Also we are planning to go in Sept. Would this be a good time?

hi lisa,

first of all, welcome to fodors.

secondly, IMO the itinerary you have outlined is far too ambitious for 10 days - the opposte of taking your time, sadly. I put it into viamichelin.espagna which told me that it's about 2000 kms - that's a lot of driving in 10 days, and would leave you with very little time or energy to see anything.

Many people spend at least 3-4 full days in each of the places you have mentioned and feel that they have only scratched the surface - and every time you arrive somewhere new, you need time to park, find and settle into your hotel, orient yourselves in a new place - which leaves very little time for actually doing or seeing anything.

Spain is a large place, and there is a lot to see in each of your chosen destinations. you might manage Barcelona - Valencia - Madrid, or Seville - Granada - Madrid in 10 days, but even those would be a squeeze.

another consideration is the weather - what time of year are you planning to travel? Andalucia [Seville and Granada,] and Madrid for that matter can get very very hot in the summer.

and have you thought about flying "open jaw" ? [ie into one city and out of another - you have to press the "multi-city" button when you are looking at flights - it should cost more or less the same as a round trip ticket].

you could also look at the information on fodors - press the "destinations" button.

hope this helps!

aha - missed the bit about going in september.

yes, it is a good time but the south may still be very hot, depending on how the weather is next year.

I would seriously consider either spending the 10 days in and around Barcelona, or flying into Madrid and after a few days, getting the train to Barcelona and ending your holiday there.

Barcelona-Madrid-Sevilla would be more than enough for a ten-day trip. All are connected through the high speed AVE-train, from city center to city center in no time. No need for a car in any of them. Fabulous and very different cities that would give you an idea of the huge diversity of Spain.

September is an excellent time of year to go, the worst summer heat is usually leaving Madrid and Sevilla (Andalucía) and Barcelona would normally be as good as it gets.

You might perhaps add an extra day to the Sevilla-part if Alhambra in Granada is a must.

To the point and updated info about
Barcelona: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/
Madrid: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/portal.do
Sevilla: http://www.exploreseville.com/

I agree that you're trying to see too much. Have you taken into account the time that it will take you to check out of a hotel, travel to a new city, and check into the new hotel? You would have considerably less time than a day in Valencia and Granada.

Furthermore, I wouldn't drive WITHIN any of those cities because of the traffic and the difficulty in getting around in a strange city. I would check into flying from Barcelona to Madrid or Sevilla, as there are very cheap flights in Spain.

Another option would be to take trains, including a high-speed train from Madrid to Sevilla and Granada. You'd be able to see some of the countryside that way. I like Annhig's suggestion of Sevilla, Granada, Madrid, but as she says, even that would be a squeeze.

As to going in September, I think it will still be pretty warm, especially in the south. I've been in Spain in January, in March/April, and in October. The weather was really best in October.

it's nice [but still pretty warm] in Barcelona in September. We went swimming a couple of times and the water was lovely.

if you want to see some of the countryside, a trip that was half driving in the area of Barcelona, and half based in the city itself could be the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the information. I see what everyone means about the driving time. I think flying into Madrid and taking the train to Valencia then to Barcelona may work better. We would fly home from Barcelona. The train would give us a chance to see the countryside. We will be moving our luggage around a lot.

If you want to take your time and see some countryside you may just consider dividing your time between Madrid and Barcelona. 10 days would give you enough time for 1-2 Daytrips from each allowing you to get out of the larger cities. Barcelona, Madrid and one other location is a bit fast paced for 10 days. I agrr with the others that a car won't be necessary.

Lisa,
Good idea to take a train from Madrid to Valencia....and then to Barcelona
I would spend 4 days in Madrid... a day trip to Toledo/ Segovia
Two days in Valencia. A beautiful city, fantastic beaches.
and 4 days in Barcelona...perhaps a day trip?

Sounds like a good plan, the beaches and the sea breeze in Valencia and Barcelona could be very welcoming in September too.

High speed AVE train between Madrid and Valencia city centers in 1h 38 mins (they tend to be extremely punctual).

An intro to Valencia by the since several years Valencia-based author Jason Webster.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/may/08/valencia-el-cabanyal-neighbourhood-spain http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/apr/17/east-spain-valencia-murcia-beaches

Have read three of Webster's first books about Spain, and I can especially recommend his debut work "Duende - A Journey into the heart of flamenco" (2002). Excellent! His two latest works - "Or the Bulls kill you" and "A Death in Valencia" are critically acclaimed crime novels set in Valencia: http://www.jasonwebster.net/

what kimhe says.

there is at least one really good recent thread about a trip to Valencia.

I would divide the trip between Madrid and Barcelona. There are many worthwhile towns which are day trips from Madrid. Then you can take the AVE to Barcelona. Less packing, less travel, more Spain.

Initial itinerary is daft. Even if the travel times weren't ridiculous, how could you see and experience Barcelona in two days or Seville in one? Spain is also larger than California and its major cities aren't on a nearly straight line hugging a coast.

You need to decide what you want out of your trip and why - go to a bookstore (they still exist, right - it's not all Amazon now even though my closest B&Ns just closed?) and get a photo-heavy travel book that shows the cities, their attractions, and describes their glories. Fodors has such guides. So do Ins***t Travel and D*****g K********y (aka "DK"). Read, peruse, enjoy and then come back with a better idea of why you're thinking of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia or other arrangement.