Hi all,
Long time no post!
I'm planning a trip to Spain in November of this year, at the start of the month. We will have 10 nights and want to see Madrid, Seville and Granada, and are sort of agnostic about side trips (as in we have none in particular in mind, though places I might like to see include Toledo, Jerez and Ronda).
We plan to fly into Madrid and back out through Seville (connecting in Madrid) to make the best use of our time, and to travel by rail otherwise, or possibly bus for day trips. Here are the non-negotiables: 1. No cars, as I can't drive and my husband hates to, so we'd only rent one to see stuff we couldn't get to any other way. This seems to be not a problem with these destinations, as I know rail and bus are both nice options in Spain. 2. No extra nights. I am lucky to have eked out 10, frankly. 3. I must see the Alhambra. 4. I will not add any overnight destinations (though I've rarely seen anyone here urge a fellow poster to make an itinerary more crowded!)
My question is how to divide up the time. I was thinking of something like 4 nights in Madrid, 2 in Granada, and 4 in Seville, but am unsure if Granada should be granted an extra night for seeing the town other than the Alhambra. We do like going to new cities and just wandering around. In Madrid, the priority is the marvelous art museums. If we do an extra night in Granada, which place should I take it from? Perhaps take it from Madrid, as I'm more likely to return there, as it's a direct flight for me? I do hope to do another trip including Barcelona and Basque country, someday.
Thanks!
ETA - considering the comments below, I realized that flying out of Granada will work better than I thought. I also realized Córdoba. An be done on the way between Seville and Granada. How about the following?
Madrid - 4 nights (includes possible day trip to Toledo)
AVE to Sevilla
Sevilla - 3 nights
Day trip by to Córdoba by AVE Train, then train/bus to Granada for the night
Granada - 3 nights