Urgent please help, Spain 16 days Iternaries

You need three nights for Barcelona not four. I suggest cutting Valencia since not everyone likes it as much as Andalucia. Can you snag a cheap ticket flying from Barcelona to Granada? You only need two nights for Granada.
Ronda is worth a stop between Granada and Seville. There are direct buses from Ronda to Seville but not trains. Cordoba is a good day trip from Seville. Both Toledo and Salamanca are doable day trips from Madrid. Make sure you take the fast train if going to Salamanca.

Given your proposed day trips, you are leaving yourself with next to no time actually in Madrid.

Since I have been everywhere that you have on your itinerary and then some, but with the exception of Valencia (1999 and 2005, the first time with our car and the second time by car with our Spanish friends), I will hazard to suggest that you peel of one night from Valencia and one night from Granada and add two nights to Madrid.

You may want to consider swapping your Salamanca day trip for Segovia.

Otherwise I think you have a sound plan.

Should you choose to add time in Andalusia to go to Ronda or Arcos or some other white town(s), then something else needs to give. Perhaps the day trip to Salamanca? Tough choice.

As for Madrid, it has 3 spectacular art museums, its own Plaza Major, and castles/palaces there and nearby. The three museums are the Prado (one of the world’s major art museums right up there with the Louvre), the Thyssen ( 19th and 20th century art including a number of impressionist gems) and the Reina Sofia (with Picasso’s major masterpiece Guernica and many studies for that finished work). I suggest that you need 1-1/2 days to see all three; 3 hours in each, perhaps a bit more for the Prado and that assumes that your tour of the Prado is selective.

BTW, whether you go to Barcelona first or Madrid first, bear in mind the Picasso museum in Barcelona has many riffs that he did through the decades off of Velasquez’ Las Meninas, a masterpiece in the Prado.

… As to Barcelona, I felt that our four nights there in 1999 were not enough. But we all have our own perspectives.

Sounds like you will have a great trip, plus you have more time in Portugal. Have fun.

Can you write a more detailed day-by-day itinerary including what museums you think you will see? Its fine if you end up skipping something on you list or adding something, at the last minute while in Spain. In 13 nights total, I spent 4 nights in Seville, only two nights in Granada, 2 nights in Cordoba but maybe I could have cut that down to one night, and 5 nights in Madrid including Toledo.

I think 2 nights is going to prove inadequate for Seville. There's a lot to see there, and unless you intend to get on a train before 6 AM and put up with a 54-minute layover in Madrid, you won't get to Seville until 1:37 PM.

You have 3 nights dedicated to Valencia, which is a perfectly nice city, but not as distinctive as Seville unless you are nuts about contemporary architecture. Valencia is adding quite a bit of travel time to this trip; I would consider it expendable and would divvy those 3 nights up to other destinations, starting with Seville. This would reduce your hotel changes by one, which should make the trip feel a bit less hectic. Of the 14 days you've outline in your itinerary, you're going to be heading to trains stations on 8; that's a lot of moving around.

I would substitute Segovia for Salamanca, not because Salamanca isn't worthwhile, but because you can get to Segovia from Madrid in 28 minutes, whereas the trip to Salamanca will take about 1 hour 40 minutes each way.

If you decide to stick with Salamanca, check rail schedules carefully. It appears there aren't a lot of decent connections between Toledo and Salamanca; you could end up spending 1-1/2 hours in Madrid, waiting for the train to Salamanca if you don't make those two separate day-trips.

Taking early trains on the days you change cities is a good way to conserve actual sightseeing time, but be aware that Spain eats meals very late--lunch between roughly 2 and 4 PM and dinner not before 9:30 PM. If you want to experience restaurants while the locals are eating, that may present challenges to your travel plans.

First of all, Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I m greatly and deeply appreciate. I've already secured accommodation in Barcelona and Valencia, but I can adjust the rest of my itinerary. As for Valencia, the hostel only 20 bucks so I guess I can drop the last night and bounce early. Here's my revised plan:

• Barcelona: 3 nights ( Additionally, I'll be staying an extra night in Barcelona upon my return from Portugal. Total to be 4 nights here, as I currently have no other option since I have super early flight the next day. I'm on the lookout for a worthwhile day trip that starts from Barcelona though.)
• Valencia: 2 nights ( Trim 1 day from the previous plans)
• Seville: 3 nights (Add another night here due to yall advice)
• Cordoba: 1 night
• Granada: 2 nights or 3 nights? Please help me here! Are 2 days enough for Granada and 1 day for Ronda?
• Madrid: 4 days (2 nights in Madrid)
  • 1 Day trips to Toledo (Option to stay in Toledo and head to Segovia next morning?)
  • 1 Day Segovia (Should I stay here or come back to Madrid at night?)

I'm yet to plan the details for each city, but I'll sort that out after finalizing my accommodations. I'm still keen on visiting Ronda, but I'm unsure what to exclude to make room for it. Regarding day trips from Madrid, how do Toledo and Salamanca compare to other alternative day trip that starts from Madrid?

Ronda's awkward to reach by public transportation. It can absolutely be done (I did it in 2019, but spent multiple nights there), but most people who go there are probably hitting it on the way from Seville to Granada (or vice versa) by rental car. You'll probably need a combination of trains and buses to slot Ronda between Seville and Granada.

A lot of people spend just 2 nights in Granada. It depends on how many things you want to see there. The Alhambra is a large complex (not just one building) where many people spend over half a day.

Very Important: Except for a few tickets available for November 13 and 14, tickets to the Alhambra are sold out until November 18. Availability is limited for most of the remaining days of the month. You need to pin down your Granada dates ASAP so you can buy your Alhambra ticket. You want the "Alhambra General" ticket. If those are sold out by the time you finalize your itinerary, check to see whether the Dobla de Oro ticket is available for one of your dates. It will be a bit more expensive (it covers a few additional things) but still considerably cheaper than paying for a tour. Of course, if you want a tour, that's fine, but it's not something to leave until the last minute.

Alhambra official website

I don't know that you'll have extra time in Barcelona, but if you do, Girona makes a very good day trip. It has a walled medieval district, two important old churches, an art museum and a Jewish-history museum. It's known for good restaurants, I believe. Many people head up to Montserrat from Barcelona. I haven't done that and don't know anything about November weather there. If you like Surrealism, or even art in general, the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres is fun. That's farther away than Girona.

Spain has many very interesting towns and cities, but please consider that the country is large and those great destinations are scattered. It just isn't possible to see all Spain's great places in 16 days. Trying to do that can lead to a trip that's a blur. Some of the really key destinations are linked by extremely fast trains, but those tickets can get rather pricey if bought at the last minute. You haven't mentioned budget concerns, so I assume that will not be a significant issue for you.

Madrid has many fabulous side trips. Not all of them are as convenient (quick, cheap) as others. Salamanca is not a quick side trip; it involves over 3 hours in transit. Segovia, Toledo and Alcala de Henares are much quicker.

There's also the town of Cuenca, which is on the fast rail line between Madrid and Valencia. It's very atmospheric with its houses hanging over a ravine, but it's an example of a place that can turn into an expensive day trip if you buy tickets late. I see one departure for next Wednesday that costs about 60 euros one way (other are cheaper). The train from Madrid takes just over an hour, but the fast trains serve the Fernando Zobel station outside town, so you have to add time for a bus (frequency unknown) or a taxi to get to Cuenca itself. The old town is on a hill, so there's walking time required as well.

"Thank you ever so much, acraven, for your thorough and helpful feedback. I'm equally grateful to everyone else who has assisted me thus far. You're all incredible, my online travel angel/warriror! :> After implementing all your suggestions, I've made these changes and feel quite satisfied. What are your thoughts?

Barcelona: 3 nights (Upon returning from Portugal for a fortnight, I'll have an additional day in Barcelona, making it 4 nights in total.)
Valencia: 2 nights
Seville: 3 nights
Cordoba: 1 night
Granada: 2 nights ( Thank you Acraven, I was able to purchase the ticket for Alhambra on the 18NOV24 at 10am. I think this should be the perfect time )
Madrid: 3 nights
- Day trip to Toledo (I'm undecided if I should return to Madrid or stay one night and travel to Segovia the next morning.)
- Day trip to Segovia and head back to Madrid for an early flight to Lisbon."

I better go start making detail itineraries for each city now. :) Please let me know if there is anything else I should keep my eyes for. Thanks everyone.

Although the Alhambra is one of the great sites in the world IMO, the remainder of Granada did not charm me. Again IMO, two nights there would be ample.

Definitely add more time in Seville. DO spend a full day in Toledo. Salamanca is near the Portuguese border and doing a day trip from Madrid would be a bit much. It is a great city, so consider spending the night there. Also, consider visiting Segovia from Madrid.

Thank you everyone, I decided to do just 2 nights in Granada and add one day to Seville. I'm considering to take a day trips to both Segovia and Toledo, but I'm unsure if I should stay overnight in either of these towns. If I do, which would you guys recommend? Additionally, could you provide information on the difficulty of traveling by train from Segovia to Toledo and back? I'd also appreciate a recommendation on where to find reliable train information in Spain. Thank you in advance.

https://www.renfe.com/es/en runs the trains to Toledo and Segovia. Between larger cities, there are some other options, but I've always just used Renfe. Some folks have had difficulties getting Renfe to accept their US credit cards for online ticket purchases. I made it work, but if it's a problem for you, you can buy the tickets from https://www.thetrainline.com/. There will almost certainly be a slight increase in cost, but it will be much more than offset by access to discounted advance tickets (except for Toledo--see below).

Toledo is on a spur railroad line connected only to Madrid, so you'll have to head back to Madrid when you leave Toledo, no matter what is your next stop. The good news is that the Madrid-Toledo train is quick and the fare doesn't vary; you don't need to grab a ticket weeks in advance in order to get a good price. However, the trains between Madrid and Toledo do sometimes sell out; it's not a rare occurrence. If you want to remain flexible about your Toledo visit, you should at least watch the Renfe website to be sure trains are not filling up. It is in any case risky not to buy your return ticket to Madrid in the morning on your travel day. However, if you're in a serious pickle, you can take the bus; it's just a much longer trip. The bus will not take you to Atocha Station in Madrid; you'll need to hop on the Metro to get there or back to your hotel.

I loved Toledo and was happy to spend multiple nights there. There are a lot of worthwhile sights, but more than that, I am a wanderer who tried to see every street in the historic center--a rather large and hilly area in Toledo.

I also spent a couple of nights in Segovia, which I found worthwhile for wandering around. Segovia doesn't have as many go-inside sights as Toledo, so for me it's less important to spend the night there. Rail fares to Segovia do vary, so the cost of that side trip is likely to increase as your travel date approaches.

To help with future trips to other countries, I recommend exploring the website https://www.seat61.com/. It is maintained by a serious rail fan who has compiled a lot of highly useful information. Among many other things, he identifies good websites for purchasing tickets.

We spent two nights and 2 days in Toledo and did not have time to see Museum of Santa Cruz (which has some paintings from famous painters) . The Cathedral is over the top and takes many hours to see, one of the most beautiful cathedral in Spain. So I would definitely stay overnight in Toledo.
Also what time during a day to arrive at a place counts. For example, if arrive at 5pm, there are still about 2 hours one can walk the town before heading for dinner. Most restaurants won't open until then except for bars.

All suggestions are subjective. It boiles down to what your personal preference is. I like small towns better than the big ones. They tends to have better preservation of the old stuff and more intimate, more walkable.

Seville and Granada are great medium sized cities with wonderful things to see.

I know I´m a bit insistent on this, but think about using the great buses that the mass transit system in Spain offers. Bus stations are safe, clean and modern, as are buses (quite cheap, too), and in many occassions they take you to more places more frequently than train. Locals tend to use bus over train, although both are very popular means of transport.