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Spain in 9 Days - Need advice

We are traveling in and out of Barcelona beginning of February. That’s all we have confirmed so far. Our focus is food and a fair amount of sightseeing but nothing too intense as we are traveling with our son who would rather not sight see that much. Question is do we go to Madrid with a few side trips from each city or skip Madrid and go south to Seville, etc,

Posted by
3874 posts

With only 9 days (8 nights) I would focus on just Barcelona and Madrid, there's plenty to do and see in between the two. You will waste valuable vacation time trying to travel down to Sevilla, which would require a flight or a rather lengthy train trip from Barcelona. With the AVE high speed train you can go from Barcelona to Madrid in 2.5 hrs.

Also, it may be just me, but isn't it a bit late-ish to just start planning for your trip, only two weeks out? I'm assuming you are talking about the beginning of this coming February?

Posted by
5508 posts

If its this February, you should book La Sagrada right away, and then the other sites. Also, it can be tough to get hotel rooms

Posted by
3874 posts

I second Jules' recommendation, buy those Sagrada Familia tickets ASAP!

Posted by
3 posts

Yes we are late! Have hotel in Barcelona. Will book Sagrada. Any thoughts on Alicante?

Posted by
3874 posts

I definitely wouldn't rank Alicante in the "class A" of places to see in Spain, maybe not even "class C". If this is your first trip to Spain, I think there are many more significant places that should take precedence, especially with only 8 nights. (Sorry Alicante...)

Posted by
5508 posts

If you need a hotel for Madrid and not a lot of time for research, I was very happy with Hotel Europa on the Puerta del Sol. Great lively location in walking distance of the royal palace. I don't have a great sense of Madrid prices, but I was very happy with a rate of 95 euros in November. Staff was nice. Hotel was immaculate.

Posted by
2930 posts

The point is... what do you want/expect to see? what sort of "things"?

Depending on your response you might not need to move much from Catalonia, the area where Barcelona is the capital of, as there are lots of different things to do/see there: monuments, historical sites, picturesque little towns, great cities, breathtaking scenic views, sacred places, high peaks and mountain ranges, ski resorts, old ruins, diverse and unique flora and fauna, beautiful natural parks, one of the world's best gastronomy...

Posted by
15560 posts

Enric is right. There's more than enough to fill up your time without leaving Barcelona. If you want a change of pace, you could spend 1-2 nights in nearby Girona, much smaller with a well-preserved medieval center. Or you could spend 2-3 nights in Valencia, where there's a lot to see while you eat their signature dish, paella, and drink some agua de valencia.

Posted by
5508 posts

I would agree with Enric and Chani. I liked Madrid, it's pretty and lively, and not very historic. I think Barcelona and surrounding area has plenty for just about everyone. I was there for 8 days and could have spent more time. One of my favorite places in Europe so far is the medieval walled city of Girona which is an hour trip from Barcelona. Some do a day trip there, which if that's what you have, fine, but it is so beautiful and interesting (even without any Game of Thrones connection!) We were there for 3 nights. We took a day trip to charming Besalu from Girona. You could stay longer in Girona and could take other day trips. We also took a day trip to Montserrat from Barcelona, which is very special. I didn't have enough time but I would have also liked to have gone to Cadaques and Tarragona. If your son is younger, I think he'd love Girona. We walked on top of the city walls at dusk. I imagine when you say "he'd rather not sight see much" you are thinking museums. We didn't go to a single museum, might have if we'd had more time. I wouldn't call the Gaudi sights museums. Just about anyone likes Park Guell and Casa Mila and La Sagrada Familia are so interesting and different from anything I've seen before so I really wouldn't think them as a museums. We were to Barcelona in January and even then we enjoyed the beach at Barceloneta. My girls (age 20) really enjoyed gathering sea glass (barefoot in jeans and midweight jackets)

Posted by
3 posts

These are all great responses. Thanks very much. Yes torn now between going to Madrid or staying around Barcelona with day trips. My son is 20 so food experiences is his thing. Booked Picasso Museum and Sagrada so far.

Posted by
472 posts

Barcelona stuff:

  • near the Picasso Museum is a Basque tapas place we went to twice, obviously really liked: Euskal Extea, on the same small street, towards the church.
  • also really enjoyed dinner at Talles de Tapas nearby, outdoor tables in the small plaza, & roving four-guys tumbling & acrobatic act for entertainment! Both restaurants reasonable.
  • does Dali speak to any of you? (or mystify?!) Very good Dali Museo day trip (out of town) with Viator on luxe bus with good guide.