Recommended smaller towns for 3-week Spain trip

I'd look into the smaller towns in the Alpujarras south of Granada. I have not stayed overnight, just day trips from Granada or Nerja, but Lanjarron, Orgivia, and others in the area are quite nice for mountain views, walks, and wandering. I am not quite sure about transit between the towns, but all have busses from Granada

I have a couple of different suggesions that will fit into your desired general route. First I recommend the two neighboring small towns of Baeza and Úbeda, both are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both are in Andalucía and are about an hour and a half west of Córdoba and also about the same distance north of Granada. I did not look up the specific bus routes but travelling by bus is comfortable and relatively easy and cheap in Spain. Look into going from Córdoba to Baeza and Úbeda and then on to Granada. Personally I would keep Córdoba in the itenerary and stay no more than a night in Nerja, if at all, unless you purposely want some beach or down time.

Here is another idea. There is a wonderful daytrip you can do from Toledo if you have any interest in the Quijote Trail. Take a bus to the small town of Consuegra and visit the windmills high on the hill overlooking the plains below. Have lunch at the town below. Consuegra is about 45 km from Toledo, less than an hour. Very photogenic.

If you are in to exploring castles or Moorish fortresses, take a look at these two sites very close to Córdoba. The first is Medina Azahara, which are the remains of a Moorish city. It is only about 8 km outside of town. The second is el Castillo de Almodóvar del Río, about 25 km from Córdoba.

I do recommend flying into Madrid and out of Málaga if you can make that happen. I am sure you will get lots of good suggestions and you really can't go wrong. Spain is so beautiful and I think it is a great idea to include some of the smaller, less familiar sites into your plans. Do your research to see what captures your interest and let us know what you finally decide.

Ronda is another possibility in Andalucía.

Within Madrid's orbit you have either Segovia or Cuenca. Both very interesting but quite different, as well as being different from Toledo. Cuenca is a fair distance from Madrid but can be reached rather quickly because it's on the AVE route toward Valencia.

For a stop that gets very few American tourists (still in the Madrid area), you could investigate Alcala de Henares. It's a very attractive university town.

Segovia remains one of my all time favorite places -- but the travel Gods were smiling on me. As I trekked up the hill tired and weary from two weeks of travel I thought "I just want a hotel with a lobby". When we arrived at our $ Rick Steves suggestion it was perfect! Not only a lobby but they put us in a junior suite with a balcony and the next morning I awoke to hot air balloons floating right towards my room...food, wine, sights, happy people, quaint square for dinner and a break from the unexpected May heat.

Extremadura is definitely worth consideration.

Definitely Segovia! There is much to see there, but it's very small. Easily accessible by train, too. Oh, and don't drop Cordoba. La Mesquita is definitely something to see.

Wow, so many nice responses already! I'll check them out in detail tomorrow after work.

Another vote for Ronda - lovely little town with the breathtaking gorge. The RS tour hotel San Gabriel was outstanding - an old-world Spanish noble house converted to a beautiful hotel. I wish I had more days to spend there and will definitely go back again.

First of all, what time of year are you going. That could make a difference. Second, would you consider renting a car for 2-4 days? I found it quite easy to drive through Andalucia on my own. My only real problem was getting in/out of larger cities without GPS. If you are willing to take a car from Sevilla to Granada, you could spend 2 nights in Ronda, visiting Arcos and smaller pueblos blancos on the first day, then spend the second day seeing Ronda itself (maybe a short drive to one or two nearby towns - the drives are incredibly scenic) and then stopping in Antequera on the way to Granada on the third day.

Please don't drop Cordoba, it is my favorite city in Spain (with Toledo a close second) and really has a small town feel, especially in the evenings when it's quiet, unlike bustling Sevilla. I haven't been to Nerja but though Malaga's center also had a small town feel and was quite charming. Go to a horse show at the Royal Stables in Cordoba.

I would spend less time in Madrid unless you really want to immerse yourselves in the excellent art museums (almost entirely painting). Your other destinations, and those suggested by others, have more charm and more sights.

Hi Chani,

We'll likely be traveling in late Sept/early October.

Thanks for your ideas regarding favorite towns. We won't be renting a car on this trip, but are glad there's options for train/bus to most everything we would cover on the first trip to Spain.

Hi Jean. It sounds like a good time of year, the later you go, the less hot it will be.

Here's another thought. Toledo (2), Madrid (3), Cordoba (2), Sevilla (2-3), Jerez (3), Ronda (1-2), Granada (2), Nerja (3-4), fly out of Malaga. I think that's 20-21 nights.

None of the train or bus rides are longer than 3 hours. From Jerez you can day trip by train to Cadiz and by bus to Arcos. In Jerez, tour a couple of the sherry bodegas, visit the cathedral and see a horse show (plan ahead - they aren't offered every day). There are also horse shows in Cordoba at the Royal Stables (somewhat different - worth seeing both and this from someone who's not much of a horse lover).

We've settled on overnight locations, and I have airline tickets & reservations at hotels/apartments.

Fly into Madrid.
Immediately go to Toledo - 2 nights
Madrid - 3 nights
Seville - 5 nights, with a daytrip to Cordoba & options for another daytrip
Ronda - 2 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Frigiliana - 4 nights, with a daytrip or two to Nerja since it's only 10 minutes by bus or taxi.
Malaga - 1 night in the Old Town & fly out the next day, early afternoon.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions! I know someone will think "Why Frigiliana?" It's one of those places that just speaks to me - can't describe it, but I know we'll love "being locals" there near the end of our vacation. It's the same feeling I had for St. Wolfgang, Austria, and it was one of our favorite locations on that Germany/Austria trip.

Fly into Madrid. Immediately go to Toledo - 2 nights
Madrid - 3 nights
Seville - 5 nights, with day trips to Cordoba & another option (Jerez, Arcos, Cadiz?)
Ronda - 2 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Frigiliana - 4 nights, with a daytrip or two to Nerja since it's only 10 minutes by bus or taxi.
Malaga - 1 night in the Old Town & fly out the next day, early afternoon.

Hi Jean
What a wonderful trip you have planned.
I would make one observation re Toledo. With your current plan you will have 3 visits to Atocha station ...
1) Going to Toledo on arrival
2) Returning to Madrid
3) Going to Seville
If you spend your time in Madrid first up, before the two nights in Toledo, your visits to Atocha station would reduce to just 2, as you could connect for Toledo > Madrid > Sevilla.
Just a logistics thought.

Hi David, thanks for the comments! I mainly picked Toledo as the first location instead of Madrid so we could be outside walking a lot the first two days. If I'm inside at museums in Madrid those first days, my body clock will try to tell me I'm back in Seattle.

I really enjoyed Ronda and 2 nights was perfect
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/ronda-the-most-romantic-town-in-spain/
Cordoba is also a must; we did it as a day trip. The Mezquita in Cordoba was the single most interesting thing we saw on a 2.5 week trip to Spain a couple of year ago. (We did Barcelona about 15 years ago)

https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/the-mezquita-at-least-the-catholics-had-the-good-sense-not-to-destroy-it-when-they-desecrated-it/
There are lots of beautiful spots. in Spain. We only had two nights and one full day in Granada and if I had it to do over I would have either added a day there or departed on the third day very late for Madrid. We traveled to Madrid in the morning and so only had the one full day for the Alhambra; that was excellent but it meant we never saw central Granada -- we did have a chance to see a bit of the Albaicin where we were staying which was also quite interesting.

I don't think the David's point would matter much. I have trrouble figuring out where the "saving" is. You have to get to the station from the airport, to/from the train in Toledo, to/from the train in Madrid, and to/from the train in Sevilla.

janettravels44, I really enjoy your personal European adventure stories & nice photos! I think I viewed one during a previous trip, too, while I was searching for ideas. : )

A slight itinerary change now. Although we don't like staying just one night at a location, it didn't seem to make sense to take the train past Cordoba on our way to Seville and then backtrack for a daytrip two days later. Plus, we'll be able to experience an evening at Cordoba.

Fly into Madrid.
Immediately go to Toledo - 2 nights
Madrid - 3 nights
Cordoba - 1 night
Seville - 4 nights
Ronda - 2 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Frigiliana - 4 nights, with a daytrip or two to Nerja since it's only 10 minutes by bus or taxi.
Malaga - 1 night in the Old Town & fly out the next day, early afternoon.

You could also take an evening train to Madrid after 2 nights (have a picnic dinner on the train or eat dinner in Cordoba - dinner in Spain is typically around 9.30-10 pm) and spend 2 nights in Cordoba, then a morning train to Sevilla.

Not sure if I was clear pointing out the difference. It's only a minor difference, but consolidates 3 lots of travel into 2.

Day 1 - Arrive Madrid.
To Toledo from Madrid Atocha Station.
Day 3 - Return to Madrid Atocha Station.
Day 6 - To Sevilla from Madrid Atocha Station.

vs

Day 1 - Arrive Madrid.
Day 4 - To Toledo from Madrid Atocha Station.
Day 6 - To Sevilla via Madrid Atocha Station.