My 18 year-old son is heading to Valencia to spend the school year there with his best friend's family. We are going to visit around Christmas for two weeks. I've been reading about Spain but am having trouble figuring out how to best split our time. We spent a week in Rome two years ago at Christmas time and loved that we were in one place the whole time -- we rented an apartment, spent most of our time in the city but also did two day trips. I was thinking of doing Barcelona, heading to somewhere on the Costa del Sol near Malaga, and then spending some time in Valencia, saving Madrid for another trip. Although we like cities, we probably like small towns off the beaten path where we can wander even more-- a mix of city and small town wondering without a lot of driving would be ideal.
Any suggestions on where to go?