Advice for travel plans
 

So I am not 100% set on this schedule but I would just like any advice or input on places to visit and see that are a must in these areas! It would be in May of next year with my husband.
Barcelona 3 nights
Madrid 2 nights
Seville 4 nights
Lagos 2 nights
Lisbon 3 nights

*I am not sure transportation wise how to get from seville to lagos
-any advice, places that are a must see that I might not normally find online easily. Thank you for any help!

Might be easier to go Barcelona-Seville-Madrid-Lisbon-Lagos, as there are direct trains for each leg.

The Spanish trains and the Madrid-Lisbon train can all be booked at www.renfe.com or (easier, if you don't mind paying in £) www.loco2.com with cheap prices if you pre-book

Barcelona-Seville and Seville-Madrid are both excellent high-speed AVE trains, very swish.

Madrid-Lisbon is an overnight 'trainhotel' sleeper train called the 'Lusitania' with 4-berth sleepers, cosy 1 & 2 berth Preferente sleepers with washbasin, and 1 or 2 bed Gran Clase sleepers with en suite toilet and shower. Plus a cafe-bar. Saves time and a hotel bill and is great fun - a unique experience, not just another globalised flight.

Book Lisbon-Lagos at Portuguese Railways www.cp.pt

There's easy and excellent bus service between Sevilla and Lagos (www.eva-bus.com). The trip takes 4hr 30min and costs 21€/person.

Seville is a very much a centre of a bunch of nice places, Cordoba, Malaga, Grenada (some say Ronda) if you base here you might need a few more days and Lagos might be the obvious place to suffer.

out the the four main cities; Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Lisbon, what would you think are the length of stays in each to properly enjoy them. My husband and I are both in our late 20s and really like to do everything in a city, nightlife, food, museums, lounging etc...

Thanks!

3 full days in each IMO - a day or two more to do day trips to nearby gems.

As for Seville to Lagos the best way is to take a direct bus from Seville to Faro then train or bus to Lagos - easily done.

anyway for lots of good info on European trains check Man in Seat 61's commercial site www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.rickstves.com.

Some nightlife tips.

Barcelona:
- Medieval El Born is full of excellent bars/music bars until 3-4am, especially in and around charming Passeig del Born. Bar Borneo was our favourite a couple of weeks ago. Live concerts every now and then: http://www.barborneo.com/
http://www.bcnnoches.com/eng/barcelo...r-disco=borneo
About the area: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...s/el-born.html

Food, tapas at Tapeo: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/

- More up-scale and very local atmosphere in and around Carrer Aribau: http://suitelife.com/2011/02/28/arib...treet-profile/

Genuine Catalan food at small and family-owned Ca l'Estevet: http://www.restaurantestevet.com/wpre/


Madrid:
- See top of the shelf flamenco at Cardamomo in Calle Echegaray: http://cardamomo.es/
Paloma Fantova dances here frequently, she's taking off right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck7hMzNH3b8
All of small Calle Echegaray is nightlife.

Food, Casa Granada - on the 6th floor of an apartment building and with a great terrace - is five minutes away: http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Vide...ada-Video.html


Sevilla:
- Alameda de Hercules, tons of bars and terraces long into the night: https://www.sevilla5.com/activities/...-hercules.html
https://www.sevilla5.com/activities/goingout.html

Food, excellent Eslava is just a couple of hundred meters away from the Alameda: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/2008/02/eslava/

And when in Lisboa, a fado vadio (street fado) night at tiny restaurant A Baiuca, can be an experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTZrAsyFG00

Be very careful in large Spanish cities as street crime and thefts are rife - especially if you are a naive target - just leave the family jewels at home and carry valuables in a secure under your clothes money belt and you'll be fine - there is a current thread on the topic of safety in Barcelona for example.

You are spending a great deal of time traveling and passing right by some fantastic places.

All are easily reached by train from Madrid, some only 25 minutes or so.

Right outside of Madrid is Toledo, a little walled city with one of the most magnificent cathedrals in the world, many El Greco paintings. It is a world heritage site with lots of history.

Another short trip from Madrid is Segovia, with a castle from Queen Isabela's time and a wonderful Roman Aqueduct.

Between Madrid and Seville is Cordoba with the largest Mosque in the Western World. It is amazing.

A couple of hours away from Seville is the Alhambra, another world heritage site that would be worth a very long trip to see.