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Spain Itinerary May 1-18, just starting planning :)

Posted by (Paia, HI, USA) on

Aloha,

So excited!
My husband and I just bought our plane tickets! We are pretty open right now to the itinerary.

All we know is that we arrive in Madrid on 3 May, and
Depart from Barcelona on 17 May.

I was hoping for any type of itinerary help, or info about "don't miss" locations.
I bought 2 Spain books, and am about to dive in.

So, about our travel style:
We like experiencing new culture,
love food and wine,
Like going to museums
Like outdoors, like hiking and scenic areas (not massive hikers, just a couple miles at a go)
Do NOT want to see bullfighting
Of course we're interested in the architecture variety
We live in Hawaii, so don't need the beach-lounge experience of the islands, (but totally open to going to the islands if there's more to do than lay on the beach)
We like to learn the local history through the experience
Prefer 3 nights in a location, to immerse into the area some; then move on
Don't feel the need to "check things off the list" of been there/done that-- like to relax in one area at a time and let it reveal itself
We are very open to renting a car for non-city parts of the trip.
We stayed at an organic farm and vineyard agritourismo in Sienna, and loved that experience!! Something similar would be amazing for a few nights 💛

Thanks in advance for any insights y'all may have- excited to share our planning together!!!

Thanks, Leslie

Posted by
27152 posts

Museums: 3 big ones in Madrid (Prado--large, Reina Sofia and Thyssen). In Barcelona, the large MNAC (don't miss the church frescoes and the modernisme collection) plus whichever others may appeal to your taste (including but not limited to the massively overcrowded Picasso and the easier-to-visit Miro).

Architecture: Madrid is handsome but not particularly old and far from the most interesting city in Spain, architecturally. Barcelona is fabulous if you like quirky architecture, plus there's the Barri Gotic. Many days can be spent on architecture alone. Be aware that many of Barcelona's sights require pre-purchase of tickets if you're unwilling to risk very long ticket lines (and possibly not even getting in that day).

Side trips from Madrid: Toledo (this is my #1), Segovia and Cuenca. Toledo has a medieval core and lots of mudejar buildings. You know what Segovia has, but the architecture is also interesting. Cuenca (requires pre-planning else the AVE train ticket will be too costly) is an old hill town with houses hanging over a ravine and two nice modern-art musuems. I spent multiple nights in all of those places (making a side-trip from Segovia, which otherwise doesn't need an overnight stay). Toledo is worth more than one day and Cuenca is a full day if you include the museums.

Side trips from Barcelona: Girona (large historic district with walkable wall, good museum, and two major churches; worth an overnight), Figueres (Dali Theater and Museum), Cadaques (former fishing village now touristy but beautiful town), Montserrat (walks + art and history), Sitges (cute beach town). There's lots more.

You could of course keep your Barcelona/Madrid time to a minimum and push down into Andalucía, in which case the highlights for most would be Granada, Seville, and Cordoba. That would be rushing it, and it's not the way I travel. I think a lot depends on how much you like the modernista architecture in Barcelona and museums in general. Nine days was too short for me in Barcelona. I could manage with three days in Madrid, but that would mean none of those magnificent day-trips.

Trains on the Barcelona-Madrid-Cordoba-Seville axis are very fast. Granada is an outlier. If you decide to take the Andalucía approach, look into flying from Granada back to Barcelona.

Posted by
7175 posts

Best of Spain in 2 Weeks

May
3. ARRIVE Madrid (4N)
4. Madrid
5. Day to Toledo
6. More Madrid (or day to Segovia)
7. Train to Seville (4N)
8. Seville
9. Day to Cordoba (Mezquita)
10. More Seville (or day to Jerez)
11. Train to Granada (2N)
12. Granada (Alhambra)
13. Fly to Barcelona (4N)
(Check fares with Vueling eg. VY2021 at 12:35pm)
14. Barcelona
15. Barcelona
16. Barcelona
17. DEPART Barcelona

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