Hi! My husband and I are trying to plan a trip to Madrid. Tickets are booked for 2/23-3/7. We are landing in Madrid and plan to spend several days there. I figure we have 10 solid days for sightseeing. He is a winemaker, so visiting wineries is definitely in the plan! I'd like to take a cooking class (I hear the company, Devour Tours, is excellent). Also, we've been told Seville, Valencia, and Toledo are not to be missed. Maybe a quick zip to the coast to see the Mediterranean for the first time? I am definitely rambling here.... I am abysmal at planning so I am reaching out to see if any of you have some good recommendations/itineraries. We have never been to Spain, so I am feeling a touch overwhelmed. We are probably going to rent a car at some point. We've talked about taking some trains to other cities and then renting a car in those cities. Or we could drive everywhere, but that would take more time. Any suggestions are more than welcome!!! :-). Thank you!
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
Hi, the best wines and wineries in Spain are actually located north of Madrid, not in the south where you are going. If wine is the big draw for you my recommendation would be to rent a car in Madrid and then head north instead, visiting the regions of Calatayud (DO), La Rioja (DOC), and Ribera del Duero (DOP) before circling back to Madrid to fly out. Spain is a big country, so with only 10 days available I don't think you could do any more.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you! I will definitely look into those areas!
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7162 posts
There are plenty of wineries in the Haro, Elciego, and Cenicero area of La Rioja region. We visited two wineries in town in Olite so I didn’t have to drive afterwards. There are other wineries outside of town. In you like sherry (fino) then you’ll want to visit Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucía.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
Stop in at Madrid & Darracott while you're in town. In a country where it's super easy to buy perfectly decent wine at the grocery store, it can be surprisingly tricky to find shops selling smaller producers or finer wines. These guys do a great job of it. Their daily tastings are kind of "Spanish Wine 101", and they have a rotating schedule of more esoteric tastings.
Otherwise, your itinerary plans/ideas... could use some focus? Your tastes and interests will influence your pace, as well as your stamina and travel logistics. It sounds like you've got about a week and a half to work with and Spain is bigger than many people realize. I'd probably two cities and either day trips or a night somewhere else between.