8 days in Madrid/Sevilla/Granada

Old Jun 25th, 2016, 12:29 PM
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8 days in Madrid/Sevilla/Granada

First trip to Spain, appreciate the expertise on this forum! We (my husband, my college freshman son and I) will be visiting college senior daughter for Thanksgiving while she is studying in Sevilla. We arrive Saturday morning 11/19 in Madrid and depart the following Sunday, 11/27 at 1 pm from Madrid. Not trying to cram too much in (or maybe we are!) but want to see a bit of Madrid, spend the bulk of our time in Sevilla but also see the Alhambra & Granada.

Tentative plan
Daughter will meet us Saturday morning and we will spend Sat and Sunday night in Madrid, then take the high speed train to Sevilla Monday late afternoon. Gives us 1 full, 2 half days and 2 nights in Madrid - not a ton but hoping a nice "taste".

The bulk of our time will be in Sevilla but trying to determine the best way to see the Alhambra/Granada. Does it make sense to just go mid week - take an early bus, spend a night in Granada and take a bus back the following afternoon? Looks like there are some direct buses that take about 3 hours? We weren't planning to rent a car. And then would just head back to Madrid from Sevilla on the high speed train sometime Saturday and spend the night there before our Sunday flight home.

Or, would it make more sense to rent a car at the end of our time in Sevilla and take off for Granada early Friday, spend Friday night in Granada and then drive from Granada to Madrid on Saturday afternoon to drop the car. Would this be an interesting drive? My husband likes road trips so he would be comfortable doing the driving if that is a better option.

Probably over-thinking this but just curious about the pros and cons of our different options or any other advice. Wish we had more time!

Thanks!
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Old Jun 25th, 2016, 02:59 PM
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No need for a car unless that is your preference.

You might want to consider two nights in Granada so you have plenty of time to visit the Alhambra both during the day and during the evening. During the day, you can visit the entire Alhambra, but you will do so with MANY others, so be prepared for crowds; consider going as early as you find reasonable. In the evening, you can visit the magnificent Nasrid Palace (only) with just a few other visitors -- absolutely magical! Note that advance reservations are critical.

You might also want to consider visiting Cordoba en route to or from Seville -- the Mezquita is truly magnificent.

If your return flight in from Madrid, consider putting your time in Madrid at the end of your trip.

Hope that helps!
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Old Jun 25th, 2016, 03:37 PM
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There are exceptions, but generally, breaking up stays into half days is less efficient for sight seeing and rest than whole days.

It is usually better to put all time in one city together. If your arrival city and departure city are the same, you have to return the night before your departure anyway, so it is usually better to put all time there together at the end.

This is how I would set up your trip.
Have your daughter meet you in Seville.

Saturday, 19, arrive Madrid, go straight to Seville.
You will be jet lagged anyway and have to travel from Madrid to Seville anyway. Go ahead and do it the first day. You are not losing any sightseeing time, just traveling at a different time. Relax and nap on the train.
Sunday, 20, Seville - whole day
Monday, 21, Seville - whole day
Tuesday, 22, Seville - whole day
Wednesday, 23, early AM, travel to Granada. Purchase tickets ahead for evening in the Alhambra.
Thursday, 24, See Alhambra again during the day, travel to Madrid in the late afternoon.
Friday, 25, whole day in Madrid
Saturday, 26, whole day in Madrid.
Recommend you tour Toledo (short, 30 minute train trip from Madrid) on Saturday.
Sunday, Fly home

Toledo is unique and beautiful with an incredible cathedral, one you never forget once you have seen it.

Córdoba: options for seeing the Mezquita (great mosque).
1. It is about an hour by train from Seville. Use one afternoon or morning while there to do a day trip, or
2. On the way from Seville to Granada, stop for a couple of hours in Córdoba.
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Old Jun 25th, 2016, 04:53 PM
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Be aware that tickets for the Alhambra can sell out far in advance - so check on that now - so you have an idea when you have to commit in order to avoid being shut out.
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Old Jun 25th, 2016, 06:39 PM
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Seville in May we encountered huge lines. This will help:

http://devoursevillefoodtours.com/ho...es-in-seville/
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 09:27 AM
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This is such great info - can't thank you enough! Madrid on the back end makes much more sense and flows better with the Granada leg, and will make our brief time in Madrid when we are at least wide awake! And daughter can skip Granada, which she already has plans to see and just meet us in Madrid Friday night. This is why I love this forum

Also - I will def buy Alhambra tix way in advance - but I was assuming Nov would be much less crowded than summer. Should I assume still big crowds everywhere?
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Old Jun 26th, 2016, 10:24 AM
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lindatx,
We were at the Alhambra in early February when one would expect crowds to be lighter. While same day tickets were actually still available at the box office (which rarely happens), the site was packed with school groups. The school groups are not allowed during high season so expect them in winter.

If you have a particular time you want to enter the Nasrid Palace (first timed ticket is for 8:30 am), you should book online as soon as tickets become available. I've already booked for mid-September.

www.alhambra-tickets.es

For buses from Seville to Granada you can book online and pay using Pay Pal, since Alsa doesn't accept non-Spain bank issued credit cards.
It's a 3 hour ride and the Supra Economy service is comfortable. There's a Supra service at 10 am and at 4 pm.
www.alsa.es
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Old Jun 27th, 2016, 03:20 PM
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Booked my tickets today - not sure if it's Brexit or what but direct r/t from DFW to Madrid on AA dropped almost in HALF today (I've been watching for a year and it hasn't budged). We are going to follow exactly the itinerary Sassafrass suggested because it works perfectly.

For lodging -

Sevilla - Booked a cool apartment right by the palace, very close to the University.

Granada - looking at Casa Bombo, great views of the Alhambra, in the Albayzin neighborhood and it's got a room with 4 beds which will be perfect for 1 night. (Will be booking Alhambra tickets this week as well!)

Madrid - Very interested in Apartosuites Jardines de Sabatini - gets great reviews and is right by the Royal Palace. Thoughts on the location? Looks like the longest walk would be about 30 minutes to the Prado. We don't mind walking. Would this be a good spot for our 3 nights in Madrid or should we look closer to center...? I wouldn't mind splurging a bit for Madrid since I saved a fortune on airfare - but since it's 2 rooms each night, "splurging" is relative - maybe 200 - 250 per room per night max...

Thanks again!!
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Old Jun 27th, 2016, 03:53 PM
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You'll see some wonderful things!

One thing you might consider: Even starting at the Alhambra as early in the morning as possible, I would not have been ready to leave Granada by late afternoon -- I hadn't even finished my visit to the Generalife when the place closed its gates for the daytime visit. Yes, I lingered, but would have felt rushed to get out sooner. JMO.

With the time you have, you almost certainly won't be able to see everything you would like in Madrid (let along Toledo or anywhere else in that part of Spain), and since that is the city that is easiest to reach from the U.S., that's the city that I would "shortchange" on this trip. I'd put enough time into Granada and Cordoba to be sure you've seen what you want to see there. Again, just an opinion....
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 02:16 AM
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Apartosuites Jardines de Sabatini is very close to the heart of the city and gets raving reviews: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/apar...ini.en-gb.html

The Sabatini gardens are beautiful, there are some high class cafés in close by Plaza de Oriente in front of the Royal Palace, and you are only some 800 meters from the heart of Madrid and the "kilometer 0" of all of Spain, the Puerta del Sol. The location is relatively quiet given that central Madrid is right on your doorstep.
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 05:49 AM
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Again, thanks all! And thanks Kimhe for confirming, I will book Apartosuites today. I couldn't be more excited )
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 08:38 AM
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lindatx,
Since Renfe isn't expected to have the high speed Granada-Madrid train up and running until Jan. 2017 (according to the most recent reports), you might consider taking the Alsa Premium bus back to Madrid on Thursday. There's a departure at 3:00 pm, arriving Madrid's Estación Sur bus station at 7:30 pm.

Premium, non-stop service has a 2-1 leather seat configuration, a hostess on board who serves drinks and a meal, free Wi-Fi, W/C, individual entertainment channels, they carry your luggage to the bus and place it in the boot and the fare is currently running 45 euros.

Here's a look inside this bus-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOwHGyiUPZY

We recently took the AVE from Madrid to Antequera Santa Ana rail station, then we had to transfer to a Renfe chartered bus (not Alsa) for the 75 minute ride to Granada (but a highway accident caused us to be 10=15 min late).

The transfer is easy and there are signs to lead you to the bus, but since you'll have the AVE experience from Madrid to Sevilla at the front end, you might want to consider Alsa Premium, or not...

But...I wouldn't take the Granada-Madrid bus at the end of a holiday with madrileños returning to the city, causing frustrating traffic jams/delays. But it is a straightforward option now until the Granada-Madrid AVE is finished.

Alternatively there is a Renfe bus that departs Granada for Antequera Santa Ana at 2:45 and a later one departing at 5:32, then the change to the high-speed AVE for the ride to Madrid's Atocha station, arriving at 6:41 or at 9:45 pm.
Current fare: €68 for tourist, €82 for tourist plus (wider seat, 2-1 seat configuration, no meal).

Yes, from the Apartosuites Jardines de Sabatini it will be about a 30+ minute walk to the Prado and a 15-minute walk to Sol.

The Lezama group has the newly remodeled Café de Oriente (with a brand new look and vaulted downstairs dining room) and new-ish La Lonja del Mar (seafood) across from each other on the Plaza del Oriente, facing the Royal Palace, and the Taberna del Alabardero around the corner facing the side entrance to the Teatro Real. All 3 popular with tourists.
http://www.grupolezama.es/restaurantes/cafe-oriente-2/
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 04:35 PM
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Going to piggyback on this thread a bit... we're Spain bound in mid-October for 9 nights, into and out of Madrid.

My initial plan is a similar loop Madrid - Granada - Seville, with side trips to Toledo, Malaga, Cordoba (as possibilities). We like to get into the countryside and see some of the smaller towns, so will likely rent a car (and drop it off at the airport before spending the last couple of days in Madrid).

Appreciate any suggestions...
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 04:46 PM
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@ astein -- with only 8 days on the ground, your plan sounds extremely ambitious to me. I recommend that you read some of the MANY threads that cover these areas and then post your own new thread -- I think you'll get more suitable and helpful feedback that way. Good luck!
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 05:30 PM
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KJA,

So help me out here... my tendency when taking European red-eye flights is to get to the airport, grab a rental car, and hit the road and then spend my time in the major city on the way back. I'm a good sleeper on planes and don't ever feel major jet lag. We've done this in Scotland, France, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy, etc.

So, my basic thought would be that the flight arrives early in the AM and I'd grab the car and drive to Granada with a few quick stops along the way. If I assume 3 nights in Madrid at the end (and maybe a 1/2 day in Toledo on the way back to Madrid), that would leave me 6 nights to split between Seville and Granada. Does this seem reasonable? From what I can tell, the entire loop is only about 13 hours of driving... not sure how many side trips we'd make, but we tend to play that by ear anyways.

Thoughts?
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 05:47 PM
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@ astein -- Of course it depends on YOUR priorities, but a few thoughts:

(1) whether you have been lucky when doing so before or not, a growing body of evidence shows that driving with jet lag -- whether YOU are aware of the symptoms or not -- is just as dangerous, to yourselves and others, as driving drunk. I realize that most people don't know that, and would strongly encourage you to take that information into consideration.

(2) Whether your allocations of time suit your interests is something I can't say. I can say that it would not have worked for me -- I wanted more than 4 full days in Madrid, 2 full days in Toledo, 2.5 days in Granada, 3. 5 days in Sevilla (actually, I would have liked more), and 2 full days in Cordoba -- and that doesn't count any of the side trips you might want to take (or that I did take) -- and there are many that are worth considering. So yes, I think your plan ambitious. But honestly, that's irrelevant, as ONLY you can decide what YOU want to see and experience.

If you want Fodorites to provide input on your ideas -- and yes, we do have very different opinions! (as we should) -- then I think you would do best to start a separate thread because THIS thread is from an OP who has a very specific purpose for visiting just a few places in a very short timeframe, so our responses to her might well be different than our responses to YOUR circumstances. My answers were certainly tailored to the OP, and from what I've read over the years, I think some other people also tailored their responses to the OP's unique circumstances. (I could be wrong.) JMO.
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 06:43 PM
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Lindatx, as usual, I agree with everything Kja says about optimal amount of time for each place, and how you could always route through Madrid on another trip.

I do think, on this trip, you will enjoy the things you do see, yet not feel terribly rushed.

I love the city of Granada, but it is worth the trip just for the Alhambra, even if you see little else in the city. If you have time for a short walk in the warren of little streets in the walking area, great, but if you do not, the Bario in Seville will give you a bit of that feeling.

As for Córdoba, to really see the city requires a day or two. However, IMHO, it is also worth stopping for two or three hours just to see the Mosque. However, you can play that by ear. If you are in Seville and decide you want more time there, and don't want to do a day trip, or you want to skip Córdoba in favor of a few more hours in Granada, you can do that.

Toledo from Madrid.
Madrid has so much to offer, it isn't easy to advocate taking time away. The Prado is one of my all time favorite Museums and walking all over Madrid is beautiful. However, here is why, IMHO, it is worth taking time from Madrid, even if you never get to Madrid again, for Toledo. It is personal, but I think the cathedral in Toledo is one of the most incredible cathedrals anywhere, and I have been lucky to see a good many. I mean it is absolutely mind-blowing, stunning, awesome, unforgettable. The open transparente is amazing! There is nothing like it in any other cathedral I have been to. The little city of Toledo is also unique for history and setting.

However, once again, you do not have to write everything in stone. Once you are in Madrid, you can decide if you want to give up any time in Madrid on the advice of one Fodorite who is passionately in love with that cathedral.

Know that wherever you decide to spend your precious time, your trip will be rewarding and memorable.
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Old Jun 28th, 2016, 07:03 PM
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@ Sassafrass -- isn't if fascinating that we so often agree about the big picture, even when we also sometimes disagree about how to fit the ideal into a do-albe option? While there are times that I quibble, I remain impressed by your willingness to propose potentially do-able options for people. You rock!

In this case, I think part of the difference between us is that the choir of Toledo's cathedral was shrouded in scaffolding when I was there, so my view of the altar itself was obstructed. Much as I enjoyed what I saw -- and I did! -- I wouldn't have gone to Toledo just for THAT experience. I so hope to see what you saw one day! And I'm very glad that YOU got to see it.
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Old Jun 29th, 2016, 01:41 PM
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Again, can't thank you enough for this great info!! I feel so good about the overall itinerary, while having a lot of insight into how we can tweak for side trips here and there if it works out. And since my daughter will have been living there for 2 months by the time we arrive, I'm sure she'll have lots of things for us to do! As you say, it's going to be amazing no matter what - and I can already tell I will be back in Spain again for more some day!

So next question - how the heck do I survive the next 5 months? I'm like a kid on Christmas eve - but Christmas day is 5 months away. Today I stopped at my local Central Market (not sure if everyone has these stores in other states but they are the best) and bought 6 different bottles of Spanish wine. All in the name of research of course....
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Old Jun 29th, 2016, 02:31 PM
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Salud!
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