My Itinerary: spain

Madrid deserves three nights and if you add a day trip to Toledo make it four nights. Two nights is all you need in Granada.

That looks fine. There’s no wrong answer. I like Cordoba a lot, so I would give it a day & reduce Granada by one. Does your son or daughter want to spend that time in Madrid since they are living there already? I would let them set the itinerary.

Presumably Granada for the Alhambra? And via train for the transportation?

If you've never been to Madrid, it is worth more than the 2 (maybe even just 1) full day you have allocated to it. Just the Prado and the Reina Sofia each deserve hours of exploration (a morning or afternoon each), and then the city itself - food, walks, parks, wandering, shopping, etc. - eats up your time quickly. Of course, with a kid in school there, Madrid might be somewhere you will visit multiple times over the next few years.

By comparison, while I think Granada can offer many things to see and do beyond the Alhambra (and never having been to Toledo), I would say time in Madrid would rate higher - to me - than extra time in Granada.

For us, it wasn't until our second trip to Spain that we visited the Alhambra, but it was worth the visit. Not knowing why you've picked that trio of cities, nor your past (if any) and future (if possible) visits to Spain, it's tough to fairly prioritize your itinerary. Maybe flesh out your expectations and "wants' for this trip, and folks can further help refine it.

And for that "further refinement" suggested just above, I'll add that itineraries like this are so much easier to evaluate when timed by nights, rather than by days. "Two days" in Madrid can mean any of the following:

1. A span of two days. as in arrive noon Monday, leave noon Tuesday.
2. A span of about 48 hours, as in arrive noon Monday, leave noon Wednesday.
3. Two "full" (non-travel) days, as in arrive Monday, stay all of Tuesday and Wednesday, then leave Thursday. (For a great city like Madrid, I would say that two "full" days are a minimum, though still too skimpy.)

Note that those three cases above can easily be distinguished from each other by the number of nights you will spend in Madrid -- respectively one, two, and three nights.

Thank you for all the suggestions and advice. I might be trying to squeeze too much into a week. My college kid has exams when I arrive so I’ll largely explore Madrid on my own. I arrive early on a Sunday morning and have booked a hotel for 3 nights. I thought I’d try a Toledo day trip but might cut that for an additional day in Madrid. College kid and I will fly to Granada. I must see The Alhambra because I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back to Spain. We have three nights booked in Granada. It seems like a day trip to Cordoba works, or I can cut the third night, return to Madrid and do a day trip Toledo.

We are all different, but I really like Granada and 3 nights would be far better for me than 2. What I like is that you aren’t trying to race around for too many destinations in your somewhat short time. You already know you are having to make hard choices.

For us, two nights in Granada was plenty and the Mezquita in Cordoba unmissable. Good luck making tough choices!

I agree with TTM that we all like different things, and what works for one person might not work for another. We spent 2 nights each in Cordoba and Granada, and that worked well for us.

Are you thinking of substituting Toledo for Cordoba? We visited both cities, and I much preferred Cordoba over Toledo, but that might not be your preference. IMO, the Mezquita is not to be missed. It was one of the highlights of our trip, and we also loved wandering around Cordoba and getting to know it better. While we liked Toledo, and am glad we visited, I guess you would say we didn't fall in love with Toledo as much as other people do.

Do you have some good guidebooks? My suggestion is to read about all the sights in each city, read descriptions of the cities themselves, and look at photos to figure out what appeals most to you.

I agree the Alhambra is not to be missed, either. Make sure you purchase your tickets well in advance as they sell out quickly. We also really enjoyed the night time tour of the Alhambra.

Thank you for such great recommendations and things to consider. I’ve tailored the itinerary: arriving early Sunday in Madrid - self guided walking tour, relax, eat, soak up life in Madrid, evening stroll, get a good night’s sleep; Monday/Tuesday - Royal Palace, Prado, & Reina Sofia, evening stroll, relaxing evening. Wed afternoon- Granada self guided walk; Thurs - Alhambra; Fri night - Palacios Nazaries night tour. There’s some open space in this itinerary to either relax or add side trips such as El Escorial during the Madrid leg or Córdoba’s Mezquita while in Granada. I’m open to suggestions. Gracias!

I think the plan you have presented in your two responses looks good; three nights in each of Madrid and Granada are probably the best you can do on your short visit. A couple of further points:

1. A day trip from Granada to Cordoba would probably make for a very long day. Still, check the train schedules, and the opening hours for the Mosque; it may be feasible. (It's better if you can fit in an over night trip to Cordoba, even though this city merits a lot more time.) On the other hand, a day trip from central Madrid to either Toledo or the Escorial will be fairly easy. (At least they were when I did them.) As for my Escorial visit in 2018, I recall taking a bus from one of the metro stations — I think it was Moncloa, but I’m not certain. At the time of my visit, the bus — it was a pleasant 1-hour ride — went much closer to the Escorial than the train (which had to stop at the train station) could.

2. Regarding the museums in Madrid: note that while the countries of the world haven't yet agreed on the horrors of war or on the threats of climate change, they seem at least to have agreed that Monday should be the official closing day for museums and other cultural sites. This is not yet universal, of course; but still, as Monday will be your first full day in Madrid, you may want to check the visiting schedules for the museums and attractions you are considering.

You might enjoy the Basílica de San Juan de Dios and the Monastery of San Jeronimo in Granada. The Basilica is really over the top. Both of those fit easily into a half day.