EYWandBTV

Hello Fodorites,

I am now working on the second draft of our trip plan for the fall. This is our first trip to Spain, we know a little Spanish and have traveled a lot in Mexico but never in Spain so very much looking forward to it. Too many choices in this country! For a brief crazy moment, I was trying to see how we could squeeze in a bit of Barcelona with two or three major places in Andalucia plus throw in Toledo and El Greco, but soon realized that was madness. With great angst, out goes Toledo, out goes Barcelona, out goes Madrid. We will focus on Andalucia. Those other great places will go on the bucket list for the second Spanish trip, and the third….

BTW, we only have 10 nights in Spain because of various other life things going on. Our hotel budget is 100-150 euro for a double. We avoid Michelin-type restaurants. We like everything: museums, gardens, food, café-sitting, cathedrals, small bits of ruins and things, and just wandering aimlessly in an old district.

So here goes Version 2.0 of the itinerary:

Fly into Madrid and go to Cordoba by train (we love trains, will use them for the whole trip)

2 nights Cordoba: guided by kja and kimhe and judy_rosa’s comments and many others, it seems that we should spend some time here instead of dashing into the Mezquita for 2 hours and then leaving the city. Some posters have praised the flamenco offerings in Cordoba. If anyone has recent flamenco experiences in Cordoba, your comments would be welcome.

2 nights Granada: interesting here—fodorites have very different opinions about this city’s attractions apart from the Alhambra. If staying at the Parador is truly a life-changing event, okay, then, we may be willing to cough up 250-300 euro, but that would be a stretch. Has anyone stayed at Hotel America recently? It is inside the grounds as well, much more reasonable. One specific question: if one does stay at the Parador or the Hotel America, how do you get back inside the walls of the complex at the end of the evening, after going into town for dinner? Is there a guard, a code, a key for the fortress gate? I can’t seem to find information about this. We are not committed to staying inside the Alhambra in any case.

2 nights Malaga: we really like to visit a city that is not quite on the heavily traveled circuit, like Arezzo or Salerno or Lyon. A few posters have praised Malaga in the past, and its blend of seaside, historic center, and a good tapas-café-restaurant scene seems very appealing.

3 nights Seville: probably does not do justice to this city, but again, choices must be made. I have made a list of many places to eat, using ekscrunchy’s extensive trip notes. We are allocating ten extra pounds of weight gain for this place.

1 night Madrid: more angst here, we are planning no visits to the big sights, no side trip to Toledo. We would not try to see Madrid on this trip, just arrive in mid-day, walk around a bit, dinner, sleep, and fly out the next morning.

This is very much a working draft, so all comments and suggestions are most welcome. Thank you in advance!

nytraveler

Malaga is definitely on the very heavily traveled circuit - you should expect hoards of tourists. If you want time in a less busy places you will need to look at something else - perhaps Nerja or one of the other smaller towns.

EYWandBTV

I had the impression, based on earlier postings, that most tourists fly in and go to coastal villages or come by cruise ship, but don't spend much time in the centro?

kimhe

Your impression is right EYWandBTV.

Three thousand year old and genuine Málaga city is a very different thing than the touristy resort towns along the coast of the Málaga province. Nerja is perhaps the least touristy of the popular beach towns, but even Nerja is ten times more touristy than Málaga city itself. Málaga is a normal working Spanish city, great atmosphere and the malagueños rightfully have a reputation for being the most easy-going people in Andalucia. You will not see much of the snobbery you might find in otherwise excellent cities such as Sevilla and Granada down here.

Of course there will be cruise groups etc touring the Picasso museum, the new and excellent Carmen Thyssen museum, the Moorish Alcazar, the Gibralfaro, the Roman theater, the 16th Century Cathedral etc., but Málaga is very much itself. I think you do very right spending a couple of days here, and for the right reasons. One of my favourite cities in the country, and also much to explore outside the very city center. Could give you several tips based on your interests. Some links:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/andalucia/malaga
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...a-7939777.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalis...pleasures.html
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...-breaks-travel
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...aga-Spain.html

Have had some of my best flamenco experiences in Cordoba, but that has been in theaters or in bars very late into the night. Among places which stage performances every night, the relatively new Arte y Sabores seems like a promising venue, it has recieved much praise from both aficionados and artists. Apart from that, I think the tablaos in Cordoba seem to be very touristy from what I've seen on videos etc. https://www.facebook.com/tablaoarteysabores?fref=ts

I would rather recommend intimate Casa de la Memoria or La Casa del Flamenco in Sevilla, the very cradle of flamenco culture together with Jerez de la Frontera. Only top artists perform here, for example Pastora Galvan, voted best female flamenco dancer 2010 by Spanish critics, have used to dance in Casa de la Memoria about once a week for the past five years. http://www.casadelamemoria.es/

Or go to Casa Patas in Madrid, the best tablao in the country in recent years. Excellent place: http://www.casapatas.com/

danon

Malaga city is lovely. Kimhe knows what he is talking about. We stayed 3 nights.

EYWandBTV

Kimhe, thank you so much for this great information. I have read many of your posts already and have made notes about the cities you have discussed. On another thread I think you recommended the video "El Cante Bueno Duele" with Moraito and "Tia Maria" Soto Monge in Jerez. I have watched this video many times--their duet is very moving. If we are lucky (we hope to go in late October) we may be able to see Pastora Galvan in Sevilla.
Again, thank you for taking the time to provide so much information!

kimhe

Just fun and glad to help, EYWandBTV. And yes, Moraito and Maria Bala in the duet in 2010 is as good as it gets, both are regretably gone now.

kja

Looks like a good plan to me! Be sure to book your tickets for Alhambra well in advance, and plan on both a daytime visit and an evening visit. Enjoy!