Spain Itinerary in 14 days, 13 nights

Please share...have you been to Spain before? (If yes, where?) Have you been to Europe before?

Note...

wondering if I'm packing too much in

When someone is asking themselves this question, they usually know the answer...

You have only 3 days for Barcelona, which is really, really short. I would not be able to find time for Montserrat or Girona with that schedule. The Museu National d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is really interesting (and large). In addition to the usual paintings and sculptures (though I assume the Prado's collection is considered considerably stonger), there are impressive frescoes rescued from Pyrenees churches, plus an interesting modernism collection (furniture, decoratives arts, jewelry). There are many other museums as well. Barcelona is hard to do at a trot because so very many of the most popular sites require pre-booked timed tickets. You can't just run from one site to another when you're ready.

I don't know whether you're aware that they eat meals extremely late in Spain. Dinner may end between 11 PM and midnight. That's not going to work well with a 6:50 AM departure, which I assume will have you leaving your hotel around 4 AM. I would rather walk to San Sebastian than book that flight, but I assume you are a morning person.

Try to get a reasonably early start to Bilbao (bus takes around 1-1/2 hours I think) so you have time to enjoy the city as well as the museum. The Casco Viejo (medieval district) is picturesque and very non-touristy--very different from San Sebastian. Note, though, that this part of Spain tends to be coolish and dampish even in mid-summer. I don't think late November is the best time of year for the Basque Country, and including it has added a second mid-trip flight to your itinerary. This is what I'd drop.

From my perspective (visited all three art museums but didn't care for Palacio Real at all and don't find Madrid as architecturally interesting as many other Spanish cities), whether you have enough time in Madrid depends on whether you plan side-trips to Toledo and/or Segovia. You don't mention either one, so I think you could squeeze Madrid into a three-night stay. An extra day would be nice for just enjoying the surroundings, but I think Barcelona needs that day more than Madrid does.

Can't comment on Seville since I haven't spent much time there and my last visit was decades ago.

I'd want to be in Barcelona the night before the flight. Things can happen when you're hundreds of miles away from your departure airport--much too far to get there by taxi if there is some sort of train issue.

Get one of those travel guide books and read the description of the attractions and pick which ones are most interesting to you. That may help you decide how long to stay in one place.

And regarding catching the flight back home, pick the better situation to be in: the train back to Barcelona is canceled or delayed the morning of your flight back versus the train being canceled or delayed the day before your flight.

Just to break down your itinerary you currently have:
Barcelona - 4 nights (day trip to Girona or Montserrat)
fly to
San Sebastian - 2 nights
bus to Bilbao for a few hrs then fly to
Sevilla - 3 nights (day trip to Cordoba)
train to
Madrid - 4 nights
train to Barcelona and fly out of Barcelona.

First things first: personally I would leave Andalucia for another time; Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada etc. deserve your full attention. Also Bilbao is a really great underrated city which I would spend some nights in too (I actually like it better than San Sebastian). Here is something along the lines of what I would do, I gave similar advice to another forum member who is doing a similar itinerary:

-Barcelona (5 nights)
Fly to
-San Sebastián (2 nights)
Train/bus to
-Bilbao (2 nights)
take train south to
-Madrid (4 nights)
fly out of Madrid or AVE train to Barcelona

Now I cannot say either to spend your day trip at Girona or Montserrat, both are really great for different reasons. However, since you note that you enjoy hiking I would also like to note that in addition to its monastery, Montserrat also has some great hiking trails through some very breathtaking scenery. However, some of the best food I have eaten in Catalonia (except for in my own home) has been in Girona not Barcelona.

Thank you all for the input. I have been to Barcelona, Madrid, Granada and, sad to say, perhaps Seville but it was 35 years ago. It's all fading now... My husband has not been to Spain. I've been to Europe several times. Yes, you are right. I should plan to return to Barcelona the night before we depart from there. Yes, we'd probably visit Toledo too if we're travelling to Madrid. I wasn't excited about Madrid but my husband is, so we'll be going there. I was excited about Basque country. Thank you about Barcelona advice. I am interested in visiting Jewish sites such as I read about in Cordoba and Girona, and that's why I was thinking about day trips as part of our travels. I only picked Bilbao to see the Guggenheim but also because I didn't find nonstop flights from San Sebastian to Seville and I don't want to spend a long time in airports. I picked flights that were all nonstop (a little over one hour each.)

I think you are right Carlos. Seville will have to wait. I can see adding time in Bilbao and another night in Barcelona, perhaps on the tail end, since we have to fly out of there anyway. Then, I can add in Gerona or Montserrat. Can they be done in a day by renting a car or can we rely on public transportation?

Carlos, where would you recommend us eating in Gerona? I am a big foodie!

Both Girona and Montserrat are accessible via public transportation. Girona is more straightforward to reach, just take the AVE high speed train from Sants Station, the trip takes about 30 mins. I remember that one must take a couple of regional trains in order to reach Montserrat on the other hand.

As you probably know, Girona is home to the current second best restaurant in the world, El Celler de Can Roca, but I think it may be difficult to snag a reservation there in the one month before you leave :)

For a taste of traditional Catalan cuisine in Girona, I would recommend Casa Marieta, my favorite dish there is the Canelones de Ceps, which are pasta tubes stuffed with Ceps, which are local mushrooms from the area, they are finished with a Béchamel sauce. Canelones are usually served as a smaller first course, but these ones were so good I had them both as my first and a larger portion for my second course too lol! For me, the mushrooms really made the canelones taste like the forest.

Back in Barcelona, in El Born, there is a pretty good tapas bar called Bar Celta Pulperia, that specialises in Galician Octopus (Pulpo a la Gallega). Personally my favorite tapa is called Pimientos de Padron, which is another Galician treat. Bar Celta has two locations, in the Gothic Quarter and one in El Born.

One of my friends, who is a local of La Barceloneta, took me once to a restaurant called Montolio Can Maño, their claim to fame is fresh simple local seafood dishes. Note that this place can get quite busy and there may be a bit of a wait; as the restaurant is smallish and very popular with locals (and tourists).

Also, during lunchtime, make sure to order from the "Menu del Dia", for a high quality regional/seasonal menu at an amazing price! Hope this helps :)