Spain Intinerary and Questions

Madrid is one of my favorite cities in Europe and underrated, hard to imagine less that three full days there. do you only like modern art, or is the Guggenheim on the list because of the building? Madrid is one of the great art cities of Europe with the Prado, Thyssen, and Reina Sofia. The attractions in Madrid are spread out enough that you are not going to feel overwhelmed by tourists. Madrid is the New York City of Spain. I have been in April and September, and the tourist crowds were not noticeable to me, but the last time I was there was in 2005. It might be different now that there are more visitors from outside of Europe and from eastern Europe. Even if art is not a priority, the Parque de Buen Retiro for the paseo, Calle de Huertas pedestrian boulevard, the Palacio Royal, Sol area, Plaza Mayor are great to just soak in the atmosphere. You probably don't have Corte de Ingles back home. I'm not a shopper but it's fun to take a quick look. Try to stay around Plaza Santa Ana area if you can, walk to all of the above mentioned places. Cafe Central jazz club is right there in that neighborhood, not sure if minors are allowed by a really fun venue. Barcelona is nice too, but much more likely to get caught in tourist hoards there. Don't miss Parc Guell, city museum, one of the Gaudi houses. I was not impressed by the Catalan Art museum, but the Picasso Museum was a nice snapshot of a specific period in his career. Barcelona Cathedral is a nice visit, too. The Ramblas is a real scene, very crowded much of the time. Wear your money belts! Overall I would probably focus on Madrid and Barcelona, and consider the may day trips out of Madrid and extending your stay there (Segovia, Toledo, El Escorial). Even find a way to substitute in a stay in Toledo. I have driven in Spain and did not think it was harder than other countries in Europe, but it depends a lot on where you are going and picking up / dropping off the car.

A car can be very handy for visiting rural areas or a string of small towns, each of which might be worth a few hours of your time. However, a car is not always the best way to reach isolated areas to begin your exploration, and in any case you need a certain amount of time to see those nice, isolated spots. Based on my admittedly very limited experience in and around the Pyrenees, I don't think you have sufficient time to visit that area.

Love Girona. But unless you want to drive through France to get to San Sebastian, the best options for reaching the Basque Country involve returning to Barcelona. I'd do Girona by train (40 minutes), whether you choose to stay there overnight or not. Driving will take about 90 minutes, and that doesn't include time to pick up a car, find parking, etc.

So: How to get to San Sebastian. Both Renfe and Deutsche Bahn seem to require you to piece together two separate train trips (Barcelona-Zaragoza and Zaragoza-San Sebastian). The second leg in infrequent enough that you'd have to look carefully at the schedules to be sure the layover is tolerable. I haven't done that.

** Edited to add: Zaragoza is worth walking-around time for its historic district, and it has a nicely restored Moorish palace. Unfortunately, the train/bus station is located an awkward distance from both of those sites (which are in the same direction but not particularly close to each other). There is frequent bus service from the station, but with a group I'd use a taxi. There's a tourist office on the upper level inside the station.

ViaMichelin estimates that you can drive from Barcelona to San Sebastian in 6-1/2 hours without any stops. The route is well south of the Pyrenees, and I can't tell you how picturesque it might be, though I'm pretty confident the last bit will be nice because the Basque Country tends to be hilly and green.

I'd seriously consider flying. Check skyscanner.com for options into San Sebastian and Bilbao. The latter has a much more active airport, I believe.

There is frequent bus service back and forth between San Sebastian and Bilbao. The trip takes less than 1-1/2 hours. There's a train that follows a very scenic route, but it takes over 4 hours.

For your flight from Bilbao to London, there seem to be only two good non-stop options that would allow you time to see the Guggenheim earlier in the day. They depart at 6:35 and 7:40 PM. Don't wait too long to book that flight. Meanwhile, Bilbao has quite a nice historic district.

I agree that it would be nice to have more time in Madrid. If you find you're just not entranced, you can take one of the fabulous day-trips from Madrid: Toledo, Segovia, and Cuenca.

I agree - you need more time in Madrid.
Also, you should be aware that if you get into smaller, less touristed places you are unlikely to encounter English-speakers. You should know at least a little Spanish.

Your odds are better in a small town in Catalunya or the Basque Country than in places of similar size in some other parts of Spain, I think. For me it's fun to get far enough off the tourist path to encounter restaurants whose menus are not in English and which do not have English-speaking touts standing on the sidewalk trying to lure people inside.

In Madrid, Hotel Europa is very good. It's on the Plaza del Sol, with easy Cercanias connections to the airport and the train station, the HOHO bus stop, and easy walking distance to the San Miguel market (graze through tapas for lunch) and the Prado and Thyssen museums. Between those two is the often-overlooked but very interesting Naval Museum (must bring passports for entry).

In Barcelona, I'd stay in/near the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter). There are coin-op laundromats where you can wash/dry everything in an hour and a half (in Madrid too), and walk around the neighborhood while the machines are running. Lots of tapas bars and restaurants here too.

Use viamichelin.com (acraven's given you a link) to plot driving routes. It will give you the estimated net driving times and costs (gas, tolls).

If you drop part of the northern bit, here are a couple suggestions for where to add. [1] Barcelona - there's just so much to see and do including day trips to Girona, Figueres (Dali Museum) and Montserrat. [2] Madrid - it's the least interesting city in Spain for most of us, because it's really only a couple hundred years old, compared with a couple millenia for the rest. It has some of the best collections of paintings in the world, so if that is a priority, you'll definitely want more time there. Otherwise, you'll see more diverse sights in other places. More interesting would be a day trip to Toledo, even better to stay a night or two. It's about a 1/2 hour train ride from Madrid. [3] Go to Cordoba/Sevilla for 3 nights or more.

I would definitely fly from Barcelona to San Sebastián. Getting to London on the 7th would give you that extra day for Madrid.

May 27 (Sat) - Arrive Madrid - 3 nights
May 28 (Sun) - Madrid
May 29 (Mon) - Possible day to Toledo
May 30 (Tue) - AVE fast train to Barcelona - 3 nights
May 31 (Wed) - Barcelona
June 1 (Thu) - Barcelona
June2 (Fri) - Rental car for Girona and the Pyrennees - 1 night.
June 3 (Sat) - Return car at Barcelona airport. Fly to San Sebastián - 2 nights
June 4 (Sun) - San Sebastian
June 5 (Mon) - Bus to Bilbao - 1 night
June 6 (Tues) - Guggenheim. Fly to London.

Thank you, ALL! Very helpful and exactly what I needed. Checking on flights and preparing to book! I really appreciate your time and knowledge!

Don't give up on Girona. It's a small, scenic city with lots of history and churches, elegant shops and Michelin-starred restaurants. As it is about an hour from Barcelona, at least by train, you could depart early and have most of a day for the city. But it is not exactly a half-way point to elsewhere except the French border.

Madrid is the third largest city in Europe with one of the smallest zones of interest. If you love museums and art then include Madrid.
But........
Barcelona has a huge menu of opportunities to fulfill everyones interests. Strongly suggest renting an apartment for the extra space. Fantastic metro system and multitude of day trips available by train.
Suggest flying to san sebastian and sticking w public transport to arrive in bilbao.
Peel the layers back on vast opportunities in Barcelona. In 2010 we took our teenage daughters and stayed only in Barcelona, with three day trips, for 10 days and still left alot on the table.

More excellent advice - thank you! Much to consider - and we haven't booked yet. Will definitely be looking into apartments. Do any of you have an particular recommendations on apartment rentals suitable for a family of four? The kids could share a sofa bed if necessary.

Your time in Spain is a little rushed, but I like Madrid better than Barcelona. You're only getting a taste of Spain. I encourage you to consider Santiago de Compostela in place of Bilbao. I think it's prettier and has more to do. I confess that I went to Bilbao before the Guggenheim was built -but there aren't enough other things to do, and there are now plenty of Frank Gehry buildings to see, even just in the US.

I'll add that when we went to Santiago and home through London, it turns out that, with today's airline business, northwest Spain is not as "close" to London as it seems!

Edit: I don't want to rant, so I'll just say that my suburban NJ town, and my home town of Manhattan have both outlawed short-term rentals. I have seen how physically and economically disruptive they are to long-term neighbors. This is not a victimless crime.

I enjoyed Galicia a lot (Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra, A Coruña and several small coastal towns) and it seems to be Shellfish Central, but the Basque Country is more of a foodie destination, which the OP mentioned as a point of interest. Either area is good for at least a week, more time than the OP has. [Edited to remove incorrect statement about flights from Galicia to England.]

I really enjoyed Bilbao; guide books indicate that it has been greatly cleaned up since the Guggenheim opened. The historic district is a good area for wandering, there's a pleasant walk along the river with some outdoor sculpture, and there's nice early 20th century architecture in the area I call "downtown". The Bellas Artes Museum is well thought of, but I missed it because of a strike during the time I was there.