Seville or Barcelona

Depends on your (honest) definition of "a few days." Either city takes some time to get to, so relocating from madrid - and potentially doubling back to return from here - would eat significantly into such a short trip.

Consider flying in to madrid and then out from your ultimate destination....if you can do that, Barcelona would probably provide more options.

That's a toughie, and I'm sure you'll get a ton of recommendations for both. Sevilla and Barcelona are both amazing cities, but very different, too. My personal favorite is Barcelona -- walking Las Ramblas and the Barri Gotic, plus seeing all the Gaudi architecture, just can't be beaten in my book -- but Sevilla offers its own charm. It just depends on your interests and personal tastes.

If you want to get into the heart of what Spain is traditionally all about...flamenco, Moorish influence, tapas....etc,...then Sevilla is for you. If you're more into the international aspects of Spain, along with some out of the ordinary architecture, then Barcelona's the place to go.

well for something very unique and unlike any city in the world...barcelona wins hands down

I just love wandering the Bari gotic as mentioned above.
We were there 3 nights a few years ago and it was not enough...next time I will stay longer.

It is a five hour train ride from Madrid to Barcelona so that does take 1/2 day out of your few days.How many days exactly?? I would suggest at least a full day to see Madrid then train to Toledo for a day stay over night- it is only an hour from Madrid. Then train down to Seville for a day. You could fly out of Seville also but would connect in Madrid I expect.

I agree with the other posters that Barcelona is unique but the other 2 towns mentioned are facinating as well.

actually, there is an AVE train from Barcelona to Madrid that takes just over 3 hours. but, agreed, that is a chunk of time to get back and forth. the AVE to Seville is 2.5 hours. so either way, you've got travel time to consider. I like the idea of flying into Madrid and out of Barcelona too.

Since I have never been to Barcelona (well, only in the train station waiting to get to France...doesn't count tho ;) ) I would vote for Sevilla. But as others have posted, both cities have alot to offer. I imagine Barcelona has its own charm. Sevilla definitely does!

I also just checked renfe and there are other AVE routes that take under 3 hours. maybe those don't make as many stops? anyway, thought I'd post that info too. here's the link to renfe if you'd like to peruse:

http://www.renfe.es/horarios/index.html

Maybe it is because I was in Seville more recently, and spent more time there than I had previously in Barcelona, but I'd recommended Seville.

Who is the "we" that is traveling? A couple... then Seville is even more perfect. It is a more romantic city in my opinion.

But I love Barcelona as well - either place is well worth it.

But, as others above have asked, more details of your itinerary might make one choice more reasonable.

I think it depends on what type of vacation you are looking for. We were in Spain about 3 weeks ago. Our time spent in Seville was more lax. We went to a flamenco show, aimless wandered the Barrio Santa Cruz (which I found to be more picturesque than Barcelona's Bari Gothic), spent a lot of time stopping in tapas bars (which are said to be the best in Sevilla), toured Alcatraz, bought a fan, ect. In Barcelona we were more frenetic, running from amazing Gaudi site to Gaudi site, doing Las Ramblas and La Bouqeria, ate paella (I was told to not even bother ordering paella in Seville), did an open air bus tour, ECT. Both were really lovely but in very different ways.

Another thing I would consider if it were me making the decision is the time of year that you plan to go. Seville was sweltering hot. A cab driver told us Seville is the hottest city in Europe (I have no idea if that is actually true or not, but it sure felt like it). In September it was around 45 celsius. Barcelona was much cooler. Hope this helps!