Itinerary help! 2 weeks in Spain. Starting in Madrid...

Hi,
When will the trip take place?
Also, planning tip: count the nights you spend in each place, not the days.

The outline of the trip is good, but in your time frame I would skip Valencia, and I would prioritize Granada over Málaga anytime. You would then fly Granada to Barcelona (train also possible, but takes longer). In Granada, the Alhambra requires prior booking, well in advance.

Hi balso!

We will be there in late October. Thank you for the suggestions! Any particular reason you would skip Valencia?

Check the travel time from Granada to Valencia. the two are not well connected.

this is a fast paced trip. Valencia is not as important historically as the other cities. Definitely visit Granada instead of Malaga, although we liked Malaga. Granada is historically very important with the amazing Alhambra.

If you can, I would spend 3 nights in Seville. 4 nights would be better. Seville is a beautiful city with many important sites.

Barcelona is a large city and very crowded. You should probably by tickets in advance for the Gaudi sites. I think you need a minimum of 4 nights in Barcelona.

I agree you should plan your trip counting nights, not days. Two nights in one place typically gives you one full day for sightseeing and only half a day or less on arrival day and departure day.

So how many nights do you have on this trip?

Choosing between Malaga and Granada - Malaga has more variety of sights, has a more attractive city centre, better food and is at the seaside. However, Granada has the Alhambra and Albaicin which are better than any of Malaga's individual attractions by far. So I'd pick Granada. Actually, I'd do both, but that might not be realistic for your available time.

Valencia is delightful. Some feel it is a more relaxing (less crowded) version of Barcelona. But it doesn't have Barcelona's top sights and, I think, is more a city to reserve for your second visit. It is also, as already mentioned, inconvenient to get to from Granada. But, it is more convenient from Sevilla, so if Valencia is a "must" perhaps reverse part of your trip to go Madrid - Granada -Sevilla - Valencia.

Personally, I think you're trying to cram too many cities into the time and not considering the journey times. Which is another reason to drop Valencia this holiday.

I'm not sure of your interests, but I'd suggest 3 nights in Madrid, with Toledo day-trip, then railway to Cordoba for 1 night, then railway to Sevilla for 4 night (with day-trip to Cadiz or Jerez or a hill town such as Carmona), followed by rail or coach to Granada for 2 nights and finally fly to Barcelona for 3 nights. Which is 13 nights, or two weeks.

I like what Nick has laid out except that I think it will leave you seriously short on time in Barcelona--a city with many, many sights requiring pre-booked, timed tickets, which makes for less than optimal sightseeing efficiency. I suggest that you read about the sights in Barcelona.ASAP and see what you think.

I suspect it's going to be difficult to buy regular admission tickets to the Alhambra at this.point, but you might score Dobla de Oro tickets or a Granada Card with admission to the Nasrid Palaces during your timeframe. Sometimes ones hotel can supply tickets.

I agree with the other comments about Malaga and Valencia: They are perfectly nice places, but Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Toledo and Barcelona outrank them (considerably) in my view, and you aren't going to have time to do justice to all the top destinations as it is. You'll love Spain and will want to return. Leave something for Trip 2.

The reasons I suggested to drop Valencia are logistics as mentioned by the others, and a lack of "blockbuster" sights compared to the other places on your list.