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Options for a final week in Spain

Posted by on

Hi everyone,
My husband and I have 19 days in Spain planned in September. We are committed to the first 4 nights in Barcelona and then a bike tour on the Costa Brava. After that we will have 7 nights, six days left. We are flying out of Madrid. We don't want to try to do southern Spain on this trip. The options I've considered are:

  1. Train to Madrid and rent an apartment in Madrid for the whole time and see Madrid thoroughly and do day trips to Toledo, El Escorial, Segovia.
  2. Take the train to Valencia and stop for two nights before going to Madrid.
  3. Stop in Zaragoza for a day or two before going on to Madrid.

Understanding that the second and third options would cut down on our day trips around Madrid, I'd welcome thoughts on the relative merits of these options.

Thanks.

Jane

Posted by
45 posts

Not option #3. Z is not very interesting. Valencia would be good, but I like your idea of seeing Madrid thoroughly and doing the day trips in a relaxed manner !

Posted by
7160 posts

If you’ve never been to Madrid or its environs, then option 1 is probably best.

Posted by
28085 posts

There's another very good day-trip from Madrid, totally doable and economical enough if you snag a promotional fare on the AVE right after tickets go on sale: Cuenca is on the rail line heading toward Valencia. The medieval town is up on a hill set on a ravine, with houses hanging over the edge. The cathedral has an English audio guide available, and there are a couple of good modern-art museums. I think the tourist office has information on some English-language walking tours, but I don't know about their frequency or timing. The AVE station for Cuenca is well out of town. The bus into town is quite infrequent on Sunday (or maybe it doesn't run at all? I've forgotten), so you might need to use a taxi to get back and forth. Cuenca is not a practical day-trip if you take the slow train, and it is not an affordable day-trip if you wait till the last minute to buy AVE tickets.

Toledo is so wonderful that it is absolutely worth a couple of nights away from Madrid. Or even three, which is how many I spent there.

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