October in Spain

There is so much to see in Barcelona and the surrounding area, like Montserrat and Girona to name just a couple, that 4 days will hardly suffice. I would recommend not going to Menorca. If you are going to Madrid for art museums, then absolutely. Otherwise, I think there are many more interesting cities in terms of history and culture, but you really don't need to leave Madrid to see a few of them. I think Toledo is fantastic and many would enjoy a couple days there. Going in October does give you an advantage in that Toledo will be cooler and a bit less crowded. I also would recommend Segovia as a fantastic day trip from Madrid. They have a huge Roman aqueduct, and an interesting Alcazar and cathedral and charming old town.

Go to Minorca if it you are interested; different strokes for different folks.
No one here on the forum would probably mention it if you said you had 8 dys in Spain

What Jules said. If you love European painting, you'll want 2 days in Madrid just for that. Add a day trip to Toledo and you have a plan. If art isn't your thing, fly into Madrid, spend a day seeing the highlights, then 2N in Toledo (much better as an overnight) and then spend the rest of your time in Barcelona. There's so much to see and do there, you could easily spend the whole trip there.

If art isn't your thing, fly into Madrid, spend a day seeing the highlights, then 2N in Toledo (much better as an overnight) and then spend the rest of your time in Barcelona.

I totally agree with this suggestion. We went to Spain last October, spent two days in Toledo and took the train from there to Madrid (half a day was enough, really, as there is not much to see apart from the Prado), and spent 4 days in Barcelona. All great! Have fun! The weather was near-perfect that time of year.

There is a lot to see and do in Madrid. If you like art, the 3 major museums are the Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen. There are also many smaller art museums located in beautiful homes.

We also enjoyed the Royal Palace, Temple of Debod, Retiro Park, and wandering through the plazas and squares.

Definitely go to Toledo, either as a day trip or stay for one night.

Hi Mike

As pointed earlier, different strokes for different folks, yet I still think spending less than 4 nights in Barcelona should be punished (harshly!) as there are so many things to do and see. Furthermore, there are a wide range of day off escapades you can do to so many interesting places here in Catalonia that you'd need to spend a month! Again, it all boils down to one's interests and one's travel style, of course.

Here a few sites to get you started:

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/
http://www.infocatalonia.eu/
http://www.timeout.com/barcelona
http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en
http://www.barcelonaesmoltmes.cat/en/inici
http://patrimoni.gencat.cat/en/discover/search

Enjoy!

The two nights that we stayed in Toledo were a fair amount less expensive than the nights we spent in Madrid if that impacts your decision. I should clarify my thought on Menorca, Jazz is right if you really want to go there, you should. But it is quite an added expense when there is already so much available in Catalunya so if Menorca isn't a top priority you will have plenty to fill your days in Barcelona and surrounding.

I don't think much of Barcelona so I would skip it and spend the time in Menorca (actually I'd spend it in Mallorca, a much more varied an interesting island). So there you go.......different strokes!

Toledo is a must. Don't miss it. Also, consider visiting Segovia from Madrid.

Skip Minorca, you only have 8 days, don't try to do too much. Consider Monserrat just outside Barcelona. Don't miss Sagrada Familia and go inside.

The OP's trip was scheduled to take place in October. This thread was revived by a spammer.

Good catch, acraven! Hope you reported it.

Yes, I did.