A week in Spain... Madrid or Sevilla?
 

We are planning a trip next Spring... We have a week booked in Provence, France and then are going to head to Spain for a week. We rent villas or apartments and don't like jumping around too much from place to place.

It will be my husband and myself, daughter (28), and 2 sons (20 and 15). If you've been to both Madrid and Sevilla - which would you prefer that would offer things to do / see for a week's time? I am drawn more to Sevilla, but am wondering if there is enough to do to keep the kids interested. I know that Madrid would probably have more going on for them. We spent some time in Barcelona this year which was our first trip to Spain and I didn't fall in love with Barcelona. Is Madrid very different from Barcelona?

Thanks!

Madrid is very different from Barcelona (I tend to like Madrid a bit more as it reminds me of NYC). Sevilla is great too though -- and there should be plenty to keep your children entertained (tons of cafes bars, nightlife, etc). If your heart draws you to one city over the other, I say go with that!

If I were I young person, I would rather spend time in Madrid.
I found Seville rather small - a few days was more than enough.
From either city one can take numerous day trips.

Hmmm.... thank you both for your replies. I tend to like "small" but not sure the kids will agree.

Anyone else have any thoughts? What area of each city would be preferable to stay in?

ditto what danon said.
From a 20something's perspective, Sevilla is provincial compared with Madrid.
For a small town feeling, you can easily visit Toledo or Alcala de Henrares from Madrid. Or Segovia. Or...

Cowboy - Thanks... you're right about the day trips from Madrid. Would you suggest driving or are there trains from Madrid to those locations?

TRAINS or buses! To many destinations you have the choice.
You neither need nor want a rental car for those day trips.
For those day trips mentioned above plus the Escorial, Aranjuez.. it's both easier and cheaper to go by public transport.

Great - that was what I was hoping!

Madrid is more like NYC. Sevilla is much older and smaller although it has a population of 700,000. I think kids of that age would be happy with a week in Sevilla. The night life is fantastic and you can visit Cadiz, Granada, Ronda, Malaga. I am biased as Sevilla is my favorite small city in the world. It has a lot of soul or duende as it is called in Spain. If I had to live somewhere and work it would be Madrid because it is one of the best large cities in the world. I'm not a huge fan of Barcelona either.

Although Seville has a large population, the area ( where the " action " is ) is really
small.
Madrid is a big city, but hardly resembles New York.

It is always a question of individual taste and interest.