Traveling within Spain

My husband and I went to Madrid and Barcelona when we were in Europe.

We took a new high speed train from Madrid to Barcelona and it only took 3 hours.

The metro in both countries in easy to use and figure out. Takes you to most major sight seeing places.

In Barcelona, check out La Sagrada Familia. You also have to find the park by Antoni Gaudi (can't remember the name). We took a hop on hop off bus tour one day and really enjoyed it.

In Madrid, there is not much to see. Defintiely go to Plaza Mayor and find a a seat on one of the terraces and have a long tapas lunch or dinner. Try the Paella...so good! We spent two nights in madrid and we were bored by the second night.

As for accomidations, we stayed in hostels but got our own room. Try www.hostelworld.com

Good luck & safe travels!

Madrid is the cultural heartland of Spain! Three massive world-class museums plus many others, the royal palace, Plaza Mayor, the Retiro, nightlife that goes on all night!....eating is fantastic in just about any area of the downtown, but Plaza Santa Ana and area has some great restaurants and tapas bars. For accommodations, check out Hostal Santa Cruz or Hostal Cruz Sol, nice, modernized inexpensive two star hotels a few steps from Puerta del Sol (NOT hostels, but hostals, a class of hotel like pensiones, only more so). There are also day trips available to nearby historic cities like Toledo and Segovia, both also linked by high speed trains now (altho the bus to/from Segovia might give you a little more flexibility.) Sevilla is the heart of Andalucia, and will show off what we North Americans consider to be "Spanish." Many inexpensive "hostals" in the center part of the city, which is also reachable by high-speed train. You could also stop in Cordoba on your way down. In Sevilla, the Cathedral, La Giralda, Reales Alcázares, the Torre del Oro, Plaza de Espana...just to name a few. A good place to see the fusion of Arab and European culture that is so central to Spain's identity. Tons of places to see real flamenco, and its tapas is unbeatable. Get Rick's Spain guide for a pretty good rundown....and check other websites, like spain.info for more information. The train can be expensive, but if you know your schedule, you can book advance tickets on the Spanish national rail site, www.renfe.es...switch to English at the lower left where it asks "Seleccione su idioma".

Madrid's top two sites, the Prado and the Royal Palace, take many people a half-day each, just those two alone--and more time at the Prado if you're an art museum kind of person. And if you're really an art museum person, then the other two top art museums are worth a visit as well even on a quick trip: Centro Arte de Reina Sofia (Guernica is there) and Thyssen-Bornemisza (Impressionist collection). So, even with your very fast trip to Spain, I'd give Madrid 2 days and 2 nights. And you're right about not needing or wanting a car in Madrid.

You don't need a car in Sevilla either. And the rail connection from Madrid is great.

I think a car makes sense if you are going to see the countryside & small towns (and only for that portion of the trip), otherwise not.

Forget the car.

You've got a week. 3 big cities. It's a no-brainer. You need to move quickly from one city to another, and not futz around with driving -- a car in any of these cities in only a headache, there is zero benefit of having a car there. Take the train between cities.

I'm about to leave for Spain (3 weeks in Portugal & Spain from late Sept. to mid-Oct.), and I made all my hotel reservations during August. I found most of the places I wanted to stay were all booked up. Things may be a bit softer in October, but my advice would be to book rooms as quickly as you can -- if you're leaving in about a month, you're cutting it close for some popular places. Be prepared to work your way down your list of 2nd, 3rd and 4th choices if need be.

It goes without saying but I'll say it: you're asking for specific suggestions on where to stay and eat. Go buy the book, that's what it's for (you'll waste lots of time and money if you don't).

We sure appreciate those of you who have responded so promptly and for the helpful suggestions of what to see, where to stay, and how to get there. Thank You so much for your insight. Please feel free to post additional thoughts - should any occur.

Celler de Tapas
Plaça de Universitat, 5
Barcelona
93 317 64 88I

I recommend this restaurant in central Barcelona for tapas. Innovative, very delicious food, in a casual atmosphere, and they are open all day.

Average price for dinner with a couple of glasses of wine is 25 to 35 Euro.

While in general this place is a good value, prices can vary a lot, depending on what you order. Like, some items are rather expensive, such as the fresh tuna tataki, which was a small plate of what was essentially tuna sushi (slightly cooked with a sesame topping). Rather overpriced at 10 Euro -- I could have gotten the same at home in a San Francisco Japanese restaurant for about half that price.

By contrast, a huge beef entrecote was well worth the price of about 15 Euro. I could hardly eat it all.

The salads and deserts are also excellent. Try the crepes with chocolate sauce, dulde de leche ice cream, and pistachios.

The wine bar has quite a few selections by the glass. A very good Spanish pink sparkling wine was only 3.20 Euro a glass.

We just got back from Spain, and rented a car because we did a lot of traveling to smaller cities. However, we did not go to Barcelona, and we returned the rental car as soon as we hit Madrid, our last city. What you are reading matches what I experienced - there is almost no parking in the large cities other than expensive garages. We ended up actually staying outside the city centers so we could avoid driving/parking in the congested areas and then taking a taxi in to the city. Probably it's much less expensive to simply stay in the center! However, we enjoyed the flexibility the car allowed in the smaller towns and we carried my mother's traveling wheelchair with us so we had more baggage than most people.

Would not recommend our hotel in Seville (forgot the name anyway!) as we were exhausted and simply quit looking and stopped at a very nice one that ended up costing twice as much as any other one on the trip.

But in Madrid we stayed at the Ibis Valentin Beato which was 69E per night and very safe and clean. Note - it is not in the touristy area, but it is one block from the metro with only one line change to get to the Prado, etc. I think you can find it on the Accor hotel website.