Spain: Itinerary

Other than Alicante that isn’t on most tourists’ radar, you’re going to major tourist destinations. Therefore, for the most part you’re going to have a typical tourist experience. The few things that come to mind are not “musts” by any stretch of the imagination. When you’re trip is over, post about those non-typical experiences. I’m sure many will be interested in them.

Two things about shorts. 1st of all, I would check a weather source. Madrid, in particular, can be quite chilly in the winter; and your time frame is still winter. Second, though I think many people on this forum obsess about “fitting in,” wearing shorts in Europe outside of resort areas wiil immediately peg you as a tourist. There can be negative consequences to that, like the attention of pickpockets.

For future reference, I really think the best way to have a less touristy experience is to stay somewhere long enough to see the key local sights and have time left over for aimless wandering in attractive neighborhoods not immediately surrounding those sights. Or you can go to cities you hadn't head of until you read a comprehensive guidebook. Your stops in Seville, Madrid and Barcelona are extremely short given their attractions--fewer days than I'd recommend for someone just interested in tourist highlights. To have the sort of experience you want, I think you're going to need to skip some highlights.

For the best advice on what you probably shouldn't miss, you'll need to tell us what sort of things you're interested in--art (what periods?), history (what periods?), architecture (older or funky?), etc. I think you'll probably find food tours available in several of your cities.

According to Wikipedia, these are the average high and low temperatures for February in your cities; since you're visiting in the first half of the month, your averages may well be a bit lower. Keep in mind that traditional Spanish dinner hours are between 10 PM and midnight, so the daily low temperatures are of more than minor interest unless you intend to dine on tapas or seek out restaurants opening quite early to serve tourists.

Madrid: 53.6F / 38.7F
Seville: 64.6F / 44.6F
Malaga: 63.9F / 46.8F
Alicante: 63.7F / 44.8F
Barcelona: 60.1F / 48.7F

Those temperatures (which don't indicate shorts weather to me, but I'm cold-natured) are from Wikipedia and are based on a time period that cuts off in 2010; things may have changed over the last twelve years. For better data to help with your packing, I'd recommend checking the website timeanddate.com for actual, historical, day-by-day weather data in recent years. Here's a link for Madrid (which could be quite chilly indeed): Madrid weather February 2022. You can use the pull-down box just above the graph at the right to check other recent years (highly recommended). Use the search box near the top to check your other destinations.

Thank you.

As to an earlier comment about traditional Spanish dining hours being between 10 pm and midnight -- yes, there is an element of truth to this, but don't let this give you the impression that you must wait until 10 pm to dine, or else. After several trips to Spain, I've found that you'll have no trouble at all getting dinner, if you wish, as early as 7 pm (the earliest I've ever tried). There have been occasions when I've gone to restaurants or cafes as early as 8:30pm, just to avoid the crowds, only to find that I had failed to. (Since all of my visits to Spain have been during the "off-season" winter months, this was not due to tourism -- and during those busy 8:30 dinners, the only language I heard spoken around me was Spanish.)

I am just back from a weekend in Alicante (departure of a major boat race). It is lovely if you seek sun, and very lively (tons of bars and restaurants!), but I found that there was little else of note. Valencia is far more interesting and almost equally sunny.
And I would have frozen in shorts. Daytime temps were pleasant, but the wind was definitely wintery.

Alicante is a massive tourist destination for lovers of sea and sun but not a hugely cultural destination, although there is a pleasant old town. The area along the coast (Benidorm) is hugely popular with British visitors at all times of the year. I’d agree that Valencia would be far more interesting for 4 days.

The itinerary has only 3 nights in Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Malaga. The first three could use more time; I'd axe Alicante and divvy those nights up among Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. However, it's not my trip, and I suspect there's a reason Spuds76 is spending 4 nights in Alicante.

Of the cities you mention, I've only ever spent time in a few of them. But, if you're looking for some things to do that are not on everyone's radar, here are some things that stuck out to me that I really enjoyed.
Madrid- the Retiro park is a wonderful place to stroll and enjoy the scenery. I was there in May, so I'm sure the weather was warmer and there were many people having lunch in the park on their midday break. Then there was the cookies made by the cloistered nuns. Sort of hidden, although the internet has plenty of info on how to find them. The cookies were so delicate and melt in your mouth, I'd go back again just for them!

Granada- there's a neighborhood called the Albaicin (Albayzin). It's a wonderfully interesting part of town, with some of the best views of the Alhambra. If you have the opportunity to take a stroll through, I think you'd enjoy it.

Seville- for me, I wouldn't have felt good about leaving Seville without seeing a Flamenco show. Touristy? Yes, probably, but something I'd always associated with Spain and really enjoyed. You could ask in your hotel for a venue that's less touristy than others.

I hope this helps just a little.

Thank you all.
We'll visit family in Alicante, do some laundry, and perhaps retrace his Tapas Hunt.