Blacknight

What say you, Fodorites. Is this crazy? Before I pull the plug on lodgings, I've been trying to come up with a do-able itinerary. I see there is no direct AVE train service from Barcelona to Seville or Cordoba, and I don't relish the idea of spending 8-9 hours in a car, hence the backtracking. I depart the US on Sept 24, arriving in Madrid early on the 25th. I just plan on getting my bearings for the remainder of the day and relaxing. Sept 25-28, Madrid with a day trip to Toledo on one of those days. Sept 29, train to Seville and spend 2 nights. Sept 31, depart for Cordoba and spend 2 nights. Oct 2, take an early train to Madrid and then on to Barcelona. Spend 3 nights there. Oct 5, take a late morning or early afternoon train back to Madrid, splurging on a nice hotel. Depart for the States on Oct. 6. Yes, I should have flown into Madrid/Barcelona and out the other, but I booked my tickets late at night and had to do it over the phone due to my CC company having great fraud protection (I had to jump through hoops to get authorized and during the time I was on the phone, several prime seats got snapped up!). Of course all of this depends on the train gods cooperating.

Sassafrass

Doable, but there are better plans, IMHO.
Get a flight straight on to Barcelona from Madrid or take the train.
September 25, arrive Barcelona, 4 nights
September 29, fly to Seville, 3 nights
October 1, Train to Córdoba, 1 night
October 2, train to Madrid, 4 nights
October 6, home

You could reverse it, go straight to Córdoba and fly to Barcelona.
You can change number of nights to suit your interests.

bumma

I love Barcelona! You could spend all your days there
your plan is nice! but there can always be strikes and walkouts in Spain that can ruin all your plans

kimhe

The high speed AVE train is fabulous and very comfortable and not more than little over four hours to Córdoba and little more than five hours to Sevilla from Barcelona, city center to city center. renfe.com

You'll be in Sevilla during the final days of the Bienal de Flamenco, the largest and most prestigious flamenco festival in the world. The finest flamencos in theaters all around town every night for more than three weeks. A night at a Bienal concert could be a crash-intro to this powerful and beautiful art so important for Sevilla and the rest of Andalucía: http://www.labienal.com/en/

Shaima

Hallo there, i am from the Netherlands and it is so duable did it too. You just have to plan ahead where youre staying which places you must see make a top list. Have a good trip.

Bedar

I would drop Barcelona - make that prt of a visit to northern Spain or southern France. In your trip to Andalucia, you've forgotten to include Granada !!!

Egbert

I would also drop Barcelona. I would spend at least 3 nights in Sevilla and I would spend two nights in Granada. Personally I would spend 4 nights in Sevilla and visit Cordoba one day from there but I am biased.

kja

If flying into and out of Madrid, consider staying in central Spain -- Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca....

If you must include either Andalusia or Barcelona, I'd go for Barcelona and wait until you can give Andalusia itself at least 9 or 10 days. JMO.

I urge you to consult some good guidebooks, decide what most appeals to YOU, and then plot some things on a calendar, noting that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

Good luck!

Blacknight

I knew I could count on you guys. Thanks so much for the tips. My initial plan was to start in Madrid and concentrate on southern Spain, but I wanted to work in Barcelona somewhere. I think I'll go back to the original plan and add one of the other southern cities. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! LOL

Sassafrass

If you are cutting Barcelona, which is a good Idea, then add Granada or Segovia and Salamanca.
If you do choose Granada, you will need two nights there to get a full day, which you will need to properly see the Alhambra.
I also would stay in Seville and make Córdoba a day trip. I had left a night there in your itinerary in case that was important to you.

Blacknight

Geez, I just realized I added an extra day to September. I guess working the 8:30pm-5:30am shift is dulling my mind. LOL

Thanks, Sassafrass. I think I'm going to take your suggestions and do Cordoba as a day trip instead of moving around like a vagabond.

kja

If you're going to Andalusia, consider using almost all your time there. Much as I loved Madrid, it is far easier to reach, and so most easily revisited. You could, for example, leave Madrid right away (you might be tired, but you'll be tired anyways). Spend, say 2 or 3 nights in Granada, 2 nights in Cordoba, 3 or 4 nights in Sevilla, maybe a night in Ronda or Malaga.... (The order would depend on what, exactly, you decide to do and when Mondays fall.) Return to Madrid the night before your flight. Just an idea!