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Seville & Madrid

We will be in Madri for 5 days and 5 days in Seville, Four of those days we can use for touring on each city.
We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids ages 9 ad 10) Looking for tours or places we can go and see that will be both educational and fun.
WE saw a tour from Seville to Morocco that included camels however the reviews on viator have made me think twice.
Wondering if its worth it..

We have not been to Seville or Madrid

Also looking for a good flamenco with dinner in Seville..

Also if we wanted to see nearby cities should we do tours or take the trains?

Thank you

Posted by
16893 posts

For value and time usage, especially with kids, you might be better off with a one-hour flamenco-only show starting at 19:00 and keeping dinner separate. Dinner shows start later, run longer, and somewhat limit your food choices.

Seville is not really close enough to be the gateway to Morocco. A tour would include at least two hours bus travel each way, as well as the ferry rides, which doesn't leave much time in Tangiers if it's all on one day.

Tours to Granada should include Alhambra reservations, so that you don't have to make those yourselves. Cordoba is easy enough by train.

Posted by
26840 posts

Although Toledo is my personal favorite, with kids involved I think I'd rank Segovia as the #1 side-trip from Madrid. It's really hard to trump that aqueduct. You can easily take the train from Madrid. Your guidebook should provide background on what you're seeing.

If you have time for two day-trips from Madrid, I'd make Toledo the second one. Again, the train is easy, and your guidebook should explain how to get up to the historic center on the hill. With 4 people, a taxi wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm sure there are buses, or you can walk and use the escalators. But it's a rather long walk. I think a walking tour of Toledo might be worthwhile. It's a very old, very historic city. You can probably sign up for one (or some may allow you just to show up) after you arrive in Toledo. Ask at the Tourist Office.

There are frequent trains to Toledo, but occasionally they sell out. Rick warns about the importance of buying your return ticket to Madrid at the same time as your outbound ticket so you don't get marooned in Toledo.

In Spain round-trip train tickets are often about the same price as one-way tickets--a big money-saver for a family.

Posted by
814 posts

If you go to Segovia, don't just do the aqueduct: This Castle Is so Magical It Inspired Walt Disney

Whether you are a fan of Disneyland, Disney World, Tokyo Disney Resort or one of his other attractions around the world, you know Walt Disney loved his castles. ... Enter Alcázar de Segovia, a castle in Segovia, a historic town in central Spain's Castile and León region a little over an hour northwest of Madrid. Take one look at its blue-gray turrets, protruding fortress, and rocky cliff foundation, and just try not to have an Alan Menken score pop into your head. It is said that Disney drew inspiration from this majestic site – along with Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany – when dreaming up Cinderella's iconic castle, and the similarities are easy to spot.

Posted by
6386 posts

For something educational, you could always go to the Roman ruins at Italica just outside of Sevilla. I can’t say I’d take a 9 and 10 year old to Morocco. It may be too far outside their comfort zone. The camel ride, at least the one on the day trip I took there years ago, was more of a photo op than a real ride. On this trip, skip Morocco. From Madrid, maybe a day trip to Cuenca to see the gorge and hanging houses. The children would enjoy walking over the gorge’s bridge (although that may make mom and dad nervous). As acraven stated, Toledo is always nice to visit.

Posted by
26840 posts

Cuenca's a possibility, but it's risky not to plan it ahead of time so you can be sure of getting train tickets at the promotional price. Full-fare AVE tickets to Cuenca are very expensive, and that maymbe the only thing available close to the travel date.

Posted by
336 posts

For an hour flamenco show, i can strongly suggest la casa de la memoria in Sevilla.
Authentic and emotional, it’s a small place, you will remember for the rest of your life

Posted by
168 posts

I found the flamenco and I am making reservations.. taking into account all the other ideas and yes Morocco is off the menu! LOL

Posted by
168 posts

TY for the memoria de Sevilla we have already booked!

I am planning to go to Toledo via train on our own which seems easy enough from the Atocha station.
I am also looking into doing a day to Valencia.. Are there any places we should see with the kids... Any beaches you can recommend.. Besides all the history I want to do something a little more upbeat for the kiddos...

Thanking you in advance.. We leave in a couple of days!!

Martha

Posted by
29 posts

I think the kids would LOVE Toledo. It is a spectacular historic city with walls and ramparts and where you can purchase (or at least watch the making of) real custom made swords. I second the 1 hour Flamenco show and separate dinner. Generally the better quality shows are the 1 hour shows and it work better for a child's attention span. Also, the food will be better for adults and kids alike at a real restaurant I would also book a tour to Granada with Alhambra tickets included.

Posted by
2455 posts

Happy travels! I would recommend a day trip to Cordoba, where the Mesquita is unique, beautiful, historic, and the atmosphere inside feels quite mysterious, then with a Catholic Cathedral built inside the ancient mosque. I think the kids would love it, as will you. Then, across the nearby bridge, there is a museum, in the tower as I remember, where the history of Cordoba, its region and its prominent historical figures are presented with excellent, large dioramas. Very beautiful, and the core lesson is different cultures living together in the heyday of Cordoba. In Madrid, unless your kids are really, really into art, I doubt their attention span can absorb the three great art museums in the city, near each other. So, I do think you could do day trips to both Segovia and Toledo. A couple last tips: in Seville, at the very beautiful (but not very old) Plaza de Espana, your family might enjoy a carriage ride. Also, I think I saw kids wading in the pools there, not swimming pools, decorative ones. In either Madrid or Seville, definitely seek out churros con chocolate. I found a great informal place for this near the Plaza de Alfalfa in Seville, where I got to know the older couple who, had operated the business for decades, and invited me into the back area of their little business, where I saw and photographed all the steps I’m making my churros and chocolate. Oh yes, in Valencia, if you go there, a little outside of the center of town, is the City of Arts and Sciences (or similar name), a series of diverse ultra modern buildings with exhibits, performance venues, etc. I went around sunset and just wandered around the exterior, it was amazing, and I was even blessed with a huge rainbow. Extremely photogenic. Across the street, there is also an interesting modern shopping mall, where I had dinner at an affordable and abundant all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant.

Posted by
687 posts

In Toledo, my kids loved the Zocotren and Mariano Zamora’s sword shop. And the escalators (apparently no one explained “historical significance” to my son; he would have ridden them all day).
Eating at Abadia in their cave rooms was fun.
In Sevilla, my kids liked the Plaza de Espana. Lots of street performers in the area. If your kids are Star Wars fans, they might recognize some of the scenery.

Posted by
26840 posts

While Valencia might well be appealing to children, a day-trip from Madrid to Valencia means 3-1/2 hours of train time alone for the round-trip. To that you must add round-trip travel time between your hotel and Atocha Station and between the Valencia station and the sights you want to see.

Making Valencia work as a day-trip requires use of the fast AVE train, and those tickets tend to be quite pricey if bought shortly before the travel date. Check the fares for trains on your possible day-trip days right away to see whether Valencia will be a viable option for you. Use the Renfe website for price-checking. If you decide to proceed and want to buy the tickets in advance, you may need to use PayPal rather than a US credit card.

Posted by
15560 posts

Instead of Valencia, go to Cadiz and Jerez for a day, by train from Sevilla. Check for horse shows at the Royal Equestrian School in Jerez. They are only 2-3 times a week. Take a taxi from the train station. Then go back to the station and hop on a train to Cadiz. You can walk from the train station to the town center and the beach on the Atlantic. Lots of sights in this ancient port city.

The kids may enjoy the Naval Museum in Madrid, mainly about the golden age of exploration. Take your passports with you to get in.

Posted by
26840 posts

It appears that the Seville-Jerez-Cadiz trains require reservations, so you'd need separate tickets if you want to get off at Jerez and do some sightseeing before continuing the trip. The Seville-Jerez trip takes about 1 hour, and Jerez-Cadiz is about 35-40 minutes; those are both one-way times.