I have a few days after ending a cruise at Barcelona.(On the cruise I will be able to take a side trip to Alhambra Palace) Here are my current plans, probably covering too much, would appreciate any oppinions.<BR><BR>Thurs.- Barcelona<BR>City Tour<BR>Stay at Claris Hotel<BR><BR>Fri.- Madrid<BR>City Tour , Visit to Prado<BR>Stay at Hotel Suecia<BR><BR>Sat. -Sevilla<BR>AVE to Cordoba for 1/2, Seville 1/2 Day<BR>Stay at Westin Alfonso XIII<BR><BR>Sun. -Madrid<BR>Back to Madrid , 1/2 Day trip to Toledo<BR>Stay at Hotel Suecia<BR><BR>Mon. -Madrid<BR>Trip to Segovia<BR>Stay at Hotel Suecia<BR><BR>Tues. -Back Home<BR><BR>Trying to get a good overview of Spain.<BR>Any cities I should give more time to?<BR>Anyone familiar with these Hotels ? Do you recommend them ?

6 cities in 5 days. It is too much.<BR>Half day in cities as Sevilla, Cordoba, Toledo, including the trips. It is imposible take the flavor of these places.<BR>You should forget any of those places for another trip to Spain, there are so many things to see. Why don't you include in Madrid the Royal Palace?<BR><BR>About the hotels. Suecia is a good one, not impresive, but Alfonso XIII is incredible (even not cheap), really wonderfull<BR><BR>Hope you will enjoy.

Don,<BR><BR>I think your schedule is too ambitious. May I suggest staying one more night in Barcelona, then flying on Saturday morning to Seville, staying there until Monday, and taking then the AVE to Madrid?<BR><BR>Do not forget that you won't be on a ship anymore, so lugging and boarding the trains, checking in and out hotels will take more time than just leaving and coming back to the ship.<BR><BR>Also, all of these are cities that absolutely deserve more time to being seen and enjoyed. You're likely getting stressed out after your cruise. Do it at a lower pace, and you won't regret.<BR><BR>We have a saying in Brazil, which is " those who want ( to do) everything, end up losing it all".<BR><BR>Best holiday wishes,<BR><BR>S

Ok, I hear what you are saying, so here are some changes. (Drop Toledo and Add an extra night in Barcelona)<BR><BR>Thurs. & Fri. - Barcelona<BR>Sat. - Madrid (Add visit to Palace)<BR>Sun. & 1/2 Mon. - Sevilla / Cordoba<BR>Other 1/2 Mon. - Madrid

Still too much -drop Sevilla/Cordoba and use Madrid as a home base to visit Toledo,Segovia,El Escorial and maybe the walled city of Avila.

Don,<BR><BR>I have to ask: why are you doing Madrid between Sevilla and Barcelona? You'll be spending a lot of time in trains. Why not simply fly from Barcelona to Sevilla, and take then the AVE to Madrid from there? You're riding in zig-zags, wasting your time for what? There are cheap airfares between BCL and SVG on Spanair, if I'm not wrong.<BR><BR>Don't skip Sevilla, as said Madrile&ntilde;a. Segovia, Avila and El Escorial are interesting, but they can't compete with Sevilla. Once you have seen the Alhambra, I don't see why to spend your time in Madrid to visit both. If you can make it to Toledo on the way from Sevilla to Madrid, great. If you can't, go seeing Atocha, the beautiful train station in Madrid, the Prado,the Palace and you'd have accomplished a lot of Spain and Spanish experience. <BR>Just my (another) 2 cents.<BR><BR>Regards, and good luck,<BR><BR>S

There is always a first; Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Cordova, Segovia in 5 days...... I guess you are going to use the Star Trek transportation machine and just move between cities magically and in seconds. Would be about the only way you could pull this off. To read a guidebook and get a map can be a wonderful thing.<BR><BR>Barcelona and Madrid with one side trip from Madrid.

Don,<BR>I understand what you are trying to do -- cover all major attractions while you are in Spain because you may not go back. But is it possible to add a few more days for your itinerary? If not, I think you should make another trip in the future to cover the cities you miss this time and revisit your favorite cities. What you are trying to do in that short period of time may not be possible because of train schedule unless your idea of visiting a city (Seville, for example) is three to four hours of stopping by.<BR>Tom