pinkygal

Hi everyone,
My husband and I will be travelling to Spain in September. This will be our first visit. We will have only 9 days/8 nights. We generally like to visit one large city then visit smaller, more quaint places. Due to time constraints and distance, we have decided to select either Madrid or Barcelona. We would appreciate any input to help us make our decision. Thanks

wlzmatilida

Wow, that's a tough one...perhaps if you provided some more insight as to your interests / likes / dislikes it would help narrow it down.

Also, where are you flying in / out of ?

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Spain Specialist

pinkygal

Thanks for the quick reply, Melodie. We can fly into either city. We always incorporate art, architecture and history into our vacations. We also enjoy great restaurants and great wine. After leaving a metropolitan area, we like to rent a car and explore. If hiking presents itself, we will take advantage. We like to come away from a vacation feeling as if we got to know the culture and discovered something totally unexpected. We like nightlife but it is not required every night. I hope this helps. Michele

artlover

I've been to both, and they both have much to offer, but I like Madrid and I LOVE Barcelona. Just one opinion, but the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona is so unique, plus the Picasso and Miro museums, the beautiful port, wonderful restaurants, etc. So my vote goes for Barcelona.

car

pinkygal
Madrid for: paintings, night life, surrounding towns.
Barcelona for: Arquitecture, modern art,
design.
Both for: Dinning, nice weather in Sept,
friendly atmosphere.

ladybug98

I just got back from 8 days in Spain myself. While Barcelona has more to see and do, I would choose Madrid. Mostly because you said to wanted to go to smaller cities as well and there are not many to see near Barcelona. From Madrid you could go to Toledo, Avila, Segovia all within an hour or less. Or even take the AVE train 2 1/2 hours to Cordoba to the amazing Mezquita. No matter what you choose it will be great, I personally loved southern Spain more than the north.

jmv

I agree with Ladybug. Madrid is kind of like Paris, surrounded by the Ile de France with lots of small towns, castles, etc. to take day trips to. Barcelona is more surrounded by beach opportunities. That said, while both are wonderful cities, like artlover, I find Barcelona far more interesting. If you like markets (and for me they're second only to restaurants) Madrid's cannot compare with Barcelona's which I find one of the best ever.

Maira

This is not an obvious answer for me, but Madrid would be my choice, mostly for the reasons listed above; wonderful museums, plenty nightlife, Toledo, Segovia, Avila, El Escorial. Heaven for an art- architecture - history lover! However, truth is I always recommend Southern Spain to a first timer. I would just go directly from Barajas Airport via connecting flight to Malaga, base in Marbella, with plenty choices for day trips (Granada, Gibraltar, Ronda, Mijas, Route of the White Towns), drive to Seville, day trips to Cordova (some people venture to Tangier, Morocco). Flight back from Malaga or drop the car in Seville and train into Madrid. I really think Southern Spain is a wonderful introduction to a great and diverse destination. I have been to Spain many times, never to the same regions and have always come back loving every discovery and every minute of it. So, don't get too anxious , Spain isn't going anywhere and there is always next year to go back again!

LilyLace

My vote is for Barcelona for all the wonderful reasons listed above. There is a train that will take you to some smaller villages, but since you are not afraid to drive you could just as easily do that after a few days in Barcelona. I'm sure either way it will be a great trip - Espana is my favorite country!

Lily

ChadL

I'd recommend Madrid for the reasons mentioned above: nightlife, art, and daytrips. Barcelona does have better architecture and is overall a more beautiful city. But, since you are looking to make some day trips, Madrid, hands down.

-- Chad

drsneeze

We recently took our first trip to Spain just over two months ago (there is a trip report thread floating around).

I agree with most of the comments posted, but here is my opinion:

Madrid has great museums (Prado, Reina Sofia etc.), but I felt that we had enough time there after 3 full days and part of another.

Barcelona was far more interesting to me because of the architecture, food, and general atmosphere. Four days there felt way too short...
There are side trips available from Barcelona as well - depends on what you're interested in. We visited the Salvador Dali museum, and also the Frexenet Cava Winery. Both were easy trips by train.

You could always visit both and fly between them to save time - there are numerous flights that are not very expensive.

Maira

drs--- I agree that Barcelona is a more interesting city than Madrid, but pinkygal wants a city with small, quaint towns for day trips. For that type of trip, plus the time and distance constrains, I'll say Madrid is a better fit.

brando

barcelona,barcelona,barcelona, what more cam i say, its everything a vaction should be. It's warm it has a beach, art, gaudi,sagradi familia, and of course las ramblas. plus its cheap, piccaso mueseum, much better than madrid. i loved madrid but barcelona hands down- we're in our late twenties if that helps.

OReilly

I have been to Madrid several times and am a fan, and enjoyed my trips to Segovia and Toledo.

However, I simply ADORE Barcelona and the Catalan region. I have visited the city three times and have also driven from Barcelona to the Pyrenees and through the Costa Brava. There is so much to see in the region, it offers so much diversity, you could not be anything but delighted.

I can dig up two old (2 years) trip reports about Barcelona and a manic three day drive around Catalonia and send it to you.

Now you have me PINING for Barcelona

Regards ... Ger



Barcelona is worth a visit

CircleK

This is a tough one, and Spain is somewhere you definitely need to visit more than once, but between those two cities, I would choose Barcelona. I find it much more interesting and unique. Madrid is a lovely city, but it feels much like many other major European cities (altho of course they all have their own special flavor), whereas Barcelona feels like you're really in a special, totally unique place. For a wine lover, it's also situated in a great wine region with lots of interesting stuff to try. And there are wonderful restaurants (altho that is certainly the case in Madrid as well.)

I haven't traveled outside of Barcelona much, so I don't really know what day trips the area has to offer. It's true that there are some wonderful towns (like Toledo) close to Madrid, so I guess it depends on whether you care more about your home base city (in which case I'd go with Barcelona) or your day-trip options (in which case you might prefer Madrid).