los Caidos, spent most of a day in Retiro Park, window shopped, hung out in Mercado San Miguel, rode the city bus around and got off where things looked interesting. Other than San Miguel, which had tons of tourists, we felt like we were locals, especially in La Latina neighbourhood in which we stayed. We got to see a side of the city we missed on our previous trip. I would return there tomorrow, if there weren't so many other places to visit on my list!

For me personally it would be Barcelona. I enjoy the contrast of the gothic quarter (and other old neighborhoods) with twisty narrow streets combined with the modernista architecture nearby. And the presence of the sea is always welcome!

I like Madrid, and the art museums are some of the best in the world. But it's a "newer" city and just not as interesting to wander around. It has a little bit less of a sense-of-place to me - I don't get an only-in-Madrid uniqueness there like I do for many other cities.

My wife and I just returned from a RS tour that included both Barcelona and Madrid. Coincidentally we discussed this very question with our travel group and it came back about 55/45 in favor of Madrid. It is somewhat like flipping a coin because either way it lands it is still a coin. The museums might be a little stronger in Madrid with the Prado, Sophia, and Thyseen (sic) edging out the Museum of Catalonia Art, the Joan Miro, and the Picasso museum in Barcelona. Madrid seemed cleaner at the street level with less graffiti and more stately architecture, and has the Royal Palace --but Barcelona has Las Ramblas, the Barrio Gotic and of course all the Gaudi sites. Barcelona has one differentiator that Madrid lacks -- the beach strip called Barceloneta. I have to admit i enjoyed dipping my toes in the sea and having a drink at one of the many waterfront cantinas on the strip. Barcelona seems to favor a younger and more hipster demographic with Madrid having more suited white collar professionals. Our tour director was about half the age of the average tour customer and she loves Barcelona and likes Madrid.

Completely different cities with different atmospheres, so neither is better, just different. Since I've been to Madrid about 8 times and Barcelona only once, I'd like to spend more time in Barcelona.

Just got back from both and not sure what I prefer. I wasn't looking that excited about going back to Madrid, and now I realize how much I liked it.

Speaking of graffiti in Barcelona, we did a street art tour there and realized how much true art exists in the 'graffiti'. It was a great tour. People from all over the world go to Barcelona to do street art.

One gets this all over...

Sydney vs Melbourne
San Francisco vs New York
Toronto vs Vancouver
Rome vs Milan
Berlin vs Munich
Tokyo vs Osaka
Rio vs São Paulo
Delhi vs Mumbai
Beijing vs Shanghai

Don't compare, just enjoy both.

Hi David - I'm not sure if it's a Brisbane thing, or my limited American view of things, but although I can understand the other pairings in your list, I've never thought of San Francisco and New York City as being cities that anyone would pair together, pr contrast for travel considerations. Maybe for football or baseball fans, or some other sporting event, but not travel. I do agree, though, that every place has its merits on some level, and travelers can enjoy it without needing to detract from another place.

Not to overcomplicate things here, but just to be clear - I posed this original question by stating clearly I loved both places. I see no harm in asking the question about others and their preferences. I had my own thoughts, and was interested in those from others. It's fun to talk about travel including what others enjoyed, as I did, about two wonderful cities to visit.

When you ask for opinions on 2 places you inevitably get comparisons.

Cyn,
I'm not pointing to cities that are natural rivals, but cities that are equally popular for visitors in their own right (rather than with casinos / theme parks). Substitute DC for SF if it bothers you. Lol.