Hello! I am looking for advice on where to stay in Spain. We want to see as much as we can but also want to limit the times we change lodging. So a good place to day trips from. I am thinking of spending two weeks in the south and two weeks in the north. We also have a very social 5 year old who needs access to a nice play park. If anyone has advice I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you!
Posted by
Chicago
8166 posts
Posted by
Washington DC
28092 posts
What time of year?
Posted by
OP
Southern California
6 posts
We arrive April 3rd and depart April 30th.
Posted by
Washington DC
28092 posts
At that time of year the weather will probably be most pleasant down in Andalucía. It's a large area, so you'd do best with at least two bases: Granada and either Seville or Cordoba. Seville is better-positioned for side trips, I think.
Weather-wise the next best would probably be Barcelona. That city has a lot of attractions, and there are many good side-trips.
The area around Madrid will be cooler than Barcelona at night, but there are fabulous side-trip possibilities (Toledo, Segovia, Cuenca).
Along the northern coast (Basque Country to Galicia) you will be at risk of cool nights and substantially more rain, so I would keep that area for a summer trip. A car would be really helpful in this area. It's less important in the other places I've mentioned and might not be useful at all depending on your plans for visiting smaller towns. There are very fast trains connecting Barcelona-Madrid-Cordoba-Seville. The best way to get to Granada from Barcelona is probably flying.
I don't have children so am not the one to get into specifics about child-friendly activities.
Easter/spring break will affect demand for lodgings, and it's a busy time of year in Andalucía because of all the religious celebrations. There are many sights in Barcelona for which you'd want to buy tickets at least a bit in advance, because ticket lines can be very long. Whether any of those would be of interest to you with a 5-year-old, I do not know. The Alhambra in Granada sells out far in advance.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
Your visit includes Semana Santa (Holy Week) - April 14-21. This is the biggest festival in Andalucia and there are will be crowds and high season prices. The major cities are Sevilla and Malaga with processions every day from morning till past midnight and huge crowds and street closures. That is not to say other towns won't be crowded and won't have processions, just not as many and perhaps not every day.
Posted by
OP
Southern California
6 posts
Thank you everyone.