Itinerary help Southern Spain/Madrid (8 nights)

My wife and I spent 11 nights in Southern Spain and Madrid in Sep 2023, flying into Sevilla from Lisbon. We stayed in the 3 cities you mention for the same # of days as you are considering. We were satisfied with the # nights we spent in each city, and would not have dropped nights in Granada to add time in either Sevilla or Madrid:

• Sevilla 3 nights
• Ronda 2 nights
• Granada 2 nights
• Cordoba 1 night
• Madrid 3 nights

Before nailing down Granada dates, if you plan to visit Alhambra you might want to ensure admission tickets are available.

Our trip report might be useful reference: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid

Hi Richard,

Here’s what we did in Spain when we saw each of those cities. We went back later and revisited Sevilla, and I will be back there, along with some other cities soon.

Be sure to purchase tickets on-line ahead of time for any of the major museums/sites.

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

You will get nearly as many opinions as answers. Ha!

I am not a city person, so for me, I’d be taking a night from Madrid and giving it to Granada.

Well, ok, I would probably also be taking a second night from Madrid and giving it to Seville…… But then, art isn’t my priority when short on time.

You will just have to go back. Ha!

GeoffB's itinerary looks good, but i would do one night in Ronda and two in Cordoba, as there is much more to see in Cordoba (and I think the bars/restaurants are better!).

I think your itinerary looks good as is. We did 4 nights Sevilla, 2 in Granada and 3 in Madrid and thought it was perfect, though I would have liked more time in Madrid. I wouldn't skip Granada but we found 2 nights sufficient.

You need to make time to see Toledo and Segovia on day trips from Madrid.
With only 8 days, I would stick to Granada 1 night, Sevilla 3 nights and Madrid 4 nights (day trips as well).

I disagree with cutting Granada to one night.

With eight nights, you can't see everything. It's a bit of a hassle to get to Granada; it's easy to return to Madrid, which has more than two worthwhile side trips. Two nights is really minimal for Granada. The Alhambra alone can take the better part of a day.

Sevilla (3 nights), train to Granada (2 nights) and then to Madrid (3 nights), can work ok. But,

I spent 4 nights in Seville, 2 nights in Granada, 2 nights in Cordoba, 5 nights Madrid.

With only 8 nights in Spain, maybe delete Madrid and just focus on Andalucia in Southern Spain. Cordoba has the Mesquita, and enough to occupy you for at least a day.

You might want to make a tentative list of the specific sites and museums you think you want to see, and then you will get a better idea of how many nights each place requires.

Rick Steves Guidebook is fine for your first time trip to Spain. When planning a second trip you might want to check the Rough Guide and/or the Lonely Planet Guide.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and suggestions! Also, Geoff and Jean, thanks for sharing your trip reports. Lots of valuable information!