Spain with Family

Personally I think you need at least another day in Madrid, but I seem to be among the very few that think there is so much more to do in Madrid than just museums! While you're arriving at 8:30 your first day, in actuality you will probably not get out of the airport and to your lodging much before noon, and no matter how much you think you will avoid jet lag, you likely will be feeling it, so will be limited in how much you can do that first day. A day trip to Toledo is great, although you will probably get tons of advice telling you that you must at least spend one night in Toledo (have a great tour guide in Toledo if you want to PM me). And while I like Madrid better than Barcelona, I actually think you're shorting yourself on time there as well. If it were me, I'd add another day to Madrid and Barcelona and skip Cordoba.

Sounds like a way to fit in 3+ cities/towns in your allotted time. Our trip in the fall, almost 6 years ago (wow-doesn’t seem that it was so long ago), we had more than 8 nights, so we had more time to visit both Madrid and Barcelona, plus we visited Toledo one day from Madrid and Segovia for a day and spent the night. We didn’t get to Córdoba at all that trip, and had been in Sevilla for several nights on a prior trip to southern Spain. For what it’s worth, after Madrid, we headed north to Bilbao and then east to San Sebastián, before finishing in Barcelona. The Basque culture, history, and mostly the food destinations up to the north were a main part of the trip. So that might throw a wrench in the plans you’ve already made, and might cut out Sevilla and/or Córdoba, but made for good connections between Madrid and Barcelona, even though the train to Bilbao took over 5 hours. We actually rented a car in Bilbao and turned it in in Girona, before taking a train the rest of the way to Barcelona.

Our trips to Spain have mostly been to either the north or south halves, with over 2 weeks each time, and not cris-crossing the country during one trip.

I feel that there is so much more in Barcelona than Madrid in terms of culture and history. The architecture in Barcelona is very unique to Barcelona. I would take the day from Madrid and give it to Barcelona. Cordoba is lovely, you will have a great time there. The train ride from Cordoba to Barcelona will be long.

Madrid is shortchanged by the day trips. Do not take a day away from Barcelona to go to Montserrat. You do not have enough time for day trips.
Madrid, Cordoba and Barcelona will give hour family a nice taste of Spain and Catalonia.

Thanks everyone. This is very helpful and we'll probably end up throwing out the day trips or just decide closer to those dates or when we're there. Our original plan was to fly in and out of Madrid and just focus on Madrid, Sevilla, and day trips in the area. Our return trip from Madrid would have had 2 connections and an overnight layover, while flying back from Barcelona is much, much more reasonable time-wise. My wife also expressed a strong interest in Barcelona since she's never been (I have 15 years ago and enjoyed it) so we changed our plans. I like the feel of smaller towns and traditional culture so threw in Cordoba and Toledo for what I assume would have that experience. I've never been to Cordoba, Toledo or Madrid. All look like fun places to see. Actually our problem with traveling is always that there are too many places we want to see and not enough time :) So many places in Spain look really great!

Smaller town with history, great walking in the older and the newer parts of town, architecture (including a magnificent Roman aqueduct, in addition to buildings in town), and food (the epicenter of roast suckling pig): Segovia has it all, and is close to Madrid by bus or train.

Honestly, my priority would be Toledo and Segovia over Madrid. I think a kid would enjoy those cities over Madrid. Toledo used to be the capital of Spain, and with the armaments, etc., it conjures up castles and knights. I agree with the above description for Segovia. A Roman aqueduct! I also think that Montserrat would be fun for all, but especially a child. You could do some hiking and it could be a welcome change of pace from Gaudi, etc.

Honestly, my priority would be Toledo and Segovia over Madrid. I think
a kid would enjoy those cities over Madrid. Toledo used to be the
capital of Spain, and with the armaments, etc., it conjures up castles
and knights. I agree with the above description for Segovia. A Roman
aqueduct! I also think that Montserrat would be fun for all, but
especially a child. You could do some hiking and it could be a welcome
change of pace from Gaudi, etc.

Yea, Madrid looks great but those smaller towns interest me a bit more as well from what I've read and seen online. We'll stay near the central area so we could go walk around at night and have a late (or early in Spain) dinner after the day trips. Montserrat also looks like something we'd all love but that might depend on the weather in late November. I could add an extra night in Madrid so we can still have arrival day and the following day for Madrid and one day each for Segovia / Toledo. Then maybe do one night in Valencia to hit up the aquarium for the kiddo and look around before heading to Barcelona. Maybe I will save Cordoba for a future trip because it seems out of the way from Barcelona while Valencia is only a little over 3 hours away.

The aquarium (which is quite expensive) is really the only reason I would even consider taking a precious day away from Madrid/Barcelona to spend it in Valencia on a trip this short. You're exchanging a 2.5-hour single train trip for two trips totalling 5 hours plus the substantial time needed for the extra hotel change. A detour to Valencia is going to cost you a good chunk of a day--and you only have seven to begin with. You really need that time in Barcelona. But I can understand the appeal of the aquarium when you're traveling with a child.

Just for info, you have an aquarium in Barcelona: https://www.aquariumbcn.com/en/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7nb0v_6fvA

desilva, I ended up spending two late afternoons and evenings in Madrid after arriving from Toledo and my day trip to Segovia. We stayed close to Puerta del Sol and walked the area quite a bit. It was very pretty around the palace and Plaza Mayor with the lights, etc. While obviously, this is not much time in a large city, it gave us a taste and on any future trips I'm likely to be back to Madrid since that or Barcelona would be where I'd fly into.

I love aquariums and have been to most of them in the U.S. Cordoba is very unique and for me personally, I would not give it up for an aquarium, but if you end up with more time in Barcelona or if it makes sense for your family logistically, then perhaps you can give Cordoba more time on a future trip.