Planning a trip to Spain and don't know where to start

Seville is one of the warmest cities in Spain, so be prepared for heat if that is your choice. I was there in April and it was already in the 80’s. You will likely experience crowds in any of the major cities at that time of year, as people travel at that time to avoid the summer heat.

You could base in Granada and visit Malaga for beaches, about 1.5 hours away. You could also experience the hammams in Granada. The city is magical. A great place for food, culture, history and relaxing.

Madrid is another great base. Day trips to Toledo, Cordoba and Seville are all possibilities.

This sort of question is best addressed by skimming through a guidebook to get an idea of the range of possibilities.

Many cities in southern Spain, most definitely including Seville, can be quite hot even in early June. Make sure you're up for that.

Seville weather -- June 2024

You can use that webpage to check weather for just about anywhere in Spain you'd be planning to visit.

Zaragoza is a comparatively less touristy city right on the rail line between Barcelona and Madrid. It's attractive and not as touristy as Barcelona. However, it can be terribly hot even in early June: Zaragoza weather -- June 2024

Many folks enjoy the pintxo culture in the Basque Country, but that is not a beach destination; it's too cool and overcast even in the summer. Otherwise, that's an attractive area where you can avoid the excessive heat you may encounter in much of the rest of the country. The small historic center of San Sebastian tends to be overrun, but the rest of the city is fine, and Bilbao is much less touristy.

Barcelona is very touristy, but I still love it. It won't be as hot as southern Spain or Zaragoza in June, but if you hit a humid period, it may feel warmer than the thermometer shows.

Valencia is a pleasant city; it does have some things to see. But to me there are a bunch of more interesting places; it's just that a lot of them are getting really hot by June or are along the north coast, which is rainy year-round. Your desire to swim complicates matters.

While Madrid is a great base for day trips, Seville (about 3 hours away by fast train) and Cordoba (about 2 hours away) are really not among them. And Madrid is another place I'd rather not be in June:

Madrid weather -- June 2024

All good comments above. However, not even in Mediterranean Spain would I consider the water warm enough to swim in June, unless you are very hardy.

Great advice as always by acraven. Most of us probably started with guide books and I am still using them. Spain is the second most visited country (after France), which always shocks me--but you can easily balance out a stay in Barcelona with a stay somewhere like Zaragoza. I think the most important thing is to not try to do too much, so you only become familiar with the transport system.

Some research is required. To avoid crowds, avoid the major tourist destinations. May is getting into the main tourist season so most coastal towns and popular destinations will be busy. For a more local feel stay away from places with large ex-pat communities like the Costa del Sol. The coastal area between Málaga and Murcia will have fewer foreign (U.S.) tourists. I don’t go into the Mediterranean because I feel it is too polluted, but if I did it wouldn’t be near a large port city.

There are plenty of small cities from which you can take day trips, but it needs to be decided what you want to see on those day trips. Again, to avoid crowds and if you’re not into the history of a location, avoid the typical day trips like Toledo, Segovia, Monserrat, Ronda, etc.

Southern Spain runs from Portugal to Cartagena and there are a plethora of small villages worth visiting depending on what you want to see. Getting to some without a vehicle might be difficult since many are not well served by train or bus. Many can be seen in a hour or two. On our trips, always with a rental car, we visit 3-4 small towns in a day. It needs to be decided if the time spent at a location is worth the time it takes to get there.

For “food, culture, swimming, and relaxing”, would recommend Malaga and Tarifa.