Hi Experts!
I am headed to Spain in November for business. I have never visited Spain so my daughter has decided to join me and make a trip out of it. I am flying into Barcelona and will have 3 full days before my work picks up. I will be tied up for four days with business--likely day and night. We plan to extend another eight days after my meetings are finished.
I had planned to spend most of our time in Barcelona and save Madrid and Southern Spain for another trip. My question is should we use this time to visit some of the coastal towns like San Sebastian, and also move up into the Basque region of France OR should we focus on Barcelona and make a couple of day trips outside the city. (She, of course, will have more time in the city on the days I'm working.)
My daughter and I have similar traveling styles. We enjoy walking tours focusing on the history and stories behind neighborhoods and their people. We like to see the "sights" but we also like to get the feel of a place.
Any and all suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!
Posted by
11500 posts
In November, Andalusia in Southern Spain will be beautiful so you might want to reconsider going there.
The northern Basque areas may be rainy.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6285 posts
We are also going to Spain in November. Initially I had planned on traveling in September and the Basque area was in the plan. When we moved the dates to November and did some research, I gave up on Basque and now we are concentrating on Andalusia, Toledo and Segovia. If you go to Barcelona (its a great place!) my daughters especially enjoyed Park Guell, La Sagrada Familia, and day trip to Monserrat, and then 3 days in Girona of which one was spent in Besalu. Fond memories of all those places! Oh, and if you go to Barconleta, look for sea glass on the beach!
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
Sounds like you will have the first 7 days or so committed to the Barcelona area, and then another 8 days available. I think spending all 15 days in the Barcelona area might be too much, at least for your daughter who will not be absorbed in work like you. I would suggest spending the second half of your time in Spain in Andalusia (Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada for the Alhambra). If you can, then fly out of Seville and avoid having to double back to Barcelona. There are a couple of day trips that your daughter could do from Barcelona, while you are working, either on her own or on a day tour. (You don't mention her age, whether she is an independent adult or a youth.) One would be to the old town of Girona, which is wonderful and less than an hour from Barcelona by fast train. I also took a day-long bus tour called "Medieval Villages of Catalunya" which visited the very small towns of Besalu, Rupit and Tavertet. Really special, and I could not have done all that on my own. You can google the title, no doubt you will find the tour.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
There is alot to do in Barcelona. Many sights are 5 stars and should not be missed. Stay centraal so that your daughter can walk easily to many top sights. Placa catalunya or nrby.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thanks, guys. I'm leaning towards staying in Barcelona and doing some day trips and tours after these comments. My daughter is 26 and an art lover so on the days I'm working she will be content to spend some focused time in some of the museums we won't visit together. Sometimes I feel like I'm not an adventurous traveler by not moving around in a country but I really enjoy getting to know a city with hopes that I will visit other parts of the country on subsequent trips.
Thanks, too, for the tour suggestion. Sounds like something we would like.
Posted by
Barcelona (Catalonia)
3043 posts
Hi there, just replied another post precisely suggesting this same thing. You'll see there's a lot to do in Barcelona but also in its region, Catalonia. And not only you have many escapades you can do on the same day to different parts of Catalonia, but if you can stay an overnight you might truly enjoy many other places that are a bit "too tight" to visit on a day escapade (ie the picturesque towns of Costa Brava).
And if you were to hire a car for one of those escapades, your adventure can be unforgettable. There was a TV programme a couple of years ago focusing on short escapades around Catalonia, in which a couple of visitors from overseas visited my homeland and were taken by a very popular presenter to discover some of the little gems of this land. Have a peek, you might be enticed... and in this particular episode, these two fellow Americans visited Costa Brava in winter -much less crowded!
Enjoy!