Spain vs Spain & Portugal

10 days is gonna go by quick and you may want all that time in Spain due to a huge factor: trains can be dreadfully slow. It takes 12 hours to train from Madrid to Lisbon. In 10 days I would at most see 4 cities (if you have to). Barcelona 3 days, Granada or Valencia 2 days, Sevilla 2 days, Madrid 3 days.

Kelly's hit the nail on the head. With only 10 days, concentrate on Spain....but leave out Valencia, since there are far better places in Spain to spend your time.

Thanks very much! If I'm staying within Spain, is it better to fly in and out of the same city (ex: Madrid) and travel by train to Barcelona, Seville, Granada, etc. than it would be to do it open jaw?

It depends on how valuable your time is. By flying open jaws, you'll leave yourself an extra day for touring. Since a discount AVE ticket between Madrid and Barcelona is about $80, add that into your calculations as well.
I usually suggest a loop through the south. Say Barcelona to Granada (cheap flight available on Vueling and Spanair,) Granada to Sevilla (intercity bus or train...about 3 hours.), Sevilla to Madrid (AVE...book ahead at www.renfe.es for cheap fares, as mentioned earlier....if you leave early enough, you can stop for several hours in Cordoba....book each leg separately.) There are many day trips available from Madrid (Segovia, Toledo, Avila, El Escorial) so I would allot it the biggest slice of time. Of course, you can do this in reverse as well.

As much as I love Portugal, in ten days you should focus on Spain. Madrid alone is good for five days when you figure in the great day trips from there. Barcelona is a good three day city. You can economize on time by flying in Barcelona and out of Madrid. Or the other way around. Consider an overnight train between Granada and Barcelona. We did it back in 2005 and it worked great for us. Two full days in Granada is enough, if you arrive on the overnight train an make the most of the first day, saving the second for the Alhambra (make sure and get tickets in advance). Two days in Seville is too little. You have a lot of trade offs to consider, because it all adds up to more than ten days. Perhaps cut the Madrid day trips, as great as they are.

I spent the last summer in Spain and had some family members come out who did almost the exact same trip you are planning. It worked out amazingly well. Maybe you can get some ideas. They flew into Madrid, and spent 4 nights with day trips to Toledo, and Valley of the Fallen/El Escorial. I'd spend the most amount of nights in Madrid. The area is amazing with many good side trips. Then they took the AVE to Seville, where they only spent a day (most people like 2-3 nights there...we only did 1...which we felt was enough, though many people love Seville). Then we went to Granada (2 nights) and then flew SpanAir to Barcelona (train is too slow and expensive). Spent 3 nights in Barcelona. I'd then fly open jaw from there, or if it's cheaper take the AVE back to Madrid. Enjoy your trip!

We just returned from a 10-day trip to Spain, and while planning the trip earlier this year, we had the exact same question. We ended up sticking with just Spain, and in retrospect, I'm really glad we did. There was LOTS to see in Spain and it took all of the 10 days (and some high-speed rail connections [Barcelona to Granada; Malaga to Madrid]) to see the things that we did. Of course, we don't know what we missed in Lisbon, but that gives us a reason to save up for a return trip to Portugal - and hopefully back to see more of Spain as well. We flew into Barcelona and out from Madrid on Delta, and all went smoothly.

I'm now thinking of extending the trip to 12 or 14 days since it seems 10 days is barely enough. If I were to go Barcelona --> Madrid --> Seville or Granada --> Lisbon (?) would 2 weeks be enough time? Which city is better for architecture and sightseeing: Seville or Granada?

Thanks everyone for their tips and advice. Much appreciated.

If you want to include Lisbon, you'll need 14 days, not 12 to be honest. Unless you skip either Sevilla or Granada. Which one will get you varied answers: Granada has La Alhambra (one of the most popular sites in Europe) but for many a less exciting city while Sevilla has the Alcazar (almost as good as La Alhambra), flamenco and for many a more interesting city for tourists. But some people much prefer Granada over Sevilla.

Madrid, IMO, is only worth a couple nights on such a short trip unless you want to add a lot of day trips (of which there are many). But with such a short time, you will not see everything and most people favor Andalucia and Barcelona over Madrid.

If you add Lisbon, fly open jaw using Barcelona and Lisbon as the arrival/departure points. Then look into flying from Sevilla or Granada to Lisbon (or visa-versa) and take the AVE within Spain.

We did a similar trip this past May. We flew into Lisbon after making a connection in Paris and spent three days with a daytrip to Sintra. Granted, that was not a lot of time but we enjoyed it and had no regrets. Took Easyjet (very cheap) to Madrid (3 nights), Toledo 2 nights, Granada, 2 nights, and then train to Sevilla, 3 nights. We used trains within the Spain cities. Had seen Barcelona on a previous trip so did not include it--however, it remains my favorite city in Spain.

You'd asked about the Granada versus Seville. That's a tough one, as they are both very much worth seeing. That said, I kind of preferred Granada. My impressions are of course colored by things like weather (it was cooler in Granada than Seville), memorable meals (we had a great dinner in Granada on a picture perfect evening); and memorable sights (the Alhambra's gardens, palaces, and fortress were quite impressive, with commanding views of the valley, city, and mountains). That said, I'm guessing that Seville would be more convenient for a trip over to Lisbon, and the Alcazar, old city, and cathedral there are impressive too.