Spain

3 or 4 days in Barcelona, depending upon the time of your arrival, then the AVE train to Madrid ( 2 1/2 hours).
In Madrid you can take a side trip to Toledo, stay overnight if possible, Posada de Manolo is an excellent stay and close to the Cathedral. Segovia is a short bus ride from Madrid...good for a day, no need to stay overnight in my opinion, Salamanca is 2_ hours from Madrid via Train and good for a couple of days. Lots and lots to see and do in Madrid. This is all general I know, but from which city do you plan to fly back home?

Take a took at Rick's guided tours itineraries (elsewhere on this site) of Spain and see where they go in your timeframe. See if they interest you and adjust as needed. Do an open jaw flight so you don't waste time backtracking to your starting point. I spent 9 days in Spain in July. We did 4 days in Barcelona and 5 in Madrid with 2 day trips to (1) Toledo and (1) Segovia and Avila. Personally, I thought we stayed way too long in Madrid and wish we made the time to see Sevilla or Granada instead.

Near Barcelona is a day trip to Montserrat,a Monestary in the Mouuntains,very beautiful with Cathedral and a Boys choir.Take the train to Madrid,a good day trip would be to El Escoral about 90 minutes,it is where the Royal Family is buried and another impressive Monestary,35 minutes south of Madrid is Toledo,good for a day trip,or spend the night,we spent two nights,very historic city,inlaid gold jewelery is made there,great cathedral as well.From Madrid take train to Seville and fly out from there.There is lots to see in Seville,I would reccommend that you get Ricks book on Spain as your interests might be different than others,I spent 2 weeks there with my wife 2 years ago,if you need any help feel free to contact me,I can give you hotels if you need them.San Sebastian is in the Basque region of Spain and might be the cullinary capital of Europe right now,we loved it,right on the Atlantic Ocean.
Mike

Don't book your flights until you have figured out your cities and itinerary. For Spain, it usually works best to fly open jaw, into one city and out of another (say, into Barcelona and out of Seville). To find these flights, got to http://www.kayak.com/flights and "multi city" rather than "one way" or "round trip." Don't book two one-way flights - that's much more expensive. Open jaw may not be more expensive than a simple round trip, but even if it is, you save time and money not having to backtrack. For me, a real highlight of Spain was Girona (about 90 minutes from Barcelona; I saw it as a daytrip, but could have stayed longer). The Let's Go guidebook I was using at the time called it "a world class city patiently waiting for the world to notice" and they were 100% right.

Karin, You might have a look at the Itineraries of the RS Spain tours, as that may provide some ideas for your trip. Also check your local Library for Guidebooks, as there will be lots of information there too. Of course you could also consider taking one of the tours. The My Way Spain 11-day tour has a very efficient Itinerary and would allow you to cover a number of very interesting locations. The tour provides hotels, transportation and a Tour Escort, but tour members have the freedom to plan their own sightseeing. It's a good way to cover a lot of territory in a limited time, and having the Tour Escort is a big help. I took that tour in June, and would certainly recommend it. Good luck with your planning!

Hi Karin. I think Spain is a great choice. There are really excellent everything - wines, food, museums, historical and cultural monuments, cathedrals, scenery, outdoor activities, and much more, like the bullfights and flamenco music and dance. The best advice - which you've already heard here - is to read a guide book or two. Note the places and sights and activities that sound most interesting to you. Then come back next week** with the list and those of us who know Spain will help you put together a good itinerary. I agree that you shouldn't book flights until you have an itinerary. If you are flying from LAX, you should have lots of choices. You can start pricing various open-jaw flights now to get an idea. **Just kidding.

Offering the same general advice. Personally think open jaw ticket is only way to go for just about every trip - which is what we do. For example - you could fly into Barcelona, go to Madrid (day trips to Segovia, Toledo), Cordoba, Seville, Granada, and home from Malaga. That would give a broad taste of Spain without being overly rushed.

All of the above is great advice, here is mine: Realize you may miss the best "time" in Spain if you are in your room prior to midnight.

We did three weeks in Spain two years ago and started in Barcelona for 3 nights, then flew to Madrid for another 3 nights. I'd recommend you stay near the museums as some areas can be a bit scruffy. We rented a car as we left Madrid and drove to Toledo overnight then headed south for the next 10 days to day trip and relax. Our day trips were to Gibralter, Morocco, Granada, Ronda & Cadiz. We would take a day off between these trips as you don't want to burn out. We hired a guide for Morocco and he handled the ferry cost, customs etc and it was very reasonable and a really cool experience. We left the south and stayed in Seville one night before heading to Portugal for a few nights, then home. We added Portugal as we would probably not fly there again based on location, and so glad we did! We all LOVED Lisbon, but I would return to any of these cities in a heartbeat.

A BIG thank you to everyone who replied to my post. I will definitely get the guide book now that I have a few days off work. Also, I will definitely fly "open jaw"
Here is another question, To travel from Barcelona to Madrid one can either fly for $80 in 1hr 20 min or take the AVE for $170 in 3 hrs. Rick's tours take the train, is there a reason for that that I am missing such as the location of the train station vs airport?

Rick prefers trains because they drop you right in the city center, whereas airport travel is more time consuming. However if the train ticket costs double the price of a flight, I would personally take the plane.

Karin, I travelled via AVE in June from Barcelona to Madrid, and it's faster than travel by air when all is considered. Although the flight may only be 1H:20M, you have to add time for travel to and from airports, check-in, security, baggage costs if luggage is a bit heavier, etc. The AVE is absolutely MUCH less of a hassle, and it's a very pleasant trip at 300 kMH. As with most trains, it runs from one city centre to another, so it's very convenient. Cheers!

You can get discounts on the AVE if you are able to book in advance. Unfortunately, the RENFE website is not easy to use; here's a very extensive tutorial on it from TripAdvisor: http://tinyurl.com/cu48wk5. In that tutorial, they note that people can have more success with http://petrabax.com/renfe/, http://www.palacetours.com/renfe, or http://www.rumbo.es (the last won't hotlink for some reason). These are not quite as cheap as RENFE (they're resellers), but at least you can take advantage of the advance purchase discounts.

Highly recommend the train...follow the notes above re the purchase of tickets...and be sure to Register before you make the purchase..makes it much easier!

One more tip on using Renfe. You need to register your credit card to add another security layer. For Mastercard, it's SecureCode, there's an equivalent for Visa. It takes a minute to do it online. Until you do, Renfe won't accept your card. Also do not be daunted by the length and detail of the Renfe instructions on Trip Advisor - they are long, but excellent and answer all questions. Ken is spot on about preferring the train. No worries about lost luggage, no waiting for it at the carousel. Also, the train's much more comfortable and the ride may be scenic. . .

Chani - thank you for the information re: registering your credit card with RENFE before booking on their site. I tried for days to book on their site for the discounted fares and was unable to do so. I called my credit card company several times to be sure they were not blocking the purchase. Now I know how to handle future reservations! Karin - We traveled to Spain a few years ago and wished we had spent more time in Granada. Try to see the Alhambra if at all possible. Also, in Madrid, my personal favorite is Museo Sorolla. Enjoy your trip!