Traveling from Madrid to Southern Spain Question

Train by far.

Madrid to Seville by train is fairly convenient. Buy your AVE ticket early to get a good price. If I were going Madrid to Granada, I'd look at a bus. They are much cheaper and probably take less time than the circuitous route the train takes (or a flight, when you consider getting to/from airports as part of your trip). Which one? Granada has some great sites. The Alhambra is one of the great sights anywhere. We also enjoyed a Sambra performance in the Sacremonte district caves. Seville was great, we were there during spring fair so there was always plenty to do.

1. You will get both answers here. Some people like one better than the other. But Granada has the Alhambra, which is stunning. I personally don't find the city to have much else to offer. Seville has the Alcazar (a Spanish version of Alhambra) and to me, much more interesting city life and scenery. I could see spending 4-5 days in Sevilla with some easy daytrips. Granada would be boring after a couple days. 2. The AVE is a quick trip between Sevilla and Madrid. The train (not an AVE) to Granada is fine but not as comfy and with fewer schedule options. A 4-5 hour bus trip would not be high on my list, but some people don't like flying either.

Actually, all alcazars are Moorish. The Alhambra is just another name given to the alcazar in Granada.

Personally, I thought the Real Alcazar in Sevilla was much nicer than the Nasrid Palaces at El Alhambra, and not as crowded (and you didn't have to wait till a specific time to see it). That said, I did like the Alhambra and Generalife, but that is pretty much what there is to see in Granada. In Sevilla, you have the cathedral and lots of other things.

In 5 days you could see both. Train to Sevilla, spend 3 nights, train to Granada, spend 2 hights and see the alhambra, train back to Madrid. If you buy your train tickets well in advance the Granada-madrid train is not much more than th ebus (if anything) and far more cmfortable for a 4.5 hour journey. If you have only one night left for Granada you could still do it; arrive just after noon from Sevilla and you can see the Alhambra that afternoon and evening.

Since we're giving out architectural history: Alhambra roughly means "red fort" and is the name used for the alcazar in Grenada. Alcazar does mean "fort" or "castle." Sevilla's Alcazar was built on the site of a former Moorish palace/fort, but was almost entirely rebuilt by the Spanish after the Reconquista. With just a few exceptions, everything you see is Spanish in the Moorish Revival Style. The Alhambra has been preserved but has limited restoration and reconstruction. So in many cases, you are seeing the ruins of the former palace/fort. Even with that, there is much to see. Sevilla's Alcazar, having been built by the Spanish as a royal palace, is much like seeing the Alhambra in its glory days. And it has considerable history related to the New World exploration/domination.

thank you for these very helpful input. Any recommended places to stay would greatly be appreciated.
Rich

I suggest that you do both, with three nights in Seville and two in Granada. Definitely take the train. From Madrid to Seville, train vs. plane is not even close - definitely train. Back from Granada, I would still take the train as it's about 4.5 hours. Any time you get on a plane, there is a much greater chance of delays, plus you have to get to and from the airport, etc. My wife and I were in both cities in 2005, and I had been to both myself in 2001. I would not spend less than three nights in Seville, although another night would be nice, a fourth night is not worth missing the Alhambra for. The Alhambra is from the Moorish period, while my understanding is that the Real Alcazar in Seville (at least what stands today) was built in the Mudejar style after the Moors were driven out. Some might say that would make the former more authentic, but for me each is special in its own way. Also look into the Casa de Pilatos in Seville, another nice palace. In Seville we stayed at Hotel Alcántara from Rick's book in 2005, and it was great them -- but check his most recent since things do change. Also, I think the city of Granada is great as well, its appeal not limited to the Alhambra. Not as great a Seville, but still very nice.

Now if we added. Day, could we add Cordova? What are your thoughts?
Thank for all of the great info

We spent two nights in Grenada then the train to Seville for three nights and we didn't feel too rushed to get to experience both

From the RS train map, it looks like from Granada you go to Bob to Cordova to Sevilla. Thus 1. Was it three different trains? 2. How long did it take?
3. Did you consider spending a day in Cordova? tx

There is a direct train from Granada to Cordoba ( or reverse), taking 2 hours 20 minutes. You don't have to backtrack through Sevilla. We went from Sevilla to Granada to Cordoba ( spent one night there) then back to Madrid for our flight home. Very easy.

Based upon everyone's input our plans are now to set up a "base camp" in Sevilla and on the way back to Madrid stop in Cordova for a day. Since both are on the AVE route, it should be a relatively quick trip. So, any recommendations on where to stay in Sevilla?

We stayed at Hosteria del Laurel in Seville last year , a hotel that has a lot of charm and character and its own restaurant. Its really easy to take the local train to Cordoba for the day if you are using Seville as a base. Last year our trip was flying in to Malaga then train to Cordoba for a couple of nights then train travel to Seville for 3 nights .
Enjoy.

Consider doing Cordoba as a 1/2 day trip in between Madrid and Sevilla. It's easy to hop off the high speed train between Madrid and Sevilla in Cordoba (going ether way) and see the most important stuff in Cordoba in just a few hours, hop back on the train, and continue on, arriving (in either madrid or Sevilla) by night. No doubling-back necessary and quite efficient, no need to spend the night in Cordoba.

I like the idea of Cordova being a day trip. Will take a look at our arrival time and maybe do Cordova on the way down to Sevilla. Tx
R