Salamanca or Granada

Are you driving in Andalucía?

I'm guessing you're big art fans. If you are not, a week in Madrid (even allowing for a day to Segovia and a day to Toledo) is a rather long time. You might be able to squeeze Salamanca into the first part of your trip by taking some time away from Madrid. Salamanca's over a 2-hour trip by train, so I wouldn't want to make it a day-trip (the historic area is large), but you could see a lot of Salamanca with one overnight in the city, I think. (I don't like one-nighters myself.)

The one advantage Salamanca has over Granada is its relative proximity to another of your stops. Otherwise, I don't think there's any contest: Granada wins, hands down.

Depends if you’re driving or taking public transportation. Salamanca is worth one night at most. If you had a car, I’d suggest leaving Madrid and head to Segovia for a night. Then head to Avila for a couple hours before continuing on to Salamanca for a night. From there, go to Toledo for a night. From there, head south to Sevilla, possibly stopping at Consuegra for a hour to see the castle and windmills.
The white towns can be seen in at most, 2 days since most have little to offer and are best seen from a distance. To me, Arcos is nice for a couple hours and not worth an overnight (but I’ve been to it at least a dozen times.) I also like Zahara de la Sierra since there is a tower you can climb overlooking a lake. Ronda is worth a full day and one night (walk down into the gorge at sunset to get nice photos of the bridge) and Granada is worth 2 nights.

Daniel,

As you may know, the Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it's a spectacular place to visit.

Make sure you can still book your Alhambra tickets for your dates.

I just checked the website and April is already completely sold out!

Enjoy your time in Spain!

We arrived in Ronda mid-afternoon, stayed the night and had to leave the next morning. We would have definitely stayed 2 nights if we had the spare time. So, depending on the time you have available, I would recommend 2N in Ronda. It was a beautiful town. Enjoy!

You need at least 2 nights in Granada to see the Alhambra and there's good reason why it is the top sight in Spain. I haven't been to Salamanca. I liked staying in Ronda (with a car) and day-tripping to explore the pueblos blancos. I enjoyed a few hours in Arcos (day trip from Jerez) but wasn't enamored enough to wish I'd spent a night there. There are several quirky small museums in Ronda if you're interested in culture and folklore, plus a very good bullring/museum, plus the gorge and views. If you have a car, stop in Antequera on the way to Granada - just outside the hill town are prehistoric dolmens (closed on Mondays) and/or go for a hike in El Torcal. Cordoba and Toledo are my favorite cities. I recommend staying overnight in both, but especially Toledo since most of the visitors are day-trippers from Madrid.

Most folks on this forum have found that Madrid is the least interesting city in Spain. If you are big fans of European painting, you'll want 2 full days there for that - 1 for the Prado (it's huge) and 1 for the Reina Sofia and the Thyssen. One more day for an overview of the city and the palace.

"Most folks on this forum have found that Madrid is the least interesting city in Spain."

While it's certainly true that many don't seem to like Madrid, others, including me, like it a lot. Certainly, if you have any interest in paintings at all, it's a must, but if you like large and dynamic cities, you'll like it too. If, on the other hand, you like older European cities, you may not like it (as European cities go, it's "young," and some people are put off by this).

In addition to the great art and the big city vibe, I also appreciated the variety of food in the restaurants. As a non-fan of Spanish food, Madrid was the city where I had the best food experiences, and the least trouble finding good meals.

Again, I know many do not have positive impressions of Madrid, but at least for me, it's not like Brussels (now that's a city that I truly find uninspiring).

As to your original question, do you have (or can you get, perhaps via your hotel) reservations for the Alhambra? If yes, you will want two nights in Granada, since the Alhambra takes the better part of a day, and you don't want to miss your reservation time for the Nasrid Palace. If you can't get an Alhambra reservation, you can skip Granada or shorten your visit there.

Daniel,
If I were you, I’d tweak my itinerary and logistics to accommodate both. Full disclosure: I’m a HUGE fan of Salamanca - my last visit was ‘17 for two weeks. The city is a World Heritage jewel with its university celebrating its 800 anniversary. Modernity has not changed Salamanca; it maintains a 16th C. ambiance and invites you walk everywhere.
I’d cut time from Madrid in favor of Salamanca - it’s unforgettable (plus you’ll be “near by in Segovia).
Buen viaje.
Craig

If you absolutely have to choose, I would go for Granada (even though Salamanca is wonderful as well). But like others have said, I think you can make time for both.

To include Salamanca you would most likely want 2 nights, which would then put a time squeeze on the rest of your trip. Take a day to Jerez or Cadiz from Seville instead. The Alhambra in Granada should be the top of your list.

I’d go with something like this ...

Day
1. Arrive Sevilla (4)
2. Sevilla
3. Day to Jerez or Cadiz by train
4. Sevilla
5. Pick up car ... Drive via Arcos to Ronda (2)
6. Pueblos blancos by car
7. Drive to Granada (2)
8. Alhambra
9. Drive to Cordoba (1) ... Return car
10. Late train to Madrid (5)
11. Madrid
12. Day to Toledo by train
13. Madrid
14. Day to Segovia by train
15. Depart Madrid

Really appreciate everyone who offered a perspective. To be completely honest, we’re still not sure what our itinerary will be - but such is the joy of vacation planning. We will almost certainly visit Granada and we will probably leave out Salamanca to limit the travel time.

Thinking something like this...

Day 1 - Madrid
Day 2 - Granada
Day 3 - Granada
Day 4 - Ronda
Day 5 - Ronda
Day 6 - Sevilla
Day 7 - Sevilla
Day 8 - Cordoba
Day 9 - Toledo
Day 10 - Toledo
Day 11 - El Escorial / sleep Segovia
Day 12 - Segovia
Day 13 - Madrid
Day 14 - Madrid

I should mention we are flying in and out of Madrid and have no flexibility here.

It might help if you detail your travel plans in order to gauge how much time you actually have at each destination. Perhaps consider heading to Cordoba straight up on arrival, and adding an extra day in Sevilla.

Day
1. Arrive Madrid. Train to Cordoba (2)
2. Mezquita
3. Pick up car ... Drive to Granada (2)
4. Alhambra
5. Drive to Ronda (2)
6. Pueblos blancos by car
7. Drive via Arcos to Sevilla (3) ... Return car
8. Sevilla
9. Sevilla
10. Early train to Madrid (5)
11. Madrid
12. Day to Toledo by train
13. Royal Palace, then to El Escorial
14. Day to Segovia by train
15. Depart Madrid

Do take note of Harold's comment about Alhambra tickets. They sell out very, very early. You may need to schedule around ticket availability or throw yourself on the mercy of your Granada hotel. In any case, you need to look at the ticket situation ASAP to know what your options are.