We know that we will arrive early in Barcelona, but for those of you who been in Sevilla and Madrid, how much, if any, extra time should we take in these cities by ourselves. We will be flying home from Madrid. Or does his trip cover the essentials?
My suggestion: Spend the last dayof the tour in Seville, then take a late afternoon train to Cordoba for 2 nights. I loved Cordoba in the evenings much more than Seville. There is easily a full day of sightseeing there - the Mezquita is a wow (skip the Alcazar). Then on your second day in Cordoba, either continue sightseeing there or go straight to Madrid for another day or more, depending on your interests. You will have seen the highlights on the tour, but you may want to revisit the Prado (it's huge), take in one or more other museums (Naval, Thyssen-Bornamisza are just a couple).