Sevilla, Madrid, Provence and Barcelona

Ok, lets explore some options.
First, use skyscanner.com to find flights allowing you to arrive at one airport and depart from another. This is called "open jaw" and the incremental increase in airfare is offset by not having to pay additional transportation costs to get back to one airport. The other benefit is being able to gain better effectiveness in using your days at desired destinations. Keep in mind the most valuable item you possess while on vacation is your time so be prepared to spend money on maximizing your time.
October is a great time to travel as crowds are diminshed as is the heat. Due to it's high elevation Madrid has an increased potential of experiencing some chilly mornings and Barca and Provence may offer some rain.
Consider flying to Seville (most likely via Madrid) and spending four days with a day trip to either Ronda or Cordoba (both are easy to reach via train or bus and each offer different excellent reasons to visit). Seville is a great place to catch a flemenco show.
If you can bring yourself to do it........ Skip Madrid and fly to Barcelona. If you are an absolute lover of art and museums then stay in Seville for only three days and take the AVE train to Madrid. If you goto Madrid then stay three days.
If you goto Madrid then continue on the AVE train to Barcelona where you can stay four days.
The AVE train is high speed, exceptionally comfortable (purchase second class tickets) and the terminals are ez to access and depart. For travel between Seville to Madrid and Madrid to Barca the AVE train is the best choice for ease of use and speed of travel.
If you skip Madrid then add the two days to Barca and plan on taking some day trips around Barca. Barca offers a wonderful metro system with ez connections to trains which greatly assist with taking day trips.
From Barca you can connect to Provence via train and commence your travels home via Marseille (and there are other airport ootions in the area. You can even catch a high speed train and head to Paris to depart.)
Some thoughts....... With a journey of this length it is important to strive to lug as little amount of luggage as possible. Being a luggage mule just ain't no fun and will suck the life out of a journey (akin to being stuck on LA freeways during rush hour....... Never-ending!). Wear a lite sweater and lite water resistant wind breaker jacket onto the plane (ez to remove and can be used in case you get cold on the plane or rolled into a pillow).
Immediately adapt to local customs for time tables. Do not allow your USA trained tummy clocks to dictate your eating patterns while in Spain as there is much to do in the late evenings.
The sun will be setting earlier so plan accordingly for scheduling outdoor activities and consider taking museum visits in the late afternoon.
Check out attending concerts, especially in Barca at the Palau Academy of Music.
Bathrooms? El Cortez is the equal of Macy's and their bathrooms are located on the second floor in the corners of their buildings. Btw...... Many El Cortez locations have a grocery market located in the basement and offer and ez alternative to creating a picnic or grabbing a snack.
Hope this helps!

I think the best way to see provence is by car. It is a lot easier to visit many of the towns and villages this way. Driving in the countryside and villages is not difficult and roads are fairly well marked. You can pick up a car in Marseilles and an easy place to use as home base with a car is St. Remy. Arles is a little more difficult as parking can be a pain, but it depends on your hotel. There are so many more things you can fit in during the day without having to wait for trains or buses. Many villages are not serviced by train, only bus. If you do not know how to drive a manual you can probably rent an automatic in Marsailles.

It can be done without a car, just limits the options for exploring on your own and finding little unexpected villages. I love Provence so if it were me I would take away a day from Barcelona for another day in Provence:) I spent 2 days in Barcelona and saw everything I needed to, but I prefer smaller cities.
What are the sights you are hoping to see in the cities.... Lisbon vs. Madrid?

Unless the timing and price of the flights are all pretty similar, it seems a bit odd to me to backtrack from Provence to Barcelona, instead of just flying home from Marseille. Of course, this is a bigger issue by train than it is by air. Flying Lisbon-Spain or Spain-Marseille helps you avoid the longest ground transportation days (7+ hours). Trains are less than three hours each way on the Sevilla-Madrid or Madrid-Barcelona routes.

Trains are more time efficient than flying I think. Avignon perhaps better connected to Barcelona.

Fly in to Marseille
Train to Avignon - approx 1/2 hour
Train to Barcelona - approx 4 hours
Train to Madrid - approx 3 hours
Train to Seville - approx 2.5 hours
Fly out of Seville

Thanks everyone for your inputs. The reason I have the itinerary arriving Madrid and leaving Barcelona is for ease of flights to Los Angeles. Everything from Marseille is two stops, more expensive and takes a long time. I tried flying out of Seville, too, but the flights were longer and more expensive.

I will use Avignon as the "hub" in Provence and make Arles a day trip. Aix-en-Provence will also be a day trip.

I'm going to check if there is an overnight train from Seville to Provence.

I very much appreciate your feedback.

Joe,

IMO, it's easier to plan your trip if you think of it in terms of number of nights, instead of number of days.

I count 14 nights for your trip (not counting travel days 10/14 & 10/29), correct?

So, your proposed itinerary looks something like this:

• Madrid 3N = 2 full days in Madrid
• Sevilla 3N = 2 full days in Sevilla
• Provence 4N= 3 full days in Provence
• Barcelona 4N = 3 full days in Barcelona

I'd suggest staying in Spain for the entirety of your trip, and plan on visiting Provence on another trip.

If you decide to skip Provence, you could travel to Granada &/or Córdoba instead.

Keep in mind that each time you relocate from one destination to the next, you will lose part of that day.

Since you will be flying from the West Coast, the day of arrival may not be very productive as you may be affected by jet lag...

Consider this itinerary:

• Madrid 3-4N = 2-3 days in Madrid (optional day trip to Toledo)
• AVE train to Sevilla 4N = 3 full days in Sevilla (possible day trip to Córdoba), or you could visit Córdoba en route to Sevilla.
• Bus or train to Granada 2-3N =1-2 days in Granada
• Fly or train to Barcelona 4N = 3 full days in Barcelona.

Enjoy your trip!

Oct 15 - Fly in to Madrid
Oct 18 - Train to Seville - 2.5hrs
Oct 21 - Fly to Marseille (for Avignon)
Ryanair–FR5286
2:10 pm dep Seville
4:15 pm arr Marseille
Oct 25 - Train to Barcelona - 4hrs
Oct 29 - Fly out of Barcelona