Suggestions for stops in our drive from Madrid to Granada

I think the Royal Palace of Aranjuez would definitely be a good stop, but can take most of the day to see, think of it as a "Spanish Versailles", the gardens are quite extensive too.

I'll also mention Chinchón, a quaint renaissance town with main points of interest around town, its Plaza Mayor is probably one of the most unique in Spain and recently used as the primary filming location for Wes Anderson's upcoming film with Tom Hanks.

As well Archeological Park of Segobriga is a great place to stop for a few hours. Its an intact Roman town that was completely abandoned during the very early middle ages, only recently begun excavations, relatively undiscovered by most foreign and even local tourists. Complete with a demi-amphitheater and mini-colosseum.

We are leaving Friday for Madrid arrving Saturday and plan to spend our first night in Consuegra. I chose the hotel because of it being about an hour and a half from the airport (and we don't want to drive far that first day) We head to Seville the next day. After booking, I found out about the windmills there and they have captured our interest. I would think it would make a nice stop. Of course, it's my first trip to Spain, so I can't compare it with the other stops you are asking about. We will be traveling back to Madrid two weeks later, so make look at those as a possible stop on the drive back up.

Why drive when you can take a direct train instead (3h 30m)?

The only additional place I’ll add is Campo de Criptana. It’s near Consuegra (15 minutes or so) just on the eastern side of the E5/A4. There are a number of windmills there that are the “giants” referenced in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. In order you could visit Chinchón, Segóbriga, Belmonte Castle, Campo de Criptana, then Consuegra. From Consuegra you hop right onto the E5 (6 miles away) and head south.

@connie - in addition to the windmills there is a castle. The town has been restoring it since about 1978, when we first visited there. It has done a good job and it’s worth going into. There’s very little to the town itself and probably very few, if any, other tourists.

Definitely Consuegra, about a 20 minute detour from Autovia del Sur. We sawe them in the distance while driving from Madrid to Granda and made a well spent detour.

Thanks for all the suggestions. We are driving so that we can go on to see the white villages.

We are driving so that we can go on to see the white villages.

Rent a car in Granada.

I have been to both Aranjuez and to Consuegra and recommend Consuegra. The windmills and castle overlooking the plains below are quite picturesque. The small town would make a nice pitstop for lunch. This is my assumption but you may be seeing palaces and castles on other parts of your journey, and given that the windmills and the story of el Quijote are so unique to Spain, I would choose Consuegra over your other two choices.

You don't give the month of the year, so we don't know if there will be sunflower and canola fields to see. Here's an example of the discussions you can find in the search box top center. I personally would spend the night in Arcos or Ronda, but that sounds "touristy" in comparison with some of the sights mentioned in previous reply. But I also question the use of a car if you're not spending the night somewhere. Our three nights in Ronda were quite full.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/two-weeks-in-andalucia-ba4721c6-2004-4c66-8a44-9736ae2638d4

I'm still working out details, but is there a place on this same route (Barajas to Granada), that you would recommend for an overnight?
Connie, when is your trip?
It is looking just as cheap and convenient for me to rent a car for my entire trip versus taking a train and then getting a car later, but I don't want to drive more than two hours on arrival.

I am on my trip right now and thorouly enjoying it. We stayed in Consuegra our first night (just off the plane). We spent a great morning exploring the windmills and the town. Then we drove to Seville. We arrived in Seville March 26 and have been spending all our time in Andalusia. (Jerez, Cadiz, Gibraltar-one exception to all of our time in Andalusia, Ronda, Grenada). We based out of three towns and did day trips to other. We have gotten in four hikes including El Caminita del Rey. We hope to get in one more. We are in Grenada now. We fly out Sunday. Driving here has been great. Watch your speed as there are speeding cameras. My husband drives, I navigate. We use the GPS on our phones, and it has led us right to our stops. Driving in cities and towns are more challenging. Some of the streets are so narrow. We just go slowly and carefully. My husband is 66 and handles it great. When do you leave?

Also ..the impact of covid 19 has not been burdensome. We do wear masks indoors as it is still required. We were able to upload our documents before going to the airport. We didn't have to do anything different transiting through Frankfort. When we got to Spain, they asked to see the health forms we had uploaded. They scanned the QR code and we were off. We have carried our vaccination cards and never been asked to see them once. We have an appointment for our test to go home on Saturday in Madrid. We are using Democrat eat and they are$25.

Thanks so much for that feedback Connie--glad you are having a great trip! It does make me drawn to Andalucia.
We have not traveled since 2019 and sort of spontaneously bought round-trip tickets to Madrid for late May, figuring that is the shortest direct flight to somewhere in the Mediterranean region that we love. Now I am scrambling to plan only eight nights, which is a bit of a challenge. I now wish I had pressed my husband on the ninth night! You are so lucky to have so much time.
We have been to Andalucia twice without a car (we especially loved Ronda), so in a way we'd like to return with one, but there is also the temptation to see somewhere new and maximize our very limited time. Since that last Spain visit, we have driven all over Italy and Greece, so we know we want to drive (we are also hikers). Having to break up the trip to the south is hampering my planning. Thanks again and safe travels--it's not a terrible problem to have (oh where do I go, lol)