My wife and I just returned from a week in Spain, including 3 nights in Barcelona and 4 nights in Madrid, with a long day trip via AVE train to Sevilla (2.5 hrs one-way) and a ½ day trip, again via AVE train (30 min one-way), to Toledo. In Barcelona, we stayed at the Catalonia Albinoni, just a block south of Placa de Catalunya and the start of the Ramblas (also great access north to the Gaudi sites in the L’Eixample). In Madrid, we stayed at Hotel Europa, right on Puerta del Sol, again, a great location, equidistant between the Palacio Real and The Prado, with easy Metro access all over. Both fine hotels, although the beds at Europa were stiff and hard. Both were clean, friendly, and inviting, ideally situated for site-seeing.
Spain’s high-speed AVE trains are remarkable: so very fast, and yet also comfortable and smooth. We spent about five hours exploring Toledo, although the Cathedral and museums were closed because it was New Year’s Day. The town had life, though, with plenty of shops and restaurants open, and tremendous beauty. Even the train station, well outside the walls, is quite beautiful. For Sevilla, we hired a personal guide (only e160 for the day, total, because it’s out of season) to meet us at Estacion Santa Justa and escort us to Plaza de Espana, the stunning cathedral, the Alcazar, the bull ring, and Barrio Santa Cruz. We also squeezed in some delicious tapas. We left Madrid’s Estacion de Atocha at 9:00 AM, arrived in Sevilla at 11:35, toured from 11:35 until 5:15 PM, and then headed back to Madrid at 5:45, arriving at Atocha at 8:00 PM—just enough time to see Picasso’s “Guernica” at the Sofia before it closed at 9:00 PM (located across the street from Atocha). What a great (and exhausting) day! A day trip to Sevilla from Madrid, admittedly, is a stretch, but with a guide set up in advance and only a week in Espana, we found it not only workable, but also wonderful. One of our best days in Spain.
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