Spain in 10 Days (July)

I have never been to Pamplona, but if seeing it during the running is a priority, great. Definitely do that, then add ONE of your other ideas. Probably one with a major international airport, so #3 is out. As much as I love Andalucia, it is on the opposite side of the country from Pamplona and will be difficult to get between the two.

So...my suggestion is to fly into Madrid, explore it and Toledo, make your way to Pamplona, then onto San Sebastian, flying home from there. Or the reverse, fly into San Sebastian, go to Pamplona, then Madrid, fly home from there. Since Pamplona is a priority, combining it with Madrid makes the most sense. Barcelona itself would be fine, too, but not with Valencia. Madrid and Toledo are close to each other and easy to do on one leg of a trip.

Mira,

Thanks for the reply and your suggestions. Question for you and others - if you had the 10-11 days we are planning to spend in Spain what would your itinerary look like? What would be tops on your list? We are a couple who enjoys hiking and taking in the sights as well as cultural immersion - considering the VRBO option in at least one stop to get more into the culture. Would love more of your thoughts.

B

Just returned from Spain. My absolute favorite place was the Alhambra in Granada. Second favorite was the Mezquita in Cordoba.

YMMV.

During July you are going to run into huge crowds and, most likely, very high temps which will prove frustrating, reduce your effective time and prove exhausting.
Please provide the opportunity to gain greater enjoyment from your journey by doing the following:
Stay WELL HYDRATED. I cannot overstress this issue.
Take a siesta during the heat of the day. Yes, you want to max the return on your travel dollar, but there are some battles which should not be fought. Head for a pool or just get out of the sun and take a shower.
Suncreen lotion is a must!
On the first day of arrival commence living by the spanish time table. Start by overcoming your USA tummy feeding schedule and get on the late evening spanish feeding schedule. There are a ton of things to do late night which will immerse you into the spanish culture and add value to your trip experiences.
Walk several blocks away from the main tourist zones and check out tapas bars and restaurants which are not predominently tourist customer focus. You will be amazed at the price difference and dont worry about language barriers, take the risk and go for adventurous food experiences. This advise is especially apt gor Granada, where one of our daughter's did her study abroad program. Locate the University of Granada on a map and try the eating/entertaining experiences in this area.
Oh! "Arabian baths", research and try at least one of them out in order to learn a new meaning of "letting the stress escape".
In barcelona the academy of music at the palau is a great tour and experience, especially since the building is air conditioned.
El Cortes Ingles, a large national department store, is your new friend. Bathrooms are in the corners starting on the third floor (sometimes the second) and the basement usually has a full grocery store. The dept store is air conditioned and makes a great place to dive into to refresh yourself. I do not recommend eating at their restaurants, but "window shopping" inside the store is interesting to gain a perspective on spanish products.
Destinations:
If you have not purchased airfare then use an open jaw ticket to maximize travel effectiveness.
Pack lite, really lite, as hauling luggage among large crowds and high heat is a real pain in the butt (especially when doing mutiple destinations.
If it were me.........
Fly into Seville for three days and take the AVE renfe train to Madrid. Learn how to stop at Cordoba for a quick day trip on your way to madrid.
Stay in Madrid for two days and day trip over to Toledo. Admittedly I am not a fan of madrid due to a small old town area with a focus on museums being the main attraction ( from my point of view).
Take the AVE to barcelona for the remainder of the trip and rent an apt. Huge menu of opportunity w great day trip opportunities, including hiking at Montserrat. Be sure and take a half day break at the barcelona, or stiges, beaches.
What have you accomplished? Visiting three distinct different areas of Spanish culture and seeing a wide range of cultural, scenic and unique, in every sense of the word, architectural wonders.
Enjoy.

My favorite location in Spain is Granada. The Alhambra is magnificent, and the Albayzin neighborhood is totally unique. It's just it's own world, its own feeling, which I love. Other favorites are Sevilla, Toledo, and Barcelona. I like Madrid fine, but don't love it like the others. It's a must-see for art lovers, though. I do love art and I go to the museums each time I visit, but atmospherically it feels more like any major city. Barcelona is just as big (bigger?) but seems to have more of its own personality. The mesquita in Cordoba is amazing, and the town is nice enough, but I prefer Sevilla and Granada of the three.

I tend to be drawn to places where cultures meet, where there are different influences creating a unique whole. I like art, good food, wandering around in atmospheric locations, and just soaking in the feeling of a place. Who on this forum doesn't, though ;)

If I were going to Spain in July, I'd go to Barcelona and see a bit of Catalonia, too (cadaques, and some of the interior of the region which I have not seen), then I would head down to Granada, with maybe a side trip to Nerja or somewhere else on the beach, if I didn't get to a beach in Catalonia. You've listed the top sights, I think, now it's a matter of your own priorities

A thought to make your mind spin (and the conumdrum of visiting Spain is there are so many great options).......
Open jaw ticket.
Fly into granada for four days and hike in the sierra nevada mountains (ez public transport access) and take in the sites offered in granada.
Then fly to Barcelona for remainder of trip where you will also depart for home from barcelona.
This option minimizes travel stress and maximizes opportunity to absorb two great culturally diverse areas.
At this point suggest you start googling items that interest you to define options (example: hiking granada, hiking barcelona, etc).

Marbleskies - thanks for the suggestions. We really like your idea about hiking Sierra Nevada so checking into that now.

http://www.rusticblue.com/andalucia_guide.php#towns

Andalusia maybe best avoided mid summer. The north much more pleasant.
I would suggest something like this with just 10 nights ...
Madrid (3)
Fly to
Bilbao for Guggenheim (1)
San Sebastian (2)
Fly to
Barcelona (4)

Two years ago we travel to Madrid, San Sebastian, Boudreaux and Barcelona. Our favorite city is San Sebastian. It is a beautiful city where we relaxed, oved the pintxos, beach and old town. I recommend spending a few days to relax and enjoy this unique Spanish town. The pintxo was unbelieveable. We had such fun going from bar to bar and enjoying the creative cuisine.

Thanks for your thoughts - we will definitely spend some time relaxing in San Sebastian. Any suggestions on lodging there?

We have been to Spain in summer and July is extremely hot in Andalusia. Highly recommended Valencia, coast and inland. Castellón is not so beautiful and Barcelona beach and inland area is also a must. In Valencia, we visited a wine region known as the Valencian Tuscany which turned out to be fantastic. Good weather, mild temperatures and excellent wine!!!

I am in Spain now, and Madrid, Cordoba, Toledo and Valencia are hot and getting hotter. Just be prepared. Marbleskies has the best ideas. My daughter was here for a week and we did Madrid, day trip to Segovia/Avila, Toledo, Cordoba, Sevilla and back to Madrid, all on the train. It was pretty tiring. Your above plan is good, but I would eliminate San Sebastian unless you have a lot of money. It is really far from all the other destinations you mentioned. It is easy to get to Valencia or Barcelona by train and not too expensive. While I haven't been to San Sebastien yet it is because it is so far north and the cost is high to get there from the south. The AVE goes Madrid-Barcelona for around $50 euros if you buy it in advance, sometimes even cheaper!

Forget the running of the bulls.

Buy your train tickets in advance, they are cheaper that way, and the trains are getting full. Renfe.com. Hope you speak some Spanish! you can translate each part if you need to using freetranslation.com. Pay using Paypal, Renfe doesn't like american credit cards. I have had no problems using Renfe.com. If you are over 55 or 65, you can get a Tarjeta Dorada and book tickets at a discount, but you have to buy the ticket here in Spain when you arrive. That makes buying the tickets in advance a little difficult. Sometimes though, the promotion fare is cheaper.

I think I took Alsa bus from Seville to Valencia. It was fast and cheap! From Valencia you can take a train to Barcelona
You will have a good time!
I love Spain!

We stayed at La Galeria in San Sebastian and found it charming, well located and good value.
http://www.hotellagaleria.com/