Barcelona & Madrid Trip Question

Old Jun 5th, 2013, 12:03 PM
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Barcelona & Madrid Trip Question

Going to be flying into Barcelona and out of Madrid in mid-October and we have 11 days available for exploring not counting our travel days. While there is so much to see in both cities I was wondering what the group-think was on spending 4 days in each city and spending the 3 days in between with a car making the trip. If we did do the drive, any specific things that may help to make a decision on whether to take a northern or southern route?

Off to do more research.

TIA

Mike
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 12:17 PM
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add Sevilla. Fly to/ from Barcelona. take train to/ from Madrid

or.....The drive between Madrid and Barcelona is not the GREATEST although you can go off the beaten track and make it interesting. Alcalá de Henares.. enjoy that town and then go to Siguenza.( stay at parador castle) , then Zaragoza and Monasterio de Piedra .. all would stand out in my opinion on that route.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 12:23 PM
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Zaragoza smack between them both is a smashing nice city.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 01:04 PM
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Why take 3 days to do a six-hour drive?

Zaragoza is only a short train ride away from each so you could easily take the AVE from Madrid to Zaragoza, stay a couple of nights, then go east.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 01:08 PM
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perhaps a 3-day route via Valencia where you could stay for a few days - a triangular route but to me Valencia is one of the sweeterst old-worldish towns in Spain.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 01:45 PM
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I think there is a more interesting trip this stretch by car than on the train if one does stop at places I posted..

http://www.alcalaturismo.com/

http://www.viajejet.com/paradores-de.../par-siguenza/

http://www.monasteriopiedra.com/parq...ral-monasterio

Valencia also another tempting answer IMO.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 06:00 PM
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I agree with Lin re Seville or Valencia
Both cities are lovely and very different than Madrid and Barcelona.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 10:08 PM
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I would visit the many worthwhile towns outside of Madrid and Barcelona as day trips and take the high speed train from Madrid to Barcelona and that way you will waste less time traveling.

Outside of Madrid are Toledo,Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, and Cuenca. Outside of Barcelona are Girona, Monserrat to name two.

All reachable by train or bus which are both excellent in Spain.
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Old Jun 6th, 2013, 12:56 AM
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You'll see a lot of variety no matter where you go. Have a great trip. You have endless options.. leaving the rest for next time!
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Old Jun 6th, 2013, 06:21 AM
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Salamanca is a bit far from Madrid for a day trip and unfortunately it's still not on a fast train line. But it is great for an overnight and definitely a fine place to visit.
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Old Jun 6th, 2013, 06:52 AM
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You are correct BigRuss about Salamanca. But it does have a grand university and one of the beautiful plazas in Spain.
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Old Jun 6th, 2013, 08:58 AM
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I'd consider a few things: 1) spend the entire time in Barcelona and Madrid and do several daytrips. There are lots of great cities/villages within easy daytrip range from both Barcelona and Madrid 2) add 2-3 nights in Valencia 3) add 2-3 nights in Salamanca.

Personally I'd save Sevilla for another trip when you have time to adequately explore Andalucia. IMHO it would be a shame to miss Granada and Cordoba and 3 days in Sevilla is very tight especially considering the travel time from Barcelona.
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Old Jun 6th, 2013, 09:04 AM
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Thanks for all the great info, you have given us great information to think about. Right now our only restrictions are the arrival/return dates and locations as I got tickets using my miles. There is always so much to see an so little time.
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