Six full days in Spain

I would drop Malaga and Cordoba. Five cities in six days is just too much, especially since you will have to return to Madrid for your flight home.

Take the train to Seville and consider a small-group tour to Segovia - or take the train.

We had a great time in Spain in October. We stayed at the Artrip in Madrid and the Hotel Becquer in Seville. I highly recommend both places.

I loved the food in Spain. My favorite meal of the entire trip was at Bar El Baratillo in Seville. For 25 Euros, we had four glasses of wine, tapas portions of baked goat cheese with red pepper marmalade, pork chops, and grilled artichokes, plus a racion of garlic prawns.

What time of year is your trip?

If you don't have much interest in Madrid's fabulous art museums, I think you could just manage Madrid, Segovia (day-trip from Madrid), Seville and Cordoba (day-trip from Seville or perhaps in transit from Madrid to Seville). It would be best to head out of Madrid on your arrival day (in which case you'd go straight to Seville) so you don't need to spend nights in Madrid at both the beginning and end of your trip. This cuts out one hotel change and makes your jetlagged arrival day somewhat productive by getting you to your most distant destination. On very short trips, an efficient routing is very important.

I don't think you have time for Malaga, and it doesn't rank as high on many lists as the other four cities, and certainly not as high as Toledo.

I might have a different suggestion if I knew when you were traveling.

Toledo is a much better day trip (or overnight) from Madrid - train ride is about 1/2 hour and tickets are not expensive. I believe Segovia is also a good day trip. Cordoba and Malaga are 2 hour train rides and very expensive tickets, even if you take advantage of early purchase at huge discounts.

What are your interests ? If your purpose is to tick off cities, then follow your plan. If you want to see sites and get a small feel for a place, then reduce numbers of cities. Moving and travelling every day requires several hours. You also need to consider shorter hours (it traveling off season), siesta hours, Monday closures and Sunday shorter hours.
Either Madrid-Seville-Cordoba-Madrid, or Madrid with day trips to Segovia and Toledo, and an overnight to Cordoba.
Another consideration is a road trip to castle and palace towns around Madrid....if castles and lesser visited towns interest you.

We’re going at the end of April.

Lovely time of year for this trip. What are your interests?

1. flying in to Madrid
2. Madrid
3. visit Segovia
4. train to Seville
5. Seville
6. train to Cordoba.
7. train to Madrid
8. flying out of Madrid