After consulting many guide books and online forums, I’m feeling drawn to so many different areas of Spain!! I very much appreciate ALL thoughts on my itinerary!

I will be in Spain for 16 days in early-mid September. I’m arriving on a cruise ship with my parents and will also be flying out of Barcelona at the end of the trip. (I know, a different departure city might have been better….) My longterm boyfriend is meeting us in Barcelona. He and I want to spend the first few days in Barcelona with my family before they fly out, but the rest of the trip is open.

Interests:
* Exploring cities, eating tapas.
* Interested in seeing historical/architectural sites, but doesn’t have to be every day. I’d like to see some of the amazing Moorish architecture (like the Alhambra or Mezquita).
* Interested in art museums, but not disappointed if we miss the Prado or Guggenheim, particularly if that makes rest of the trip flow better.
* Would like to do some kind of wine-related day trip.

Concerns:
* Boyfriend is concerned about the heat in Adalucia and would like to spend at least some time in a beach area.
* I’m struggling to figure out the right balance between making good use of our time to see different places and moving around too much. Boyfriend prefers to stay longer in fewer places.
* Although the itinerary will probably focus on larger cities, I think it would be nice to throw in at least a few nights in a smaller town (maybe on the beach?).

Thanks in advance for any help!!

It will still be warm in Andalucia in mid-September, but worth the time. You might also be interested in heading north to San Sebastian in the País Vasco, the Basque country. It's an easy 1-hour flight from there back to Barcelona.

The 61st International Film Festival is from 20-28 September, so prices should still be reasonable in mid-September, at least for a few days.

Have you ever been in Spain? If not, I would have to recommend going to Madrid. You can take the AVE train for that. If you do, try to get tickets 60 days prior to obtain discounted rates. As you probably know , Madrid makes an excellent base to visit other cities such as Toledo, Segovia and Avila. It's a shame though that you would need to backtrack to Barcelona to fly home but it sounds as if your tickets are already purchased.

However, if you're terribly interested in Moorish architecture I guess you'll have to go South.

How about heading to the north [hopefully cooler] from Barcelona, then flying from, say, Bilbao to Seville, touring Andalucia, ending up in Malaga and flying back to Barcelona?

I'm not sure how much time you're got, but if that's too rushed, just cut out teh northern bit and go straight to the south.

there is a nice beach in Malaga which your BF may like, and the town is very interesting.

If you really want to see the Moorish architecture in Andalucia then I'd make your boyfriend compromise it will still be warm in September but shouldn't be in bearable. You'll need to return to Barcelona for your final night so that leaves fifteen nights. For Barcelona at a minimum I'd recommend 4 nights. So now this is eleven nights. Given this timing I'd personally stick with Andalucia and Catalunya. I just returned from Sevilla and the culinary scene is exploding - such a change in the last 10 years. It also makes a good base city if your boyfriend wants to stay put a bit longer.

For Andalucia I'd suggest a minimum of 4 nights Sevilla (with a daytrip to Cordoba) and 2 in Granada. Using just the minimums this gives you five nights to play with.

You could cut these 5 days many ways. Just a few ideas:

- additional time in Barcelona and Sevilla to allow for Daytrips. From Barcelona for example you could visit Montserrat, Girona, Tarragona, etc... From Sevilla there's Jerez, Cadiz, Arcos, Carmona, etc...
-spend a couple of nights in Jerez especially if it's during the wine harvest festival September 10-15
-2 nights in cordoba, Girona or Tarragona vs Daytrips
-Cadiz (for your boyfriend's beach time) - also makes a good base to visit the sherry triangle cities
-Begur (for your boyfriend's beach time)
-rent a car for 2-3 days and explore the white villages
- Malaga

Wow! Thanks for all of these thoughts. I had been considering moving up to Tossa de Mar from Barcelona for a few days, then heading down to Granada and Sevilla, so that's similar to the Begur idea.

Or, instead of Tossa, we could do something like Nerja when we're in the South.

I think some people have a different idea of what hot is, I wouldn't say it will likely be warm in September, but hot. The average high is 90 during September in Seville, for example, it is a hotter month than June. It does cool down at night, though. It doesn't really cool down a lot until October IMO.

fyi http://www.exploreseville.com/weather.htm

Thanks Christina. We live in Southern California, so we're used to dry heat, but my impression is that Spain will be more humid, which would probably be more difficult for us to deal with.

No, heat is dry, the only "good" thing about it.

Well, that's good news!

Much as I loved Madrid, if you are willing to skip its museums for this trip, then I think taking advantage of your time to see Andalucia's Moorish architecture makes sense. Personally, I was glad to have 2 full days and nights in both Granada and Cordoba, in addition to my time in Sevilla (which was not long enough - I would have liked at least 3 full days there, and had a bit less).

Depending on your interests, you could also add a day for Ronda or -- if you want to do some hiking or other outdoor activities, head into Las Alpujarras....

Enjoy!

Spain is a large country and doesn't have the same climate or humidity everywhere. Seville basically has a Mediterranean climate, it isn't like Madrid, which is inland and on a plateau. The northern coast of Spain is more humid, and Madrid is generally drier than Seville. The SE coast of Spain is very dry, like around Murcia, but that isn't Seville. And it is generally driest in summer, anyway, not other parts of the year. But September is in-between as is Seville in its humidity. So it isn't going to be tropical humid, but it isn't super dry, either.

I would take Cathy's advice for a great trip. If you want to experience old Spain her trip is perfect. If you want to go to Europe's most beautiful city with 3 beaches and the world's best food go to San Sebastian. However as I always say, Spain is not a beach destination for me but a fantastic cultural destination. Here in Massachusetts we have amazing beaches though.

Here's my updated itinerary:

1 - Barcelona (arrive in cruise ship)
2 - Barcelona
3 - Barcelona (family leaves)
4 - Barcelona (day trip, possibly Girona, Figueres, etc.)
5 - Barcelona
6 - Tossa de Mar (Barcelona to Tossa by bus)
7 - Tossa de Mar
8 - Tossa de Mar
9 - Granada (bus to Barcelona, then fly to Granada)
10 - Granada
11 - Granada
12 - Sevilla (via train from Granada)
13 - Sevilla
14 - Sevilla
15 - Barcelona (fly from Sevilla)
16 - Early 6 AM flight

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

confirming Roberts endorcement of San Sebastian

I'd personally drop a day in Granada and in Tossa adding 2 days to Sevilla. This will give you 45 nights in Sevilla, enough time for a daytrip to cordoba. At the very least I'd budget 4 nights for Sevilla so you can daytrip to Cordoba. I'd actually prefer a city like Cadiz to Tossa but they are very different and I personally prefer Andalucia to Catalunya. Cadiz is an excellent base for someone without a car for relaxing beach time but also for exploring the sherry triangle and even Arcos , Vejer or Medina Sidonia.

Cathy, why do you prefer Cadiz to Tossa? I worried that the beaches in Cadiz would be too windy and overall less picturesque than in Catalunya. I guess Cadiz and other beach towns in the south would be easier to do day trips...

I was also considering Nerja as an alternative to Tossa...

You probably know this already, but Barcelona does have beaches.
I would not be sure if I wanted to go to Tossa.. it's pretty much cheap mass tourism. Nerja could be a better choice. But, again, you can go to the beaches in BCN any day if you want.
Personally, I like the beaches of Southern Catalunya better.. Ampolla, L'Ametlla,.less tourism,. probably not feasible for you when you plan to rely on public transport, though..

A donkey ride through Barcelona sounds tempting.