I am in need of travel advice for my trip on 09/04/09. I will be traveling to Italy again this year. I am thinking of going from Boston to Madrid, Spain and after a week on to Italy. Would like to stay there from 09/05 thru 09/12/10/09. This would allow for 6 days. I would leave to fly to Italy on Saturday, 09/12/09. What to Do? I would arrive on Saturday in Madrid. I would like to go either South to Sevilla and the surrounding area or north to Barcelona and the surrounding area. I am not fond of new and modern structures (highrise). I am a want to be photographer and take pretty good pictures. I do like museums and beautiful floral gardens. Where should I go. Helpppppppp Please with advice??
Posted by
Seattle, WA, United States
63 posts
Virginia,
I would agree with Sharon. Granada is a beautiful town and it holds the most magical example of the Moorish presence in Europe with the Alhambra. The gardens of Generalife are beautiful and unique and would be very nice in September when roses are in bloom.
Seville is larger, and has more Americans but also has it's wonderful moments if you look for them.
Posted by
OP
Portland, Maine, USA
171 posts
Thanks for the first 2 replies. I speak no Spanish.
I shall hope for more replie to my trip planning.
Since I have 7 full days, could I go to both Sevilla and to Barcelona or stick to Madrid and the South or Madrid and the North. I am very worried about were to stay in Madrid.
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
Hi Virginia,
You might consider some time in Madrid for museums and some time in Granada to see the Alhambra--in addition to the architecture, the gardens are beautiful.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
With a week, you can do a fair bit, and since you like the older architecture and gardens, I would suggest Madrid and Andalucia. Madrid for 3 days (including a day trip to Toledo or Segovia) then south to Sevilla for 2 days, then over to Granada for 2 days, then off to Rome from there. That'll give you an excellent sampling of the country. Low cost airlines Clickair, Spanair, and Vueling all fly from Granada to Barcelona, with Clickair and Vueling going on to Rome (altho you'll have to book the tickets separately.) Barcelona is also connected to several other Italian cities by discount airline. If you book early enough, you should get a good price for your flights. As for Madrid, it probably has the lowest accommodations costs in western Europe! In Spain, they have hostals (as opposed to hostels) which are two-star hotels, usually family-run. Two nicely-modernized ones I use are Hostal Cruz Sol and Hostal Santa Cruz, both on Plaza Santa Cruz in the heart of Madrid. Go to maps.google.com and copy and paste these coordinates (40.41526660979992, -3.7056192755699157), turn on satellite view and you'll see the building they're in. If you use the little yellow icon to the left, you can even see the "street view" of the area! They charge about 40 Euro for a single. For something more modern,look to Accor hotels'Ibis or Etap locations out in Suances, a lovely neighbourhood in eastern Madrid. It's about a 25 minute metro ride to downtown. Rates there are 59 and 45 euro per night, respectively.
Posted by
Johns Island, SC
172 posts
Barcelona, San Sebastian, or the Rioja region would all be great, esp for photographer. I have details of our trip and pictures posted at our blog.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, United States
63 posts
Virginia,
Norm's itinerary looks great! It would be wonderful to fit in both Granada and Sevilla, as they are two very different cities in Andalucia.
In Sevilla, take a stroll down Calle Betis, which is across the river from the town center, in the Triana neighborhood. For traditional Flamenco in a bar or cafe in this area, ask the locals for a good venue. Farther from the town center is probably better because there'd be less tourists. Triana is home to a large gypsy population, which is still very active with Flamenco.