Sevilla or Granada

You're asking questions without us having all the details. Where do you know you are going to for sure besides Lisbon? Where do you fly into and out of (or are you flexible)? What are your interests and what type of people are traveling with you (such as kids or teens)? One quick response is that there is no real train between Lisbon and Sevilla or Granada. The train only links Lisbon and Madrid. Flights to Sevilla are readily available. Sevilla and Granada are only about 3 hours from each other and there are LOTS of places and things to do in each and in between.

We fly into Lisbon and out of Madrid. My husband and i are in our 50's, and in good health. A friend told me I can't miss Sevilla. We were planning on renting a car and driving into the Algarve when I thought we could drop the car off in Spain without to much problem. That is now out so I have extra time, or so I think. We are looking for old Europe. We like to walk to see sights vs driving and looking out windows. I would rather get a good feel for a place then just spending a rushed few hours looking at many different places. Which leads me back to how and what cities have folks enjoyed traveling to.

Logistically, Sevilla may work better for you, I can't tell. But if I had to choose between Granada and Sevilla there would be no contest. It would be Granada in a heartbeat.

For us: take Granada over Sevilla. Actually we would take Cordova over Sevilla. The main problem with this question is that everyone's tastes are different and we don't know your what you prefer.

In that case, I would definitely look to fly to Sevilla rather than take a train to a city you will be coming back to. Granada takes a minimum of 1 full day and a night, preferably two full nights. The Alhambra is close to a full days effort. So any other siteseeing there will mean more days. I happen to love Sevilla more as a city. You can easily do Lisbon, Sevilla and/or Granada and Madrid in 12 full days. But you can also fully spend your time in just Lisbon and Madrid with daytrips and short overnights. Doing all four will make your trip more rushed, but it can be done.

Transportation connections between Spain and Poarugal are not good. Consider the overnight train from Lisbon to Madrid, then a morning train to Seville or Granada. You have too little time to see all these cities, yet all are magnificent. I would recommend four nights in Lisbon, four in Madrid, three in Seville, and two in Granada. That's thirteen total, too many for your schedule. Also that's without any of the great day trips from Madrid (but with a day trip to Sintra out of Lisbon, which is a must.). Try to squeeze in a day trip to Toledo, too.

I love to walk the old cobblestone roads, see buildings from the 1600's. Gothic churches, castles, palaces, the old cities. We did Venice last year, getting lost in the Venice was fun. I am not a shopper so please dont send me to any modern shopping centers. So why do you like Seville vs Granada?

NO - it's Granada over Sevilla! Sevilla is like an old woman living off of her past. Some of the sights are from long gone EXPOs, etc. The central area has more Burger Kings, Starbucks & Subway Sandwiches than quaint cafes & restaurants. If you like to party, enjoy Sevilla! We were there during the April Fair and everything was overpriced. It seemed to be the most 'North American' influenced of all the cities we visited in Spain. Granada has much more for us. Your choice. Enjoy your trip!

Hi Diane, I went to Spain & Portugal and used RS guidebook for most of it. We arrived in Barcelona on 9/10/01 so our entire trip was overshadowed by events back home. We made the most of our trip and thoroughly enjoyed these 2 countries. We did almost the opposite of your trip; flew in to Barcelona and except for plane from Barcelona to Madrid we took the AVE train Madrid to Granada and bus the rest of the way! We loved Madrid and if anything I wish I had spent more time there; went to Museo Reina Sofia and saw Picasso's original Guernica - loved it among many other things. (also took day trip to Toledo). It would be a shame to miss Granada & The Alhambra; it was very memorable. I can't say the same for Sevilla. We enjoyed Sevilla-took a RS suggested walking tour, found it very relaxing. Just not as memorable. If you were to skip one of these 2 places my choice would be to skip Sevilla but try to see both. Also went to Cordoba-also liked it better than Sevilla. We took the bus to Algeciras and Tarifa-loved them. Small but beautiful and also not very touristy/not crowded. We are from florida and we went to the Algarve! Took bus -I don't think the train schedule was great; but bus was easy. Went to Salema, Figueira, and Sagres-enjoyed a very memorable Cioppino dish! Delish. The lighthouse and view at Cape Sao Vicente is spectacular; the southwestern most point in europe. In the distance you can see the major shipping lanes.
Everyone has different interests-so of course it depends on what your schedule allows. For us it was a nice break at the end of our trip just before we headed to Lisbon. We enjoyed Lisbon but think 4 nights may be more than plenty. It depends how much you want to be on the 'go' and what your interests are; we were on the go but visited a lot of places, not sorry. Enjoy!

Well we all have different opinions! The reason I like Sevilla more than Granada is that the central area is large enough to get lost strolling in - like Venice. The main drag is very touristy, but once off exploring side streets and plazas, it's great with lots of local places, courtyards and restaurants. You can spend hours in the Alcazar and the cathedral is amazing. Flamenco at night was one of my most cherished memories. Granada has the Moorish Quarter which is very nice, but small and not an area I'd want to hang out in late at night. Plus once you've walked it, there isn't much else to see. The rest of the city is very modern and cosmopolitan and is a major college town. Obviously la Alhambra is stunning and takes the better part of a day to see. But after that, I was mostly ready to leave town.

Granada was very nice but Seville was awesome.