Yet another itinerary question

1. Have you thought about going directly to Sevilla and then ending your trip in Toledo?

2. We were in Spain a few years ago in October and it was t-shirt and light jacket weather. Some days in southern Spain I would have been ok in shorts! It was still warm there.

3. Barcelona has a smaller feel than Madrid to me. You could try ending your trip here if you decide you want to add on time. I loved Barcelona but if you aren’t “feeling” it I’d say go somewhere else that appeals to you more. You can always return if you get the itch to go.

We really enjoyed our day trip to Segovia from Madrid. I’d keep that on your radar as an option if you’re interested in it.

We spent a few nights in El Paular in the mountains about 50 miles north of Madrid.
There is a monastery and part of it was converted to a hotel. Very near a ski area. A pretty place to decompress with great food!
We also enjoyed a day trip to Segovia from Madrid. Order the suckling pig for a meal while you’re there.

Hi here would be my responses:

1 - Toledo can get quite hectic too especially during the day when it is overrun by day trippers from Madrid. Once the sun goes down, the daytrippers leave, and the locals come out it is a lot more relaxing. You could consider a smaller town close to Madrid more off the beaten path as a relaxing getaway... like Aranjuez or Chinchón would fit the bill.

4 - I don't think Barcelona is essential, there are much nicer places to see in Spain, the city's charms have deteriorated over the years. You may want save for another trip when you can also explore the charming surrounding Catalan region too.

Thank you all. I will look at these ideas and get back to you with any questions. Looking at the smaller places near Madrid now.

My take would be to start with Madrid and finish with Toledo if you want to end the trip on a "more relaxed" note. Toledo is in no way bucolic or "peaceful" but it's much smaller than Madrid, less intense even with all the visitors, and entirely walkable if you don't mind uphills and downhills.

I agree that Toledo and Cordoba both warrant overnights. Six nights seems long for Seville, but maybe you can work in some day trips to places like Jerez or Cadiz or Arcos. If you can add more days to the whole trip, do so, of course! I would add to Madrid, including a day trip to Segovia. And I'd add Barcelona, though I hate to contradict Carlos who knows it well. Consider an open-jaw itinerary where you fly into Madrid or Barcelona and leave from the other.

Alcala de Henares, an old university town that's very near Madrid, would be a quieter place to end your trip. It's very attractive and doesn't seem to attract foreign tourists. There's very frequent commuter rail service.

Alcala de Henares is on the same side of the city as the airport, but I'm not sure there's any direct public transportation. A taxi might take only a half hour or so; it would be a considerably shorter and cheaper trip than a taxi from Toledo to the airport.

I love Barcelona, but it must be acknowledged that it has quite a long list of sights that are packed with tourists (as well as many others that aren't, of course). For that reason, I'm not sure it would be the relaxing end-of-trip stop you're looking for.

What if we extended the end Madrid to 6 nights? Is that too much? We can take things slower and take a couple of day trips. We do like museums a lot, but not sure as much at the end of the trip. But it could be a nice change of pace from Southern Spain? I am so torn on this small detail. I will either start in Toledo or end in Toledo. Just not feeling it for Barcelona. I think my husband went there when it was not as hectic as it appears to be now.

Are 4 nights in Granada too much if i added a day? Or should I add a day to Cordoba instead? Just trying to not move as much.

We are definitely taking side trips from Seville - I just didn't mention it here. This is why we are there 6 days.

Thank you.

I don't think 3 nights is too long in Cordoba, but I also don't think 4 nights is too long in Granada if you want a non-hectic pace. I will note that if you are unlucky and hit really hot weather, Granada's likely to be more comfortable than Seville or Cordoba because it's at altitude. The town of Priego de Cordoba makes a nice day trip from Granada.

Spain can be hot, but I am from south Georgia and it is no big deal to me. You are from New Orleans, so you can handle it.

First, I would fly into Madrid and spend four nights there, Spend a day at the Prado, another seeing the city, then a day trip to Segovia and another to Toledo.

Move on to Cordoba, it is on your way to Seville. Seville deserved minimum of three days, love that city.
Granada is a bit far from Seville or Cordoba, but if you can swing it spend at least one day there.

Don't try to do Barcelona if you squeeze it into your trip without adding days. You need four days there minimum.

After all these great comments, plus second guessing myself, I am thinking of changing things a bit.

We would start in Madrid - 5 nights including day trip Toledo vs overnight (this was my main problem and may still change again)

Then - because of the above mentioned weather issue, I can reverse the course and start in Granada and move my way south to give me an extra week (who knows if that will work) for southern Spain to get a little cooler. And even if I am from New Orleans, I still hate walking in hot weather for 8 hours :). And to mix things up so we end on a more relaxing note and do something besides mosques and churches, etc, we will end at Bilbao and fly home (which of course stops in Madrid).

Madrid - 5 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Cordoba - 3 nights
Seville - 5 nights

Fly from Seville to Bilbao - 3 or 4 nights

I know Cordoba/Seville is a little backtracking, but looks easy to get a flight from Seville to Bilbao. I usually like trains vs. the pain of an airport, but plane in this case seems to make more sense unless someone who knows better can convince me otherwise. I am just trying to "time" this trip for weather reasons, which I know are unpredictable. Big issues is the Bilbao at the end of the trip. I don't want it to be too cold, but don't want to be in Southern Spain too early. I think if we left for Madrid 3rd week ish of September, then that would be good timing? We are super flexible on the start date.

Thanks for any more comments!

You don't need three nights in Cordoba, I would cut one day.

Not sure why you don't do Cordoba from Madrid on your way to Seville?

For travel by rail, Cordoba is on the way from Madrid to Seville, from Madrid to Granada, and from Granada to Seville. Cordoba can be positioned anywhere on the itinerary without really backtracking. However, trains from Madrid/Cordoba to Granada are a lot less frequent than trains from Madrid/Cordoba to Seville, so it's smart to look at the rail schedules in and out of Granada to see what works best for the individual traveler who wants to maximize time in one particular city.

I'd plan for October. We just got home from Spain with time spent in all of these cities save Bilbao. We had unseasonably hot weather and didn't sleep well in 3 hotels with barely-there air conditioning. (they were 4-star hotels, just not with an American view of air conditioning) We could handle warm days (esp with a souvenir fan) but the hot nights were trying.