Barcelona & Madrid- Reco's Needed
 

Two brothers (straight; mid-20's) touring Madrid & Barcelona in July. Need reco's on:
1. nightlife
2. day tours
3. day tour excursions from city
4. restaurants
5. hotels

Have used Rick Steves in past and was good. Other suggestions welcome.
Anyone ever use any of the tours on Barcelonavibes.com?

Husband & I are going with a tour group in Sept., so I don't have any recommendations on where to stay, where to eat, but from all the previous posts I received back from people who have been there, watch your wallet!! Especially in Barcelona - they are VERY creative with ways to pick your pocket and you'd never know until too late. Sorry, but if you didn't know, now you do!

Check out TimeOut or Lonely Planet. They are chock full of night life for the young'uns.

< 3. day tour excursions from city >

You can easily take day trips to Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial from Madrid (separate day trips, not all on the same day). They're simple enough to do it on your own instead of taking an escorted tour.

How long will you be spending in each city? What's your budget for hotels? $100 vs $500?

I'd try inside BCN for an apartment to rent in Barcelona. Also try to stay in the el born area because it will be close to the nightlife

We recently stayed at http://www.hoteleuropa.net/ and found it to be ideal for Madrid. Right in the center and very clean and great staff. Free internet and good breakfast.

We enjoyed a day trip to Girona (the city) from Barcelona--again easy to do on your own with public transit
http://www.aboutgirona.com/.

I would check out a copy of Let's Go Spain and Portugal at a library or book store if you can find one. Better for your age group than RS