Simi10

Planning on taking my mother to Spain for 7 days and come back right before Christmas Eve. First time in Spain for the both of us. Would love to get some help and suggestions on itinerary, hotels to stay, must hit POIs, etc. This being our intro to Spain, I'm thinking maybe arrive in Madrid, train to Seville, train to Barcelona, and depart from Barcelona. Understand it's probably a lot to cover, and not even possible to see Spain in 7 days, but how can I maximize my trip? Thanks!!!

kimhe

I would suggest Madrid, then train to Sevilla, then train to Málaga by the Med. 3000 year old and genuine Málaga is a fabulous city and something very special at Christmas times. People travel from far to experience Christmas here:
http://www.spainforpleasure.com/2014...ime-in-malaga/
http://www.guidetomalaga.com/5-reaso...mas-in-malaga/

And Málaga is now on the New York Times "where to go list" for 2016 together with San Sebastián and Barcelona. Good judgement, three fabulous and very different cities. "Beauty, but now a cultural capital, too": http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...-to-visit.html

Perhaps have a spectacular lunch or dinner in the by then newly reopened 5 star Gran Hotel Miramar dating back to 1926, but not been a hotel for ages. Will be five restaurants in the hotel: http://www.granhotelmiramarmalaga.com/en/

"Málaga: Spain's best kept Secret": http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...pt-secret.html

Huge international airport in Málaga, and the high speed AVE train takes you from the center of Málaga to the center of Madrid in 2h 30 mins (renfe.com).

BigRuss

How old is mom? That's a lot of moving around for seven days.

Egbert

You really need 10. Just enough for Madrid, Seville, Granada, and Malaga. Skip Barcelona this time.

Simi10

BigRuss, Mom is in her 60s, but in good health and enjoys walking about. As long as we can rest our foot every few hours, it'll be fine. But you have a valid point that I don't want to be too rushed either. Sounds like I need to cut back!!

Robert2016

The Christmas season is big in Spain, so you should enjoy your time there. If you want to include Barcelona, then I would stick with Barcelona and Madrid, arriving in one and departing from the other.

Traveling internationally, you'll need a day or two to adjust to the time change and dining hours. And you don't want to end up spending too much time traveling between destinations when you only have 7 days.

Typically, it will be warmer in Barcelona, but much cooler in Madrid.

Also, the days are short at that time of the year, with the sun setting in Madrid at 5:53 pm on the 24th, and even earlier at 5:27 pm in Barcelona. The 21st is the shortest day of the year, with just over 9 hours of sunlight in Barcelona.

RonZ

You may wish to post your home airport name for flight tips.

michele_d

<Also, the days are short at that time of the year, with the sun setting in Madrid at 5:53 pm on the 24th, and even earlier at 5:27 pm in Barcelona. The 21st is the shortest day of the year, with just over 9 hours of sunlight in Barcelona.>

But on the other hand, Madrid is beautiful to walk around in the evening, with the buildings all lit up.

kja

I also think it well worth trimming your plans for this trip. I like kimhe's suggestion (Madrid, Sevilla, Malaga), or, if you have already committed to flying into Madrid and out of Barcelona, take Robert's advice to visit just those 2 cities. And FWIW, I'd give the same advice if all of you were in your 20s -- there's just too much to see and enjoy in these locations to justify cramming them in, IMO.

Enjoy!

Simi10

Thanks everyone for your feedbacks!

After discussion with my mother, we decided to take the advise of many and focus our 7-day trip to just Barcelona where the weather is warmer in December! We rented an apartment on Paseo de Glacia, where the location is central but not overly touristy.

Does anyone have restaurant recommendations?

I noticed 'fast track' tickets were offered for certain popular tourist sights such as Sagrada Familia, etc. Is it worth getting it ahead of time?

Thanks!

kimhe

Great choice of city and excellent location.

Recommend to buy online tickets in advance to avoid long waits, especially in Sagrada Familia.

Barcelona is a fantastic food city, but also lots of mediocre/bad touristy places. What kind of restaurants are you looking for? Have been here many times the past ten years and could give you tips on traditional Catalan restaurants, cutting edge tapas places, gourmet, Barcelona classics, neighbourhood favourites, seafood/rice places etc etc.

Bedar

Barcelona MAY be warmer than Madrid, but it won't be warm. Take appropriate clothing.

Simi10

Bedar: Thanks for the fair warning! Barcelona may not be warm, but definitely warmer than NYC where I'm from! LOL!

Kimhe: My mom and I are adventurous and love all kinds of food in general. (not to the level of Andrew Zimmern, though I enjoy watching him downing all sorts of no-nos! haha) But we are planning on packing light, so will have to rule out any restaurant requiring formal wear. I'm open to traditional or modern Catalan, tapas, seafood paella, pastries (oh pastries!), etc... just hate tourist traps!

MFNYC

I was just going to recommend keeping it to Barcelona only. You can also do some day trips if you want. We enjoyed doing some walking tours through here http://bcnshop.barcelonaturisme.com/shopv3/

This website also provides other tours for day trips and useful info in general.

Also check out Maribel's guides. They are free on her website, and you can print them out http://www.maribelsguides.com/styled/ Her information I found to be spot on. You can also email her with questions. I know she used to be a frequent contributor here as well, not sure if she still does.

Bedar

Don't count on that ! I'm from NYC, too. One thing you don't want to do there is have to buy warm clothing. It's expensive in Spain.

kja

For historic weather data: wunderground.com

Robert2016

For dining in Barcelona, you can check out Maribel's Guide to Dining in Barcelona (www.maribelsguides.com/mg_barcelonadining.pdf). It will help.

One place we like, which has a decent menu and excellent wine list, is the Restaurant Windsor at Còrsega, 286, between Rambla de Catalunya and Balmes (www.restaurantwindsor.com). Reservations are highly recommended during the holidays.

kimhe

<I'm open to traditional or modern Catalan, tapas, seafood paella, pastries (oh pastries!)>

- Traditional Catalan and great paella and rice dishes in Barcelona classic 7 Portes (seven doors) from 1836. Tons of history in the walls and the best atmosphere. Sunday lunch is an excellent time of the week to go or from about 9-9.30pm any day. http://7portes.com/en/

- Small Ca l'Estevet serves hearty local food, one of those timeless places: http://www.restaurantestevet.com/en/

- Both traditional and cutting edge tapas in excellent Tapeo in the vibrant and medieval Born district.
http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapeo-del-born.html

- Tapas with the locals in charming Poble Sec at the foot of Montjuich, the Jewish mountain: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...to-bodega.html

- Barcelona is chocolate city, and you should try Xocolata amb melindros or ensaimadas in one of the many chocolaterías.
Some suggestions: http://brunchear.com/las-10-mejores-...-de-barcelona/
http://emilyluxton.co.uk/spain/barce...hocolate-guide

And when it comes to pastries, try the local speciality Xuixo: https://www.shbarcelona.com/blog/en/...ecipes-xuixos/

You can have them in the fabulous tapas bar Pinotxo inside the Boquería food market, one of the finest in the world: http://www.notquitenigella.com/2014/...rcelona-spain/
The Boquería market: http://www.gardenista.com/posts/la-boqueria-market/

kimhe

And for affordable gourmet, small Somodó is an option. No need for formal wear. Have high expectations for my reservation here next week. Raving reviews and four course gourmet lunch with wine included is 20€. The tasting menu is 35€.
http://www.somodo.es/
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/barcelona/somodo/
http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.co...s-somod%C3%B3/

Dukey1

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