I got a great round trip ticket to Barcelona from August 18-September 1, and I was trying to figure out the rest of my itinerary. How much time would you recommend staying in Barcelona? My friend and I are active and in our Mid-20's. We are debating between going to the French Riviera and Madrid. Which would you choose? Is it too much of a stretch to do both on a two week trip?
Posted by
Trenton, Ontario, Canada
204 posts
Pick up Rick's book on Spain. We did Barcelona-Madrid-Seville Granada and the hill towns by train and Car. If you are looking for beaches- the Costa del Sol would be just as good as the French Riviera and you would not be back tracking.
Barcelona-train to Valcenia-then to Nerja- then to Granada(the Alambra- Seville ( a must IMO) then to Madrid (again a must IMO). You then have fun (Barcelona the back streets) sun the Costa del Sol - Granada (history Moors) Seville- bull fights, flaminco- Madrid -Prada Museum.
Whatever this thread writes- have fun and stay at a place at least 2 days no on nighters.
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
Melissa
Go to maribelsguides.com and check out her suggestions.
We were in Barcelona for 3 days and Madrid for 4, and found plenty of things to do. Madrid is a great hub if you want to do day trips like to Segovia or Toledo.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, US
2186 posts
We just spent 3 days in Barcelona (which we thought was plenty) and then went to the French Riviera -- took a train to Antibes, and then worked our way back to Barcelona for our return flight. Our absolute favorite place was Collioure, which is just a couple of hours north of Barcelona by train. I guess it depends on if you like big cities or beautiful beach towns. If you go to Collioure, try to be there on a Wednesday or Sunday for Market Day.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA
206 posts
Two weeks would give you plenty of time to do both. If you choose to do both, you might consider flying between them, as it's much faster and actually cheaper than the train.
We spent three days in Barcelona and thought four would have been better. We preferred it to Madrid (especially for night life), but all worth seeing.