Hi! First time travelers to Spain in August. We have 9 days in the country not counting travel days, flying in/out of Barcelona. We love architecture, history, and food (enjoy art/museums, but typically prefer to see the city!) Trying to hit the balance between seeing as much as possible and not shortchanging any cities. We don't want to feel like we're spending most of our trip on trains. Thinking of doing Barcelona, Seville, and Grenada - skipping Madrid. Thoughts?

I'd fly straight away from landing in Barcelona to say Seville - do Granada and end in Barcelona but with that short a time I'd do yes Barcelona and Madrid - the latter offers nice day trips like to Toledo which everyone raves about. Lot less travel and Madrid. Or Barcelona and Seville.

9 days just stay in BCN maybe take a trip out to see some winery or beach and food time.

I think Barcelona, Seville and Granada can work. It will be a busy trip. Do keep in mind you lose a half day or so traveling between locations.

I like the idea of Barcelona, Seville and Granada. Without doubt, they are the most amazing parts of Spain. Madrid, not my favourite place.

Do keep in mind you lose a half day or so traveling between locations.>

OP said not including travel days so should be fine if want to travel back and forth from Barcelona.

Have you made your airline reservations yet? If not, you should look into purchasing open jaw (or multi city) tickets, such as flying into Barcelona and out of Seville. This saves you time and money because you don't have to backtrack to Barcelona. Whenever we have flown open-jaw, it was always less expensive and more convenient than backtracking. Unless you live somewhere where open jaw tickets are more expensive for some reason. I know some posters on this forum have mentioned that. We live in the U.S. (near Boston), so for us it is typically better to fly open-jaw.

Regarding your itinerary, we spent 4 nights in Seville and 2 nights in Granada last September. We spent 5 or 6 nights in Barcelona when we were there in 2010. So you could do 4 nights Seville, 2 nights Granada, and 4 nights in Barcelona, but IMO you will be shortchanging Barcelona.

Your plan could work – depending on what you want to see an experience. That said, I would find it ridiculously rushed, as I wanted 5 full days for Barcelona (not counting Montserrat or anywhere else nearby), 4 days for Sevilla, and 2.5 days for Granada – and if going to Sevilla and Granada, it would be a shame to miss the magnificent Mezquita in Cordoba. You might consider “just” Barcelona and some of the sites nearby. If you haven’t already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report; the section on Catalunya begins with my visit to Cadaques, day 21.
Four Awesome Weeks in the North of Spain and Catalunya

You could easily spend 9 nine days in and around Barcelona, but if you want the quick tour then those plces are some of the highlights in Spain. Be sure to rent a car in Sevilla or Granada, then you can visit some of the smaller towns in Andalucia which are much more atmospheric. If you are going at Easter then you need to make your reservations well in advance, but its a great time to see the Semana Santa processions and festivals

With such limited time, I'm not sure that's a good idea. JMO.

Yes with 6 days in all there have to stick to those cities.

I am doing the same thing - first time to Spain - but have more nights. The point I wanted to make: I learned from the good folks here that to get to Sevilla (or Granada) from Barcelona, it is cheaper and faster to fly! Like under $100 for two, one way from BCN to Sevilla! So you won't be on that train like you (and I) thought...and if you have not made your air res, consider home to BCN, BCN to Sevilla, get yourself to Granada via bus or rental car (cheap!), then fly home from Granada. So, 3 flights. - worth checking. I used the deadly KIWI.com, got incredibly low fares, but this is only for those travelers with only carryon, who don't care that the flights are not codeshared (you have to check in separately each leg of your journey).

We skipped Madrid also, in favor of Andalucia (which includes Sevilla, the white hill towns, and Granada).

Have fun planning!

fkying makes sense for OP's limited time - both ways since Madrid not in mix. Take train to Granada and fly from there to Barcelona. There used to be overnight trains but they have been withdrawn a few years back or would have been a nice option.

Sorry but, did anybody mentioned that Sevilla and Granada will be like an oven in August?? Maybe the OP doesnt care, or is used to this kind of heat. If not, I would say beware and reconsider.

@ cruiseluv: Good point!