Week in Spain - only one city

Seville! Go in April before the high heat arrives.

I'd be inclined to suggest Sevilla. We really enjoyed the lively city. There is a lot to do, plus many day trip options. If you choose Sevilla, I'd suggest going in April. Mid May and into June could be quite warm depending on what you are used to.

In Sevilla, we really enjoyed the Plaza de Espana (location for a few movies and gorgeous), the Alcazar, the cathedral and Triana (the area across the river, Guadalquivir. But, there is so much more to enjoy.

If you go to Sevilla, you can take day trips to Cordoba and Tavira, PT. If you’re into museums Madrid is another good destination that has plenty of good places to day trip. Barcelona is another one.

I too would pick Seville, however, June would be too hot for me. It would be good to know where the time share is located related to the towns that you have to pick from. As I'm guessing not in the historic center or any place walkable to the center. So then your are looking at transportation/parking/gasoline. Long story short timeshares, especially ones that have a mandatory breakfast per person charge of at least E20 person, turnout to be more expensive than just renting a hotel or Airbnb in the historic center or walkable to the center. Back to Seville either go to Seville because you want to see Holy Week or if not then stay away during Holy Week which also has a very large fair a couple of weeks after Holy Week. There are other festivals, there is one in June, but I don't know the dates. Most big cities are worth a week: Rome and Paris jump to mind. J

Time shares are sometimes located on (formerly) cheap land that's rather far from traditional sightseeing targets. I think Seville is a brilliant idea if you have access to a well-located timeshare there. If not, I'd want to know what your other options are. What countries are on your list? April to June is a nice date range. Even I (extremely picky about weather) wouldn't rule out much of anywhere in Europe if you told me I had to take the trip between the beginning of April and the end of June!

Sorry but June in Sevilla is hot. If it were me I'd pick Madrid-depending what neighborhood the timeshare is in. Lots of museum, a wide array of day trips and wonderful food.

Great point on the timeshare restrictions... I just looked, and everything is coastal, even Madrid and Seville are not an option, dang it!

I sort of wondered about that. So what are your coastal options in Spain? And maybe give us Portugal and Italy, too, just in case.

Costal towns like: Marbella, Malaga, Alicante, San Jose, and along the southern coast of Portugal (Albufeira)

Thank you so much! We've been struggling for weeks, I'm grateful I found this forum!

So to this Minnesotan looking forward to a winter storm warning for tomorrow and subzero highs starting Sunday, all those cities sound amazing!

Can you fly in and out of Málaga (airport code AGP)? There are nonstop flights between Newark (EWR) and Málaga. From Marbella airport take a direct bus to Marbella (45m). Good day trip options from Marbella are Tarifa and Gibraltar (1h 30m by direct bus).

Are there coastal towns in the north too?

No, Marbella, Malaga and San José are in Andalucia and Alicante is in Valencia.

Of the listed cities I've only been to Malaga. It's a real city with sightseeing attractions. And it's quite attractive. For a week-long stay my preference is always for a city rather than a smaller place, because I am not one to lie on the beach (or go swimming even if it's warm enough). Furthermore, you'll probably find it easier to get to Malaga than to the other places, with less of your precious time spent sitting on trains/buses. Do check flights into Malaga. If they are not affordable, look at Seville (as close as 2 hours by train) and Madrid (about 3 hours by train, but flights might be significantly cheaper).

For me, Malaga is the clear winner here, but again, you need to look at the actual location of the time share. How long will it take you to get to the historic center of town? How long to a train station where you can board the local train running up the coast. You'll undoubtedly want to visit a few of the cute (but probably very touristy) coastal towns.

Another vote for Malaga, a fantastic city with lots to see and do:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2020/01/malaga-what-to-see-and-do-free-31-ideas.html
Also easy to take public transport in both directions along the coast, just walk down to the beach from the centre or day trip to somewhere like Cordoba which is beautiful.

There is a direct train from Málaga to Sevilla’s Santa Justa station that departs at 9:17 taking 2h 15m and a direct train from Sevilla Santa Justa to Málaga departing at 19:13. I don’t know if there are other trains that don’t require a transfer but I’m changing my suggestion from staying in Marbella to Málaga. Other fantastic day trip options by direct train from Málaga are Granada (2h) and Cordoba (1h).

Of your choices listed, I would pick Malaga as first choice, Marbella as second choice. Malaga has much better transportation options - train, buses, flights. We’re flying into Malaga soon (Delta/Air France) to return there a few days before moving west along the coast.

Marbella isn’t nearly as pretty as Malaga, but you could take the bus to see sites along the coast, including Gibraltar, if that interests you.

I would look at Rome2rio.com and enter the location of some of the sites you want to see. The website will show you the options for transportation from your timeshare which might help you decide what’s your best choice.

And food is relatively inexpensive in Spain, so I would avoid any €20 offers from your timeshare for breakfast.

Have a great time!