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Spain Itinerary

Hi,

We’re traveling to Spain for 7 days in the middle of February with 2 teenagers. Flying into and out of Barcelona. Other than Barcelona, we plan to go to 2 places, choices being - Malaga, Granada or Seville. Will appreciate if you can give your views on 2 places to choose from the 3 as first time travelers. How many days should we spend there. We plan to fly to one of them from Barcelona on the day we land in Barcelona.

Should we be aware of any holidays/closures in any of these places from Feb 18th- 24th?

Any other tips?

Thanks in advance! 🙏🏻

Posted by
2267 posts

I agree that adding two stops to only 7 days in and out of BCN is a lot.

Spending all the time in Barcelona with a day trip or two would allow for a vacation that both rich and relaxed.

If you really want to add a couple nights in one other place Valencia or Zaragoza would be easier options without losing so much time to transportation.

Posted by
27142 posts

It sounds as if you have seven nights in Spain. That will give you only six reasonably-non-jetlagged days. Your first day may be pretty unproductive, and if you head all the way to southern Spain, you'll be dealing with airports again later in the trip, turning another day into, at best, a half-day. To attempt three major destinations in about 5-1/2 days is over-ambitious.

Barcelona has a lot of sights, many of which require online purchase of tickets in advance to avoid long ticket lines, which makes it a difficult destination for blitz trips. How efficient a sightseer can you be when you have to guess, before you've even set foot in the city, how much of a gap to leave between your entry times? That can lead to bits and pieces of scattered dead time. To me, four nights is the minimum needed in Barcelona, and there's enough to see in the city to justify a much longer visit. And there are good side trips available to places like Girona and Figueres.

I agree that even choosing one additional destination is pushing it when you are flying in and out of Barcelona. Zaragoza (1.5 to 2 hours away) would be my top recommendation for a second overnight stop. Other fairly quick train destinations are Madrid (2.5 to 3.5 hours) and Valencia (3 to 4 hours). Zaragoza and especially Madrid are likely to be quite a bit chillier than Barcelona and Valencia in February.

Spain's best weather in February is in the south, so if you're willing to spend the time on two extra flights and settle for a once-over-lightly visit to two world-class cities, I'd head to Seville. Although Malaga is a nice city and worth a visit on a longer trip, its sights are nowhere near as distinctive as Seville's.

Granada is an option if you prefer a city where you can focus most of your limited time on one fabulous sight, but Granada is at altitude and almost certainly won't be as warm as Seville. Be sure you can get tickets for the Alhambra before committing to that city. It does sell out, sometimes quite far in advance. This is the official ticket website: https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/. Note the "Low Temperature Recommendations" on the page I've linked to. The "Alhambra General" ticket is the basic, most-popular ticket. The "Gardens, Generalife and Alcazaba" ticket isn't recommended because it doesn't include the Nasrid Palaces, the most fabulous part of the complex.

Posted by
160 posts

Between "Malaga, Granada or Seville", Seville has the most to offer. While I am fond of Malaga, it doesn't have the same level of attractions. It does have warmer weather but the beach will be cool that time of year-- we experienced high sixties and sun in February.

As mentioned above the Alhambra in Granada is magnificent.

Good luck!

Posted by
27142 posts

Statistically speaking, Seville will be about one degree (F) warmer than Malaga in the daytime and about two degrees cooler at night.

Posted by
6565 posts

I have to agree with those saying stay in Barcelona and if one other stop is desired, go with Zaragoza. To me, there’s too much travel time required to go to any of the three other cities you mentioned.

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks so much everyone! Your inputs are very helpful. We are thinking of changing our trip to accommodate one more place other than Barcelona instead of 2. Thank you again! 🙏🏻

Posted by
413 posts

"I have to agree with those saying stay in Barcelona and if one other stop is desired, go with Zaragoza. To me, there’s too much travel time required to go to any of the three other cities you mentioned."
We loved our 3 days in Zaragoza.
Europe's only origami museum.
The Palacio de la Aljafería is wonderful.
I loved the Firefighters' museum.
The food in de Tubo is great.
The big church has more gold than I ever seen in my life.