Spain in 7 nights?

With only 7 nights, I would say that 4 nights in Barcelona and 3 nights in Madrid would be a good itinerary, fly in to Barcelona and out of Madrid and use the AVE High-speed train to connect between the two.

Well, if you want to do both Barcelona and Madrid, there's your itinerary...

You can't "do Spain" in 7 days. It's a large country, with lots to see and do. Do you really have 7 full days (is this part of a larger trip to Europe? (IMHO it's not smart to go all the way to Europe from very far away if you only have 7 days for your whole trip, including travel time...if you can manage a longer trip, you will enjoy it a lot more, and get more for your money).

With 7 full days (be careful how you count your days), fly in to Barcelona and out of Madrid (or vice versa). You might be able to squeeze out a day trip from Madrid (everyone would assume Toledo, but that's best done with an overnight). That's pretty much all you will have time for. Don't try to cram in too much in a short time.

Speaking as one who doesn't have much vacation time or money, 7 days is fine for a first trip. 4 in Barcelona and 3 in Madrid or thereabouts is fine. I'd suggest flying open jaw and taking the AVE from city to city and buy tickets ahead of time.

You will definitely want to come back to Spain but that's a good thing!

7 days is fine for a trip to one particular part of Europe. 2 destinations, 3 max. Barcelona and Madrid is a good choice. Madrid and Seville. Barcelona and a smaller town in Catalonia. Seville and Granada. I haven’t been to the northwest of the country but there’s plenty up there too.

The options are pretty open, as long as you pick only 2 places and fly into one and out of the other if they are far apart.

If 7 days is what you have, by all means go. If you could manage September, the La Merce festival is September 20-24. It’s a fantastic festival. If not, split your time between the two places.

Fly into Barcelona and fly out of Madrid

3 Days Barcelona -

Day trip to Montserrat

4 Days Madrid :

1 night stay in Toledo

Not my first time to Europe. Been to Europe multiple times, just never to Spain.

And how about the weather? End of October beginning of November?

Weather should be good in Barcelona during that time of year. However, Madrid may be a little chilly. Andalucia which is in Southern Spain will have warm temperatures around that time. If you choose to go there for 7 days then you can split your time by visiting Seville 3 days - Cordoba 2 days - Granada 2 days = 7 days

The average temperature in Andalucia for November is 68 degrees Farenheit

You might want to skip Madrid. The weather may not be the best that time of year. Another option you can do is combine Barcelona with Valencia Spain for 7 days. The weather will be much better in those areas. Barcelona to Valencia via high speed train is around 3 hours.

Spain's so big that we've stuck to either the North or the South on our trips, even with more than 7 days. So if you're visiting Madrid and Barcelona, save Seville and Granada for another trip.

Evenings could be cool - have a jacket of you're walking outside at night. You might get some rain - we did in November 2015, but were even farther north than Madrid/Barcelona.

So will you be driving between Madrid and Barcelona, or taking a train, or a quick flight on Vueling Air or another budget airline?

For weather info for travel planning, I use Wunderground weather and their calendar view. from there, choose the month and the past 5 years to look at weather patterns. I was in Madrid in November 2017, The country had had record breaking heat and drought and the rainy season had not started yet - though it was typically during these dates. I had 2 nights of rain in Seville Nov 2 and that was when I went from sandals to closed shoes for the rest of the trip. Madrid on Nov 9 required gloves and a hat to stand in the plaza for the city saint's day celebrations. Other days I could wander for hours in Retiro Park without feeling cold. Any shoulder season travel requires compromise.

Thank you all for your assistance.

Hey,
maybe this can help you with what you can do in Madrid (https://madride.net/things-to-do-in-madrid/), because I believe that you will spend few days in this great city!!
Have fun!

Hi,
Just a thought, Spain is about the same size as Wisconsin, Ill, Indiana and Ohio added together. Imagine 7 days. Maybe 1 day getting out of Chicago so you can spend the rest fishing in Wisconsin. Just kidding. But Spain is about 200,000 square miles. WI is more like 55,000 and that includes good portions of some big lakes.

Same goes for France and Germany. These places are big.

wayne iNWI, which means 'in WI', maybe even fishing

Sorry but another question.. I know I said Barcelona and Madrid.. But is it better to go to Barcelona and a city less metropolitan? I want to get a feel of old Spain as well. Thoughts". Reason being, I plan on going multiple times, this wont be my last trip.

Yes Phil you have that option if you choose to for balance. Cities near Barcelona that are less of a major metropolitan are Girona, Tarragona, Zaragoza, and Figueres. You can combine Barcelona with one of them if you want to skip Madrid on this trip and tour the rest time permitted. You will definitely get that feeling of old Spain. All four are not far in distance from Barcelona.

To add to RJean’s great suggestions, another possible place beyond Barcelona is San Sebastián, also known in the Basque language as Donostia. It’s on the north coast of Spain, in the Basque Country, almost a different country and culture, but still a part of Spain - at least now, anyway.

But if you do wind up in Madrid, it’s a modern city yet still has plenty of “old” Spain too, plus some of the very best art museums in the world! And you might be there during Zarzuela season, a musical performance unique to Madrid, kind of a Spanish combination of musical theater/opera/epic drama. And while flamenco music and dancing originated in southern Spain, if you’re not going to Seville this trip, you can catch a flamenco performance in Madrid. Rick Steves’ guidebook has all the details on Zarzuela and flamenco.

OK here is my next question... If I take the train from Madrid to Toledo does it leave you close to the city? I don't want to be pressed for time when there. Want to do what I want when I want lol....

The Toledo station is fairly convenient, there are frequent city buses to the historical center taking a few minutes, or you can walk there in less than 30 minutes, but it's uphill (better for the way back I'd say). It is certainly a better situation than in Segovia, where the high speed train station is several miles out of town.

Or you could fly into Madrid and take the train to Toledo (local train from airport to Madrid, then fast train to Toledo). Each train ride is about 1/2 hour. If you land in Madrid in the morning or early afternoon, it should not be a problem. Spend 2-3 nights enjoying the medieval city, then take the train back to Madrid and change for the high-speed train to Barcelona. You could take an early train from Toledo, store your luggage at the station, spend the day in Madrid, then a late afternoon train to Barcelona. Note that Mon-Fri there are trains leaving Toledo at 6.25, 7.25, and 7.55. On the weekends the first train leaves at 9.25.

When I visited Toledo (2015) I took a taxi to my hotel next to the cathedral for €9, then a bus to the train station for €1.40.

I am booked for 7 nights in Madrid. So I will be doing day trips. I will go to Barcelona another time and surrounding areas. This time doing Madrid and surrounding areas.

Many great day-trips from Madrid. Toledo's my No. 1 by a considerable margin. I also like Segovia, Cuenca (AVE train needed; expensive if tickets not bought well in advance) and Alcala de Henares (cheap commuter rail ticket).

I haven't been to El Escorial, which is sometimes combined with Avila. I found Avila uninteresting despite its wall.

For a taste of Andalucia you vould check on the AVE travel time and fare to the lovely city of Cordoba. I prefer multiple days there, but if the cost and time are reasonable I'd consider a day-trip from Madrid.

I definitely plan on going to Toledo; El Escorial Monastery & The Valley of the Fallen; Segovia and Avila... Spend all the rest of my time in Madrid......

Hi, you will use your time much better skipping the Francoist regime monument at the Valley of the Fallen, I would suggest better the medieval cliff-side town of Cuenca, 1 hr west via the AVE or the Ancient Roman town of Segobriga, south-west of Madrid.

I wont have a car and wont be driving. So everything would have to be with public transportation or guided day tours....

Please consider skipping the Valley of the Fallen for the reasons Carlos mentions: it is a monument to a regime aligned with fascist powers, and not a memorial. It is hard to reach by public transportation anyways.
Ávila isn't that exciting either once you've seen the wall, I'd rather spend more time in Segovia instead.