Looking for a possible alternative for a second base location rather than Madrid?

If you want a smaller city with day-trip options you might consider Antequera. It has some sights of its own (dolmens and castle for example), to fill a day or two, plus an attractive old quarter for evenings' paseo and eating. But its central location makes it suitable for day-trips by car or public transport to Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, Sevilla and Malaga - plus, with a car, smaller towns and villages.

An alternative would be Sevilla which is Spain's best city. It is, however, a larger city - though much less populous than Madrid or Barcelona. That means there are at least three full days of sights in the city, plus several day-trip options such as Cordoba, Jerez dlF and, our new favourite, wonderful Carmona.

Sevilla is an amazing mid-size city with a very relax atmosphere. Lots of history, fantastic architecture, food, culture, flamenco. And as pointed out, easy to go anywhere from there
Cordoba, even Toledo by train, The white washed villages by car between Arcos and Ronda, Granada to see the Alhambra, Cadiz, etc.
That would be my personal choice

Thanks Nick and Claude - you both agree on Seville, so that's what we'll do. So glad I'm off the Madrid idea - I prefer a more relaxed area and we are way too old to enjoy the bar scene, etc. By the way, is a week enough in Seville or is 10 days better? We have time but don't want to regret staying too long for no reason.

I would second Seville as an option. However, Madrid is not a bad choice either. The down side is that it will be colder than Seville and a day trip to Segovia is lovely but in the mountains so 'brisk' weather. I stayed in Madrid by Atocha train station for 5 nights after 2 nights in Toledo and didn't get the feeling of big city or too touristy. I went in November, so off season like March. I spend a lot of time in museums, so the location worked for the big 3. I also enjoyed the parks and Botanical Garden nearby. I find renting an apartment reduces the touristy feeling of always having to eat out or be surrounded by other travelers. I admit not everyone loves Madrid, but I think location matters. For mr, green space is important, thus my choice of locale. A walk to the central plaza was 18 mi utes, same time as the bus took. A little further to the Royal Palace. Central town is congested and 'city', but old city, so is 'character' in my mind. It is certainly not Toronto, NYC or Chicago, but to me feels like Ottawa, Victoria or Halifax. ...without the highrises.
Many people go to Toledo as a day trip, but so many day trips benefit from several nights. I appreciate the advantage of not having to repack, but with careful choice of location near transport, or packing light and efficiently, there is a rich reward having these smaller towns to yourself at off hours.
Edit. I cannot agree to some of the suggestions above. Toledo is not a day trip from Seville, nor is Granada. Adding more days to Seville is not the answer. If you have more days, choose a 3rd city.

While Sevilla is not my favorite place in Spain (that would be Granada), I agree that it is a great place to base yourself for a week and plan some day trips. Cordoba, Jerez, Cadiz, and other destinations mentioned above would be easy to get to.

However, I also agree with Maria; Granada would not be a good day trip from Sevilla. It’s about a 3 hour train or bus ride each way. If you have days to add, relocate and spend the entire time in Granada. Relax, settle in, see the Alhambra, and explore the rest of the town at a leisurely, Andalusian pace — you won’t regret it!

(Or stay in Toledo or Cordoba — both would be really nice for an additional few days)

I also prefer Granada, so here is my suggestion. Fly Barcelona to Granada. 3-4 nights Granada. Bus to Seville for 6 nights or as much as you can give it. Some people say 2 nights is enough for Granada but they only see the Alhambra. There is more to see than that and it just lends itself to 'spending time'.

Thanks for the idea of adding Granada - I will definitely think about that. Keep the wonderful ideas coming - I appreciate the expert advice as I'm just in the beginning stages of planning. It's almost my favorite part of traveling - the research and advice from experts.

Maria is right and I went to fast when writing Toledo as a day trip. I didn’t notice it wasn’t on the same train ride.
I went twice in the region. One strickly by car slowly going from the Madrid region for 2-3 days and then slowly doing andalucia on a 14 day andalucia visit, sleeping 3 days here, 2 days there, etc.
This summer, doing northern spain, we decided we loved toledo and sevilla so much, we decided to go back to both. We did toledo by train from Madrid, a short 35-40 minute ride, and went to sevilla from madrid for a 3 night stay by train as well. 2 hours and 30 ride if i remember.
If you could stay in 2 different spots, it would indeed by ideal.
Maybe sevilla for 4 nights, using a day to do Cordoba
And going to Granada after.
Or even better, 3 nights in Madrid, try to see toledo as well, 4 in sevilla and 3 in Granada?
Thanks again to Maria as a fellow canadian for putting me back on track and adding some precisions. :-)
Claude

I agree that Toledo isn't really practical as a day trip from Sevilla. However, Granada is on the cusp of being possible if going by car (or an organised tourist coach trip). It would be a longish day and mainly focused on the Alhambra rather than the rest of the city's sights. However, given the perfection of the Alhambra, the long day might be worthwhile if you don't expect to return any time soon.

I also agree that Granada is brilliant and worth several days. It is, after all, Spain's second best city, only bettered by Sevilla. If the OP is open to splitting their week then four nights in Sevilla and three in Granada would be ideal, as Claude suggests, especially if fitting in some time in Cordoba.

However, Sra. Marygarlough specifically asked about a base for the full week. And if that remains the interest, I believe Sevilla is a better choice than Granada as it has easier, more varied day-trip options and more to see within the city (being much larger).

OP - in response to your second question, you would probably best use public transport to see Carmona or Cordoba. But a car might be more useful for visiting several smaller pueblos blancos in one day, or to go to Granada or Cadiz coast. It depends really, which I know doesn't help! Perhaps choose your possible destinations, then ask again about transport?

Nick, further down Mary mentions increasing to 10 days.....the only reason I recommended Granada but as a 3rd stop. I appreciate Antquerra is an underrated town and due to transport, can reach a number of locations for day trips, but as a place to stay for a week it had less appeal.
Claude thanks for coming back. I found Seville took a few days to appeal to me, but Toledo and Granada got me from the get go. I would return to Toledo anytime. I think it was the hills make logistics easier to get your bearings and as a solo traveler, easy bearings help. Seville seemed flat andI kept getting lost as my apartment was deep in the back streets near the bullring. But the flat walking was easier than the other towns.
Mary, do spend time over the bridge from Seville in Triana. Also the Park around Plaza de Espana is wonderful and many of the old international exhibition buildings are small quirky museums. And you cannot miss a flamenco performance....even a touristy one. There are shows for an hour in early Evening for those of us who don't keep late hours.

I love all your ideas - right now, I'm thinking one week Barcelona and then 10 days split between Seville and Granada - perfect!

Maria - thank you, I had missed that update. I agree with what you say, including about Antequera which is pleasant and good as a base, but, on reflection, probably not a one week sort of place.

Mary - yes, that sounds ideal. Though you might now get us arguing how you split the ten days between the two cities! And to add to your planning, with ten days you could consider a night in Cordoba between the other two Andalucian cities?

I don't think Andalucia lends itself well to having one main base. So I agree with splitting the 10 days between Seville and Granada. However, I also agree with spending at least one night in Cordoba. You won't do Cordoba justice by seeing it as a day trip. While the Mezquita is amazing, there is more to Cordoba than just the Mezquita. We loved the gardens of the Alcazar, the Palacio de Viana, the Roman Bridge, and wandering through the Juderia. It's such a pretty city with its white washed buildings, patios, and flower pots.

You could see Malaga as a day trip from Granada. It's about 1.5 hours by ALSA bus. We spent 2 nights in Malaga, and really enjoyed it.

"Madrid...... just be too much, big city, touristy and totally not interested in Madrid nightlife ,etc."

I'm a little late to the party - must be my "Spanish Inclination" - Spain is a late night country.....
I'd like to be an advocate for Madrid - especially from a cultural aspect. Three world class art museums can be found within easy walking distance of city center - and the collection of paintings in The Prado is, in my opinion, the best, anywhere. As the major transit center in the country, Madrid offers easy access to nearly anywhere in Spain by any mode of travel. It is not necessarily my recommendation that Madrid be your "second home base", but I would not eliminate Madrid completely from your plans.

Agree with blue439.
If you like paintings, the Prado is just an amazing museum. Just behind, the very beautiful Retiro park. In the middle, the main piazza is fantastic and on the other side, the royal palace.
Fantastic restaurants and bars(watched the world cup with spanyards was an experience) everywhere, we enjoyed very much the mood of those in La Latina district where we were staying.
Choices choices... The toughest part of planning
Another idea is you could cut a day or 2 in Barcelona and add them somewhere else, like Madrid for instance.
We stayed a full week in Barcelona, took it quite relax, saw pretty much what we wanted in 5 days, rent a car for a day on the coast and did a day trip to Montserrat monastery for the other 2 days

Thank you ALL - your help is so appreciated. Right now, I'm going to tentatively plan on 1 week in Barcelona, then fly to Granada as suggested for approx. 4 nights. As also suggested, take bus to Seville for 4 or 5 nights. Cordoba needs to be slotted in here for 1 night - please suggest at what point in the itinerary should I do that and what is the transport to get there and then on to my next town. Then I'll leave you all for awhile and I'll continue to research for accommodations.
I know Madrid and Toledo are very worthy places, but it will have to wait for another trip. I don't like to overdo and get burned out - I've done that on past trips and regretted it. Many many thanks.

Personally, I would give Cordoba more than one night, as a town, it's actually my favorite of the two other Andalucian towns you are looking at, it's quite nice, especially in the golden hours of the afternoon, when all the daytrippers from Sevilla have left and one can wander the white washed old town in relative peace. I feel you will end up regretting only allocating one night to Cordoba.

Also with one week (assuming 7 nights) in Barcelona you will have time to also explore some of the rest of Catalonia, and not just limit yourselves to Barcelona. I would recommend a few nights in Girona, an ancient city in northern Catalonia, in addition to any Barcelona based day trips.

That being said, this is the itinerary which I would recommend:

Fly in to Barcelona
Barcelona (5 nights) - Day trip to Montserrat monastery
AVE Train to
Girona (2 nights) - Day trip to the Dali museum
AVE Train to Barcelona/fly to
Granada (3 nights)
ALSA Bus to
Cordoba (2-3 nights)
AVE Train to
Sevilla (4-5 nights) - Day trip to Jerez
Fly out of Sevilla

Madrid is one of my favorite cities - and we try to be in bed by 10PM most nights. That means we have many fewer restaurant choices than locals do. You are not going to escape Spanish mealtimes by going to another city. I had a business trip to Bilbao before the Guggenheim Museum was built, and I could not get a taxi when I got out of work at 2 AM. The sidewalks were thronged and the streets were like rush hour. To avoid having a car in Madrid, we used packaged bus tours to places like Valley of the Fallen and El Escorial. Of course, these are regimented and your free time very limited. But when we took the bus tour that included Segovia, we declined the optional group lunch and added an hour to our free time. Just another possibility to consider.

We have visited Andalucia by car, renting in Seville and returning (instructed to park on the Hertz sidewalk!) in Granada. In general, a car in a city is a hindrance, so we used public transportation to see the monastery and other peripheral attractions of Granada. We typically stayed in one place for three nights. But (just as an example) parking is not free at the Parador de Ronda. And plenty of parts of Spain have a lot of traffic. I would avoid driving in Madrid or Seville. When you select a remote place, there is less within a reasonable day-tripping distance. To illustrate that, we had planned to stop at both Arcos and Zahara (?) on the way to Ronda. But the white villages are way, way off the highway, and it takes a long time to get there. Don't confuse a Clean Windshield and a Full Tank in California with the same in Spain.

Edit: While in Seville, you may wish to consider Carmona (and Italica.) Carmona is perhaps a bit too "ready for tourism", but it meets your description of a worthwhile daytrip [from Seville] in a smaller, historic town. It happens to have a Parador, too-but I'd stay in Seville if I didn't have a car, not Carmona. I forget, but it might be on the way to Arcos.

Mary, where Cordoba fits depends on what airport you use to fly home. Ideally it will be Seville in which case do Cordoba before Seville. but if much cheaper from Madrid then after Seville.
Leave early from Granada to Cordoba, and leave late the next evening or afternoon for Seville to maximize Cordoba time if you stick to one night there....and watch the days. Sunday and Monday can be tricky.

Mary, I'm planning my own trip to Spain, which begins in less than a month (that's an "eek"). I'm scheduling a lot of time in the south, but absolutely without a rental car. That means my situation is somewhat different, but I think your latest thinking is solid; at least I can't improve on it.

My hatred of chilly weather is well-known; I'm all for basing in Andalucia rather than Madrid in March. However, I believe it's true that Madrid is peerless as a base for day-trips. You have Toledo, Segovia, Cuenca, Alcala de Henares and more, and all with very reasonable travel time without a car. Do go back to Spain and plan a lot of time in that area. It's not necessary to sleep in Madrid the whole time; all of the places I've mentioned are worth overnights.

In addition, I would agree with the comment up-thread that Madrid is a big, bustling city with crowded sidewalks in some areas, but it doesn't feel especially touristy. The people you see walking around mostly live there, and the sights are generally not crowded. I guess the Palacio Real is the main exception, plus a few square feet of floor space in front of "Guernica" and two or three paintings at the Prado. To me, the difficulty with Madrid is that if you don't want to spend two days in the art museums, as I did, you may find it just doesn't have all that many compelling sights itself.

By comparison, I have over 60 things to see on my list for Seville. Many are just walk-bys of nice buildings; I adore Mudejar architecture (as well as the modernista stuff in Barcelona). However, Seville also has museums and historic sights that will be time-consuming. I'm a big walker and think Seville itself will fill many days for me. The historic area is really large.

But side-trips from Seville may be more challenging than from Madrid, especially once you get off the rail line between Cordoba and Jerez. (Cadiz is 3 hours away, so awfully far.) You're probably going to spend a good bit of time in transit for most of the potential side-trips out of Seville, especially to the white villages.

I'm sure a car would be advantageous to someone willing to spend one or more nights outside the city, seeing white villages, but I don't know how good a single-day loop you can plan for yourself, the geography being what it is. To me it would be a shame to make two day-trips by car to that area, returning to Seville each time. Parking near your Seville hotel also might be a problem.

In case it helps, these are public-transportation times I have in my notes:

Seville-Ronda: 1:45 (most longer) by bus (Damas)
Arcos de la Frontera: 0:30 from Jerez, 1:45 from Ronda, 2:00 from Seville; all by bus

The smaller towns like Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema are more problematic without a car.

I think Carlos's logistical suggestion is good, and I share his love of Girona--definitely worth a night or two, and much more peaceful than Barcelona, though it has its share of tourists along the busiest street of the historic center.

Maria's point about finishing the Andalucian itinerary in Cordoba if you're flying home from Madrid is a good one. From my origin I found flying into Madrid this year was much, much cheaper than flying into Seville.

Also, late to the "party". Madrid is fine, even great if you are an art museum person. This isn't new information on this thread, but just to add an additional voice, for me, (of the cities I've been to) Barcelona/and Catalan area (yes, Girona, absolute MUST!!) , Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada and Toledo in that order, would be of the highest priority. Sevilla is a big city and it needs 3-4 nights, Cordoba and Granada, I would say two nights. If there was time, the white villages between Granada and Sevilla are wonderful. Totally agree that Andalusia is not a place where you can stay one place and then cover the area with day trips. If you absolutely must, Cordoba could be a day trip from Sevilla, but I think you would miss a lot of the charm and beauty of it.

Just a warning: if you are worried that you won't like Madrid because it is a big city and touristy, you may not be thrilled with Barcelona either. I liked them both, and they are very different. I agree with Acraven that only some parts of central Madrid felt touristy and/or crowded, but many places in Barcelona do. The crowds at most of the famous sights are so intense that almost all of them require advance timed tickets - which only minimizes the crowds a smidgen. Again, this doesn't mean they aren't worthwhile - just be prepared. You may want to focus on the less famous sights (the ones that don't require advance tickets), like the Barcelona History Museum, the Maritime Museum, and the MNAC (three of my sister's favorites from her recent visit - I didn't get to the first two, but can vouch for how great the MNAC is).

Yet another question - hope I'm not overdoing this! If we wanted to tour a couple "white villages" by rental car, which city makes the most sense to get our rental car from? Do we consider this a one day activity since parking the car overnight might be difficult? Or maybe I don't try to add this activity on and keep it more simple and less challenging. Thanks so much for all your insightful answers.
BTW - I used to be a Trip Advisor junkie but have switched to this forum - love it!

Well the first one I think is Arcos de la frontera, about 1 hour 15 south of Sevilla.
Then my personal favorites were Grazamela and Zahara de la Sierra, finishing in Ronda.
Between Arcos and Grazamela is about a hour. then 35 minutes, then 45 minutes.
There's no way you can do this and come back. Lots of people including my self, do those and sleep in Ronda for a few nights, slowly on the way to the next destination, Granada.
Sleeping 2-3 days allwos you to give some time to beautiful Ronda and maybe finishing one village you didn't have time to see.
But now we are going from 1 base for 7-10 days, to multiple bases, which is quite opposite from your first wish.
Depends on which type of travel you want

With so many choices, it is difficult to stick to first intentions, I see 😁
It crossed my mind, but I didn't mention, that Barcelona might be harder to avoid the big city feel, but felt you had a specific reason to add it, so didn't comment. I am glad someone else spoke up, however. I had it planned for my 2017 trip, but due to the political climate at the time, and not wanting to worry about strikes and protests throughout my Spain visit (it was my last stop); I dropped it. I didn't miss it.
Spain is such a culture rich country, that you just can't do it all in one visit, and Andalucia needs more than 10 days. It is also not as easy to do with only one or 2 home bases, so you need to decide.
Maybe there will be 7 or 8 possible itineraries on the floor before you decide, and maybe it will morph from 2 home bases to a more mobile one.....or several Spain trips. That's okay.
There was nothing wrong with your initial Madrid/Barcelona plan, but we have just added more food for thought. Watch some YouTube videos and read some travel guides (I get a number of them from the library), then narrow it down for possibly a second review here. You will not be the first to come back a while later with a whole new itinerary.
I am also a TA daily user. There is room for both. I love this group for the big picture and being able to relate to experiences, but TA sometimes has the current details and particularly for non-Europe, the current climate. It just has a bigger member pool and more locals. That can be important for some countries. IMO.

I'd echo what others write, including that what was seven days in one place has now become 10 in three, with more overnights to be possibly added. ¡You can't do it all!

There are places that look like white towns all over Andalucia, and elsewhere, but only a few in one particular area get grouped and capitalised as the "Pueblos Blancos". It doesn't necessarily mean they're best (though they are attractive), perhaps just their comarca has a better tourism budget.

If its these "official" ones you want to see as a day-trip, then Sevilla is a better base than Granada given location. You might cover two or three in a day, although stops would necessarily be brief with any more than two. An alternative would be taking in a couple whilst driving between Sevilla and Granada (or the other way).

Or, if it doesnt have to be an "official" stop on the white town ruta, I can recommend Carmona (which you can get to from Sevilla by regular bus), and which we "discoverd" only last week and preferred to many of the more well travelled pueblos (but Carmona is more a town than a village, about the same size as Ronda).

Or, Granada province has it's own white towns, such as Alhama or Soportujar, and these would be best visited as a day-trip from Granada (though not those two together on the same day since they are in opposite directions, they were just examples).

Thank you all - I think I'm getting overwhelmed with such excellent information and ideas. For now, I'm shortening my stay in Barcelona to 6 nights (5 days) then Granada for 4 nights, 1 or 2 nights in Cordoba and Seville for 4 nights. We'll try to visit a few white towns either by bus or rental car from the last two cities. We can't do it all and we'll love whatever we end up with. Please let me know if you think we're staying a bit too many nights in any of the southern towns. I'd like to keep it relaxing and just enjoying wherever we are.

Last June we traveled the Ring Road in Iceland for 11 days - only spent 1 night in each location - it was incredibly gorgeous but I'd like to do this trip differently. I'd also appreciate input as to pros and cons of seeing the white villages by bus rather than rental car - just seems easier to me, but maybe not.

Continued thanks to all.

Me, but it's only me and the way we like to travel and have different experiences, I'd cut one day in Granada, do Cordoba as a day trip(eventhough I slept there and saw by night), and take those 2 extra days to do from Arcos to Ronda and sleep 2 days in Ronda. Just to see a different Andalucia. Something else than the big 3(Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada). Andalucia has so much to offer.
I did this by car, so I cannot comment on visiting by bus.

"I'm shortening my stay in Barcelona to 6 nights (5 days) then Granada for 4 nights, 1 or 2 nights in Cordoba and Seville for 4 nights."

I fear that I - and perhaps others - could cause you even more frustration by endlessly tinkering. So, instead, I'll just write that it looks to be a great plan and I'm sure you'll be happy with it. For what it's worth, I would be.

I agree with Nick that the endless tinkering isn't always helpful. BUT, I strongly agree with your plan to overnight in Cordoba for at least one night, and I really think you have more time in Granada than you need relative to so many other great options in the area.

I like your new itinerary. I strongly agree with spending at least one night in Cordoba, and 2 nights would be better. I like 6 nights in Barcelona and 4 nights in Seville. We spent 2 nights in Granada, and I wish we had a 3rd night. If there are day trips you want to do from Granada, I think 4 nights should be fine. And you won't feel you are constantly packing, unpacking, and moving. And I agree with others that too much tinkering with your itinerary is not good, and becomes stressful and confusing.

I think your updated itinerary looks great. We also like to stay in one place as long as possible, so I sympathize with your trying to see a lot but still relax. I think you've struck a good balance.

On our last trip to Spain (my third visit to each of these places), we stayed 2 nights in Toledo, 3 nights in Sevilla, and 6 nights in Granada. Only in Granada did we finally feel like we were on vacation, and we certainly did not run out of things to do.

Enjoy your trip!

I hope I'm not confusing myself or my order of town in my itinerary - here goes - does this make sense? I decided that we would probably prefer having a rental car for touring the white towns, etc. But not having the car in Seville.

If I fly home from Madrid:

Fly to Granada from Barcelona - stay 3 or 4 nights in Granada. Pick up rental car when leaving.
Drive to Cordoba for 2 nights (maybe 3 since I LOVE the B&B - Casa Olea - outside of town that I found)
Drive to Seville and return car upon arrival. 4 or 5 nights in Seville.

Then need to figure out transport to Madrid for final night before flying home.

Appreciate your continued help - but please advise if I mixed up my itinerary and it doesn't make sense.

Hi, if you want to visit the white hill towns by car, the route up to Cordoba and back down to Sevilla will actually bypass all of them. You have to swing down south, going directly from Granada to Sevilla. This is how I would rearrange your itinerary to reflect that:

Granada (3-4 nights) - Pick up rental car
Drive to White hill towns: Ronda, Arcos, Zahara etc. (recommend spend one night)
Sevilla (4-5 nights) - Drop off rental
AVE High Speed Train to
Cordoba (2-3 nights)
AVE High Speed Train to
Madrid
Fly out of Madrid

Hope this helps :)

Agree with Carlos. We did that in reverse. Picked up a car at the end of our stay in Sevilla, drove to some white villages and then to Granada where we dropped our car at the beginning of our stay.

Unfortunately, the plan from Carlos will not work since the location of the B&B in Cordoba requires a car to get there. It's outside of the town and out in an olive farm. So any other ideas to be able to have a car while in Cordoba?

I think I just answered my own dilemma - pick up car when leaving Granada, drive to Cordoba for two night stay, drive to Seville and return car. Since the cities/towns are somewhat in a triangle, I can't think of why this wouldn't work. I think I'm at the point where I'm making everything too difficult! Finish up with train from Seville to Madrid - stay one night and fly home. Is this ok gang? You've all been so generous.

Sounds good, Mary! Will you have transportation into Cordoba city center?

well, I guess I would use my rental car. Hopefully that won't be a problem???? Everyone who stays at this B&B in Cordoba (located outside the city and in a rural area) has a car for access so I am assuming it will be ok. Experts -please let me know if I'm setting myself up for a problem!

I would choose Madrid and Sevilla as your bases for a good Spanish combination.
Barcelona is Catalan and has a different culture, vibe.