2nd trip to Europe - Help
 

My husband and I took our first Europe trip last April visiting Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome and London. We plan on going back, but we're a little mixed as to which city within Europe. Currently, I have a ticket reserved for Madrid. However, I've heard not so great things about Spain. My husband and I love big cities (eg Paris, Rome and Sydney). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. thx!

Don't dismiss Athens without serious consideration.

Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona could be your three cities hub.

Just what do you read that you haven't heard great things about Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, San Sebastian-Donostia or Bilbao? Have you ever picked up a copy of Conté Nast Traveler Magazine, Food and Wine, Wine Spectator, Gourmet, Bon Appétit, or any of a dozen or more magazines on the market describing the cutting edge of cuisine and great wines, and let us not forget the history of Spain that so dominates the world. The New York Times alone has dozens of articles every year on Spanish cities.

I loved Madrid when I visited 2 years ago and promised myself that I'll go there again in the future. Madrid has a great nightlife (it doesn't seem like people sleep earlier than 2 AM every night!), great shopping, wonderful food, etc. What have you heard that was so bad?

There have been plenty of posts here bashing Madrid but I have enjoyed every stay I've had there along with Barcelona (a little more than an hour away by air) and other locations.

Is this post designed to get people to convince you to go there? Liking big cities is kind of generic IMO...any specific interests?

Michael wrote: "Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona could be your three cities hub."

I endorse that, having visited and enjoyed all three of them. I haven't written up my trip to Barcelona, but you can get my take on Madrid and Lisbon at http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/ (I think you will need to copy and paste the url, as the sofware for this site seems to be upset by the inclusion of the tilde).

I've travelled to a lot of places (and lived in New York, London and Paris). Tied for first place on my favourite cities list is Barcelona (the other is Berlin). My husband and I spent half our honeymoon in Spain in 2005 and loved it (Barcelona, Cadaques and an overnight in Madrid). I've been to Madrid about 7-8 times on business, hiked in Andalucia and studied Spanish in Salamanca, Barcelona and Madrid. As you can see, I think Spain is great and a great destination for a vacation.

I must admit that Madrid is not my favourite city among those I've visited in Spain but that's because there are so many other cities in Spain with incredibly rich, unique characters. Madrid, however, is a convenient hub around which to organise your travel (lots of international flights to Madrid) and is worth at least 2 nights. It has an extraordinarily vibrant cafe culture and nightlife, there is good shopping, and there are some world class museums you have to see. (I think everyone should spend at least half an hour in front of Picasso's Guernica at least once in their lives.)

Barcelona also has some direct international flights. So, I'd suggest that you fly either into Madrid or Barcelona, and then add two other regions in the vicinity (Spain or Portugual).

Hi, I was just in Madrid, Barcelona, Algarves and Lisbon in September. I have no complaints about Spain at all. We had heard that the people were not friendly and we found them so sweet! The people were so nice and the cities were so clean. My husband and I went with another couple. None of us speak Spanish. We live in Boston and often visit cities. We have visited Paris and Rome. We all liked Barcelona and Madrid more than Rome. I plan on taking my mother back to Barcelona next year because the neighborhoods are amazing, they have a beach, great musuems and architecture to die for. I hope you consider Spain. It really knocked our socks off and we can't wait to go back!

Wow... great responses so far. My husband and I love big cities too. I have a flight flying into Madrid on April 23rd and flying out of Barcelona on May 4th. Given the short period of time, should I make Madrid my base in the South and Barcelona my base in the North. Initially, I thought we were going to focus on the South (eg Seville, Cordoba, Granada) but I've been hearing great things about Barcelona.

Throw in some countryside to see if you like it as much as the big cities. Tuscany, Provence, Dordogne, Pays Basque, Burgundy, Alsace, Cotswolds, Scotland. How about some coast - Brittany, Amalfi Coast, Cote d'Azur (Nice & Cote would be a mix of city/coast), Wester Ross.

Variety is the spice of life !!!

Stu Dudley

eurogirl2006 writes: "...I have a flight flying into Madrid on April 23rd and flying out of Barcelona on May 4th. Given the short period of time, should I make Madrid my base in the South and Barcelona my base in the North. ..."

Is that a question?? If you check an events calendar for Spain you may want to rework your itinerary to take advantage of what's happening while you are there: the day after your Madrid arrival (Apr 24) is when Sevilla's Feria de abril begins; and May 1st (a holiday, BTW) is when Madrileños begin their San Isidro celebrations. You may be able to see all that stuff on TVE in your Hotel in Barcelona, but there's nothing like being there.

You selected Barcelona as your airport of departure and you probably have to live with that; but if it were me, I wouldn't have structured my itinerary that way.

Choosing the peninsula for a trip makes a lot of sense.

If you like Museums, good walking, wine, food and historical monuments then it is another France. Worth realising it is very high up (average 800m above sea level and very low density for western europe)

I prefer

Porto for the walking and the wines
Rioja, Picos d'europa, Bilbao for the same
Barcelona for the architecture and wine
Madrid and Toledo for the theatre and museums
Cordoba/Grenada/Seville for the architecture

I also have a big thing for Morroco at the moment as it is only just across the water and while the wine is poorer the architecture and museums show what Arabic Spain must have been like.

I did a trip a few years ago (2 1/2 weeks) and hit Madrid, Valencia, Cuenca, Barcelona, Munich and Salzburg.

They were all lovely and very different. I travelled alone and always felt very safe and welcomed. All 5 places have great places to see, do and eat - you just have to do alot of research before you leave. Just keep some open time for "unexpected" activities as you will find other things of interest once you arrive.

You asked, "Should I make Madrid my base in the South and Barcelona my base in the North?" Well, Barcelona is Northish (especially Northwest), but it's hard to characterise Madrid as "South". It's in the middle of the country.

Kate W wrote: "Well, Barcelona is Northish (especially Northwest), but it's hard to characterise Madrid as "South". It's in the middle of the country."

If you want to be pedantic about where Madrid is located, you should be careful to get the location of Barcelona right!

Barcelona is NORTHEAST, not Northwest.

THanks for all the responses so far and clarifying which direction Barcelona and Madrid is in. Unfortunately, the only flight available to me using mileage is into Madrid w/2 layovers and one layover out of Barcelona. Can you suggest a recommended itinerary given 13 nites and flying in and out of those two cities.

thx again!