Refining my Madrid - Southern Spain itinerary

Madrid is a lovely city, relatively new, with exceptional museums and plenty to do. That said, for me, Andalusia was so much more interesting. There is the incredible history and amazing architecture. You could be in Sevilla 5 days and not run out of things to do. Cordoba is a gorgeous city with the amazing Mezquita, of course, but there are many more sites, an intriguing old Jewish quarter to explore, a roman bridge, lovely river, I could go on. I feel its a shame to do it on a day trip. I would suggest at least 2 full days. I also suggest 2 full days in Granada. Of course, the reality is that most of us have limited time. For me, I'd cut at least 2 nights in Madrid, unless you are super interested in the art museums.

We did the same thing upon arrival to Madrid, take a train to Sevilla. It worked well for us and gave us some time to rest a bit and then got to Sevilla and did a fair amount of sightseeing on our arrival day. If you do decide to sleep in Cordoba, I'd go there first, the last minute train ticket is cheaper, if that matters to you. Then you could buy your other train tickets in advance.

If you decide to drop Dublin, and I have no opinions on that, you could look at time in Toledo and Segovia.

@jules m -- I definitely hear this, but with January 1 and most of 12/31 being a dead day, if I cut Madrid, I basically won't see it at all. At most I could stay in Andalusia one more day and then travel on the 1st, but then I'd really just have 1 full day and one morning and afternoon in Madrid. I know we can't do everything, but I do want to see the Prado ... and not ONLY the Prado.

I personally would spend the night in Cordoba rather than backtrack to Seville. Since you’re heading to Granada (note the spelling for train booking purposes) next, Cordoba is more or less on the way.

We are just back from 5 nights in Madrid. There is so much to see and do there plus it's very fantastically festive during the holiday season. My vote would be to maximize your time in Madrid. The museums are great, the food fun, and the people really welcoming. It's a great city!

Safe Dublin for another trip when you're traveling around Ireland.

Don't miss amazing Toledo, the old capitol of Castile and Spain. You can do it on a day trip from Madrid.

I think you are going to have to cut something out! Many if not most will disagree with me, but I am not a Seville fan - and it is awkward to travel between Seville and Grenada. The train connection is via Cordoba. I would take the Seville time and allocate it to Madrid, Granada, and Cordoba.

The "problem" I see with your current plans regarding Granada is that your time is really 2 half days. I would do something like Madrid - Cordoba (overnight for 1 or 2 nights) - then onto Granada for 2 nights, minimum. That gives you time to see the Alhambra comfortably as well as the Old Town and/or Sacramonte if that is an interest. Your would have a full day plus partial days on arrival and/or departure. (Caveat - I don't know Christmas season Alhambra hours). Also remember that the hours of daylight will be shorter than other times of year.

Or, if Seville is more to your interests than Granada, I would drop Granada in favor of more time in Cordoba and Madrid.

Madrid - I have been there the week before Christmas. There is a Christmas Market, not stunning when I was there pre-covid, but pleasant. https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/plaza-mayor-christmas-market Stores and other venues were decorated for the holiday. There were special exhibits of nativity scenes both in Madrid and Toledo in churches and other venues. An article from last year - https://www.madridmetropolitan.com/madrids-best-public-nativity-scenes/# Very popular with locals. The days when things are closed you can still wander Retiro Park, the old city center, etc.

I think I mentioned in your earlier post that I was very pleased with a one day trip to Seville from Cordoba where I was overnighting. Plenty of time to see the Alcazar, Cathedral, and Plaza Espana. Perhaps it would help to lay out all you want to see in the different cities. The time allocation may be more apparent.

I agree with above posters regarding the joys of Toledo day trips from Madrid and suggest Segovia also. If you leave the Seville days in, I agree with Indyhiker - don't do a day trip to Cordoba. Spend the night there and you are already partway to Granada (assuming you are taking a train).

Hard decisions!!!

TravelChildMom, I completely understand. So many places, so little time. . .

This itinerary can physically work but,

I would fly out of Madrid on January 4th and skip Dublin.

My trip was 14 nights, one night on the plane on the way to Madrid, 13 nights on the ground, 4 nights in Seville, 2 in Granada, 2 in Cordoba, 5 in Madrid including a day trip to Toledo. You can do something similar but with just 11 nights, December 25 through January 4th, sacrifice a night in Seville, and sacrifice a night in Madrid because you are not going to toledo. One night in Cordoba is fine for you because you are skipping the castle.

Try 4 nights in Seville, 2 in Granada, 1 in Cordoba, 3 in Madrid.

Can you fill in your itinerary with major places you want to see, based on confirming what is open and closed on Christmas, New year's eve, and New Year's day?

Hi! I would do Madrid another time. It's the main city you fly in/out of. You could easily do a Madrid/Barcelona trip some other time.

So, I'd really just focus on Andalusia. Here's what I'd suggest. But, check on when you can get tickets for Alhambra, as that may be the hardest tickets to get.

25 Madrid. Arrive, go straight to Seville.
26 Seville
27 Seville
28 Seville, afternoon/late train > Granada
29 Granada
30 Granada
31 Granada
1 Train > Cordoba (much may be closed, so traveling on this day makes sense. Rest.) (Train back to Madrid goes through Cordoba anyway)
2 Cordoba
3 2.5 train to Madrid. Or take late train the night before it you want to give yourself travel time. Spend 1 day doing the Royal Palace only, perhaps.

You could also swap Granada/Cordoba order. The train from Seville to Granada goes through Cordoba. But the train from Granada to Madrid does as well (as does the Madrid to Sevilla train). I'd try to have Jan 1 as a travel day of some sort. When we did a similar trip last year, we traveled from Sevilla to Granada on Jan 1 and visited a Hammam (Arab bath) and relaxed on that day. It was lovely.

@jolie NC now there’s an idea I had not considered. However, we recently have been to Barcelona, and though I loved it, I’m not sure how soon I would go back when there are so many other places to see. But that would take a lot of pressure off the trip and put us in nicer weather altogether.

The only thing I'd suggest, as someone else did, is to spend the night of the 28th in Cordoba instead of backtracking to Seville only to turn around the next day. Yes, you'll have one more hotel to deal with, but you'll save needed time on this tight schedule.

And, given your time constraints and the long journey you'll be making to get to and from Spain, I'd skip Dublin this time. You may transfer there because of flight logistics, but spending more time there seems like "a bridge too far" on this schedule. In the dead of winter I'd spend as much time as possible in Andalucia, not Ireland.

I was in a similar place as you, planning our trip last year. I eventually ruled out Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, and just focused on Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba. And still wish we’d had more time in each place. That said, we prefer slower, deeper travel, and this experience in Spain solidified for us that we need to do that even more. You may be different, and prefer a faster pace.

The trip I am currently planning is a full 7 days in Vienna this December, which for some may sound like too long, but I am so excited so far. We will have time to revisit favorite spots, check out less traveled sites, and even take a day for just playing at a heated pool complex. And visit all the Christmas markets we want :-).