Hello Fodorites!

My wife and I are planning an 8 day trip (not including travel) in the beginning of July and are thinking about Spain. I have already been to Barcelona and we both want to go somewhere new. We are will be flying to Madrid and want to explore southern Spain- Seville, Granada, Cordova, Toledo all look like places we want to go. Please help!

Any advice on the itinerary would be greatly appreciated? (Also, Would you have any reservations about going in July due to weather or over crowding)?

Thank you!

The weather in the south in July and August will be extremely hot. What to see in the South has been discussed on many occasions. I suggest you go to the box at the top of the page "View by country" and click on Spain or Advance search and look for Granada. With 8 days you should be selective.

You have not told us interests, budget, or tolerance for moving about.

It won't be crowded. It will be HOT. However, I have been to that part of Spain twice in July and loved it both times, even with the heat. We got up early and did the outside stuff; went to a museum, swimming and took naps in the afternoon and out for the evening. It is light until very late, so dinner may not be until 9:00 or 10:00 P.M. If you adapt to those hours, it works. Also, get a hotel with AC.

I love all the places you mention, especially Toledo and Granada, but many others love Seville. You can do Toledo as a day trip from Madrid. You can do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville. When you arrive, go straight on to either Seville or Granada. Group all of your days in Madrid at the end of the trip. Eight days are rushed, but doable.

With respect to itinerary, I dont mean to sound abrupt but there must be hundreds of posts dealing with that (the search box is very useful).

And yes, it will be brutally hot in the South in July. Why dont you look to the North? Beautiful area,and the weather there will be more hospitable. This area gets more crowded in August, July shouldn't be too bad.

July will be a scorcher in Andalucia - check the historical records and see if it will be too much for you.

With just 8 days staying in Andalucia makes sense - Toledo is a bit of an outlier unless you are driving and want to spend just 2 nights per location.

Presuming your are not driving, the obvious route would be to take the AVE high speed train directly to Seville from Madrid. I would recommend that you spend the most time in Seville, then Granada, then Cordoba.

Madrid to Seville AVE train (2:20)
Seville 3 nights Bus/train to Granada (3:30)
Granada 2 nights Train to Cordoba (2:20)
Cordoba 2 nights AVE train to Madrid (1:50)
Madrid 1 nights presuming you need to be at the airport for a morning departure

There are other possibilities - I suggested Cordoba last only because you can get back to Madrid on an AVE train from there, but not from Granada. It's about 4.30 hours to Madrid from Granada. If you don't mind doing that the day before you fly back then you could reverse Cordoba and Granada. Seville to Cordoba is only about 50 mins.

Alternately, you could spend 4 nights in Seville and do Cordoba as a day trip (50 mins), then take a bus/train (some say the bus is more convenient and times aren't that different) to Granada for 2 or 3 nights, leaving you with 1 or 2 nights back in Madrid. You could do 2 nights in each of Granada and Madrid and see Toledo on a day trip from Madrid - it is only 33 mins away.

You could go the other way, too. there are quite a few options. Even more if you are driving (?).

Here are the MAX MEAN and MIN Temps for Seville in July, 2011

MAX / AVG / MIN
High Temperature 38 °C / 34 °C / 28 °C
Mean Temperature 30 °C / 27 °C / 23 °C
Low Temperature 23 °C / 20 °C / 16 °C

In the 5 years previous, that MAX Max temperature was between 40-42 C. This is why they run for cover for 3 hours in the mid day and eat at 10 p.m.. It's easy to get used to! You need to start your day early (20 C is the average low), take an air con break and then come out later.

My first visit to Spain was in August. Yes, it was extremely
hot ( someone feinted
In Alhambra) but I was young so it did not bother me that much.
Depends on you...
Sassafras makes a good point
Aramis has given you number of options.

Thank you so much for your help and advice. I am continuing to do research (yes, I have looked at other posts for ideas for the itinerary), but am not as concerned about weather as I was before.

My wife and I are pretty adventurous and like experiencing the local food, culture, history and museums. We are trying to find a balance between a "trip" and a "vacation", but with so much to see, I am not sure how much relaxation we will be able to get in Spain. I neglected to mention that a few of our days would be like to be spent in Madrid.

I really do appreciate everyone's advice. Thank you!

Very hard choices if you have only eight days, and want to spend some of those in Madrid and you want it to be somewhat relaxing. You may have to skip something else. I love Madrid, but don't find it very relaxing. OTOH, you like museums and the Prado in Madrid is fantastic. It is one of my personal favorites.

How important is the Alhambra to you? That would be the determining factor for me.