We have 3+ weeks to spend Feb-Mar 2024 during a sabbatical and have never been to Spain. We want to tour but also relax. We don't mind having a few days with nothing specific on the agenda, just sitting in cafes, walking around, and enjoying the city. We don't want to pack up and move every few nights. We understand we will only scratch the surface of what we could see in Spain.
We are considering Week 1: Barcelona, Week 2: travel - perhaps 3 cities, 2 nights each, Week 3: Madrid. We love a combination of wandering through markets, highlights at museums, castles and cathedrals, some outdoors but not rigorous hiking. Thoughts?
Posted by
8246 posts
Barcelona is a great place to visit, but you won't need a week there. Consider 5 days.
Don't miss
Madrid (also Toledo and Segovia are near and you can do a day trip to both) 5 days there.
Cordoba, its on your way to Seville, consider 2 nights.
Seville, my favorite city in Spain. 4 nights is good.
Malaga, also see Rhonda, 3 nights.
Granada, two nights
Posted by
Bay Area, California
1632 posts
The season also plays a role in choosing destinations. In summer, southern Spain is very hot.
Posted by
Washington DC
28082 posts
Note: I haven't been to Spain in February-March, or to Barcelona/Madrid earlier than May. Madrid can be quite chilly in the winter; Barcelona averages about 10 degrees (F) warmer at that time of year. I'd be more inclined to go to Andalucia and--if I had time left over--Barcelona. Andalucia gets miserably hot in the summer, so this would be a great opportunity to see it under much better conditions.
A week in Madrid would allow time for multiple side trips. There are many really, really good ones: Toledo (worth an overnight or longer), Segovia, Cuenca, Salamanca, Alcala de Henares. Actually, I think all of those are worth an overnight, but they are often treated as day trips from Madrid.
Possible day trips from Barcelona include Montserrat (though I'm not sure about winter weather up there), Sitges (wonder whether it would be dead in the winter), Girona, Figueres (for the Dali Museum), Cadaques and Besalu. The last three would be faster to reach from Girona, which makes Girona ideal as a second base in Catalunya.
Between Barcelona and Madrid, right on the express rail line, is the very interesting city of Zaragoza. Its winter weather is quite similar to Madrid's, however.
If you want to stick to Barcelona + smaller towns + Madrid, these are among the places I'd consider for 2 or 3 nights: Girona, Zaragoza, Toledo, Cordoba. Valencia's also possible, but it would add more travel time.
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
For me, slow travel either means spending a least a week in one city then making daytrips out or making a meandering roadtrip through a focused area. It also depends on what you are interested in, specific history, beach, hiking, cuisine, nature, islands, mountains etc.? What drew you to chose Spain for your sabbatical? Will you be doing specific research?
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
Hooray for slow!! I feel strongly that it’s nearly impossible to truly know a place, its people and energy when too focused on maximizing sightseeing. 5+ days is my minimum ideal for medium and larger cities.
I’d do a trifecta of Sevilla, Madrid, and Barcelona. (Connect straight into Sevilla, fly out of Barcelona, trains between them.) [maybe swap Valencia for Sevilla, leaving the south for later exploration.]
Do you need a full week in each? No. But apart from seeing sights, it won’t be hard to fill the time wandering, browsing, two-hour lunches, people watching from a bar’s terrace a languid vermut…
Feb/March maybe isn’t the best time of year. But we don’t all have the luxury of super flexible schedules— wearing a jacket and carrying an umbrella is certainly better than just staying home.