road trip from Madrid to Granada to Sevilla

You do not have enough time to add anything on the day you drive from Madrid to Granada. Get to Granada ahead of the Alhambra to see more of the city. We stopped in Cordoba for the day enroute from Granada to Sevilla.

Although ViaMichelin estimates the Madrid-Granada trip at just under 4-1/2 hours, that doesn't include any time for stopping, getting lost, looking for parking, eating lunch or walking from your parking place to the Alhambra. A prudent person would allow considrably longer. I would drive straight to Granada and hope to have time to find something to eat before beginning my Alhsmbra visit. I'd expect to spend between half a day (if you don't try to see everything) and close to an entire day at the Alhambra. The Alhambra is more than the Nasrid Palaces, and Granada is more than the Alhambra.

Toledo is a full-day destination; I recommend at least two nights there. It would make no sense for you to stop there. By the time you dealt with your car and got to the historic center, it would be time to leave. And you'd be putting your Alhambra visit at risk.

How many nights are you spending in Seville? I'm guessing not many since you have allowed so little time in Granada. I'd consider 2 full days the minimum for Seville. If you have less than that, I wouldn't recommend a detour on the way. Seville is one of the very top destinations in Spain. Places you might stop off (unless you are thinking about Cordoba) just are not in the same league. They'd be fine and recommended for visitors with more time.

Spaniards are heavy consumers of ham and other pork products. Ham is often used for seasoning vegetable dishes. You'll want to read the menu carefully and check with your server. Some folks may consider seafood to be vegetarian.

Revueltos are scrambled eggs. You can sometimes find that disdlh without ham, especially at lunchtime. A tortilla is a potato omelet, served as a thick wedge. That is usually vegetarian. You can sometimes find a goat-cheese salad that doesn't include ham.

I spent more than half a day at the Alhambra. You don’t have time to stop off anywhere en route, as the journey without stops is likely to be over 5 hours from Madrid. Are you really heading straight to Seville the following day, without any time to see Granada?

Seville needs 3 full days to scratch the surface, so head straight there.

"Next day we are driving to Seville for a day"

Do you mean you are going to Seville on a day-trip and then going back to Granada? It might help if you explained your actual itinerary.

If all you have is a day in Seville then you can't afford to stop on the way. If you've got more time then a diversion of about 50km between Granada and Sevilla gets you to the Acinipo Roman remains. Alternatively, just outside Sevilla is Italica (I wasn't hugely impressed, although there are some nice mosaic floors, but it's definitely Roman). But I wouldn't tackle any of these without enough time to see Granada and Sevilla themselves. I'm not sure what time you actually have.

Beware that pork lard (and other pig bits), is used in a lot of cooking, including baking pastries and in various soups. If something is explicitly marked "vegetarian" then it should be fine, but if it just appears to be vegetables (e.g. a tomato cold soup), then it might be worth checking it is suitable.

Thank you all! This really helps. So it is clear now that we are not stopping at any place en route Seville from Granada! Roman Ruins are postponed for our next trip to Italy! ;)

Similarly we may have to skip Toledo to be on time in Granada!

As for food, your suggestions on the ingredients helped. We did not know that lard was so commonly used. We may have to be cautious on the ingredients while placing orders!

Confused. So you are currently in Barcelona, looking for what to see, but you are leaving for Paris in the morning, looking for accommodations - and you have Alhambra reservations driving from Madrid, wondering about stopping in Toledo on the way?

Hello Travel mom.

We are in Barcelona to begin with for 2.5 days, then traveling to Madrid, staying there for 2 days, from there we will take a car in the morning drive down to Granada. stay there for that night. Next morning we are going to Seville, spend a day there and next morning fly to Paris for four days.

I am sorry for confusion created by the multiple questions I posted on the forum.

Don't worry about it, Neelu. Sometimes the whole picture allows others to see if there is room for improvement, but you have the right to limit questions to what is just relevant to you. However, as we can see your posting history, some will wonder if these are consecutive cities, or if you are changing your mind on where you want to be.
Thanks for confirming the sequence of events.

Thanks for clarification - but it looks like you are getting the help you need. :)

You aren't leaving Madrid at 8.30 if that's when you're arriving at the rental office to pick up your car. That can take anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes, in my experience. When you get to Granada, you have to park the car. There is parking at the sight, but you should find out what the availability is likely to be and how long a walk it is to the Nasrid Palaces from there. It could easily be 30 minutes or more. And you should be in line at the entrance at least 15 minutes early. You have a half-hour window to enter, if you miss that window, you won't be able to enter. You don't have much leeway in your timing. Think about if you have trouble getting a parking place or it's a longer walk. Or make a wrong turn with the car somewhere (say, leaving Madrid or in Granada).

With that time frame, I'd think seriously about picking up the car the evening before and getting a much earlier start in the morning.

Use happycow.com to find vegetarian and veggie-friendly eateries.

BTW when is your trip?

@Chani

We are taking car at 8am and have a cushion of 1/2 hour before starting the journey. In Granada, the place we have booked, has a parking facility.

Thank you for your advice on arrival at the palace. That is useful! We will keep that in mind. we have already bought the tickets in advance so hopefully no line (wild guess).

We will be there in 2 weeks time.

And yes thank you for the website to the restaurants.