A week in Madrid?

If you don't have enough to do there, it is only 2.5 hours by fast train to either Barcelona or Seville. Either one would be a good choice to complete your trip.

there are small cities near madrid you can visit as overnight trips if you run out of museums in madrid, toledo, salamanca, avila, segovia are all not that far from madrid. avila is ok with a day trip (even half day).

I would say yes espec if the Prado and Thy-B museums are on your list of must do's. otherwise on night/day in Madrid and then go to Toledo etc by bus. You could easily incl Barcelona w/o museums and spend a wk to incl coastal area.

Madrid: The Prado Museum - excellent for up to a day Plaza Mayor - good for a morning San Michel Market - near the Plaza Mayor - upscale and woth exploring..every thing from oysters on the half shell to fruit, meats, etc. There is another San Michel Market on the other side of town as well near Chueca. The Royal Palace - Great for a couple of hours. Be sure to see the armory, the small building set apart from the Royal Palace. Eat at one of the sidewalk cafes at Plaza Oriente, across the street from the Palace. The Cathederal Museue at Alamudena Cathederal beside the Royal Palace....you can climb to the top of the outside and get fantastic views from there all over the city. Puerta Del Sol...The Tourist center, and center for locals as well. The Park Retrio. One of the best anywhere for people watching. The Palace Valesquez and the Crystal Palace are both in the park and worth seeing. Gran Via...one great street from Plaza Espana to the Prado... Outside of Madrid
Day trip (Overnight if possible) AVE train from Atocha station to Toledo, 25 minute ride If you want to spend the night I would recommend Posada De Manolo, near the cathederal. Cathederal is a jewel..get the hand held audio guide. Santa Cruz Museum, excellent! Maritime Museum (Alcacazr) new and worth seeing. House of El Greco..not his house, but well presented. Segovia - day trip via bus.. Aqueduct, Alacazar, Cathederal. Yes! Madrid is worth seeing!!!

What HJ said!

Hi, We just returned from a 2 week trip to Spain. We went to Madrid, Seviille and Barcelona. While we enjoyed all three areas, we really loved Barcelona, and we would easily have doubled our time there as well as in the surrounding towns that are easily reached by train. Barcelona has this wonderful combination of charming old town with intriguing shops and galleries, a sophisticated urban environment as well as the waterfront/marina. If you go, do not miss Sagrada Familia. Te most extraordinary building I've ever seen. Be sure to go inside. That's the treasure.

I studied in Madrid and found it to be a wonderful city. I was there for 6 months and didn't see everything I wanted to while I was there. If you do get bored of the city there are many wonderful day trips in the area. Some towns to visit are Toledo, Salamanca, Segovia, Avila, and Conseugra (wonderful windmill's of Don Quixote). Also loved San Sebastian on the north coast. Beautiful town, but definitely could not do it in a day! Its a bit of a trip, so you would want to stay two nights at least!

Have you been to Spain? If so, and you haven't seen Madrid, great. If not, Madrid is not the place I'd choose. As has been said, Barcelona is a much more interesting city. If you have a good deal on a flight to Madrid, rent a car and see the places mentioned above. Toledo is easily reached by bus or train and really old world. Avila, Salamanca, Valladolid and castles La Mota, Pinafiel, and Coca are all worth seeing northwest of Madrid. I wouldn't choose Consuegra, there is a little castle there and some good views of windmills. If given the choice, however, I'd pick Belmonte castle - a much better castle with windmills dotting the surrounding hills. We went to both and felt we should have skipped the first - it's only slightly further from Madrid. West of Madrid is also Cuenca. We skipped it because we thought it was only for views of hanging houses. Afterwards we saw other pictures from there and wished we had planned a trip. There is also a small Palace on a straight line between Toledo and Cuenca, Aranjuez, that I'd choose over giant El Escorial. The only thing I'd hate to miss in Madrid is the Prado. It's one of the top art museums in the world.