Barcelona, Madrid and ?
 

Thank you all for being so helpful. I am so glad I found this site and am able to ask all of you questions that are helpful in the preparation of my trip.
Sorry for asking so many but again, this is helpful. We are leaving next week for Barcelona. We do have our hotel booked however we haven’t booked any museums or anything in advance yet. We arrive early Saturday morning after a long day of flying on Friday and a night flight Friday night. We will have Saturday and Sunday in Barcelona and then we are thinking of taking the train to Madrid on Monday. Thinking of spending Monday -Thursday in and around Madrid. The hotels that have been recommended to me are the Westin and the Regina. We are Marriott Elite and there are AC hotels but I a not sure which one would be the best to stay in. I’ve been told the Westin and Regina are the best locations. Does anyone have any experience with any of the Marriott or AC Hotels in Madrid. Also want to go to a Flamenco show. I don’t think we have enough time to go to Seville and get back to Barcelona by Thursday noon (we have a flight to Paris for the weekend) Any suggestions? Toledo?
Then the following week we are back in Barcelona (our daughter is studying there for the semester) and then off again either Monday evening or Tuesday until Thursday? We were hoping to fit in San Sebastian and Bilibo however it seems expensive to fly and the train takes like a long time? Any suggestions? Any hotel suggestions? I know we are behind in our booking. We want to be back in Barcelona by Thursday evening to spend Friday and then we leave Saturday morning for home. I know this is a lot but you experienced travelers have been so helpful. Thank you all so much. (and

I understand your daughter is in Barcelona - but bouncing ina nd out - visiting so many different times is really wasting a lot of your limited time just getting from one place to another.

And unfortunately since the trip is so soon you have lost the option for cheap train or lane tickets - which go more like 3 months in advance.

At this time of year I would not head to San Sebastian since the atlantic coast is cooler than the rest of Spain. If you really want to see Seville then why not go there for part of the time - instead of returning to Barcelona again and again?

Sevilla is amazing. It is a very easy and fast train ride from Madrid also. It is one of my favorite spots in Spain.

My question would be, other than that first jetlagged groggy Sunday, when are you going to see Barcelona?

For the AC hotels, the Carlton is very nicely situated for arrival/departures at the train station.

1) We arrive early Saturday morning ... get back to Barcelona by Thursday noon

so 5 days for Madrid here?

2) following week we are back in Barcelona ... off again either Monday evening or Tuesday until Thursday?

so 2 days here for a side trip?

3) back in Barcelona by Thursday evening to spend Friday and then we leave Saturday morning for home.

1 day here to see Barcelona?


It seems like you are jumping all over the place, backtracking several times to Barcelona. Why not figure out where you want to go, and do it in a circle, beginning and ending with Barcelona.

How many days do you have TOTAL for this trip? I'm confused reading your post! best, suze

Suze and nytraveler you are right!
We had to purchase our airfare in advance and had not really (obviously) thought this out. We are bouncing around because we were planning on spending time with our daughter when she isn’t in classes. Her class schedule is M-th. At the time we didn’t realize that Spain was so large and spread out.
We have never been there and by everything we heard we thought things were closer. The only entire weekend we have with our daughter is in the middle of our 2 weeks and also my birthday and thought it would be great to spend it in Paris again, a place we have not yet been. So that is our dilema.

What would you suggest then for our second week? Our daughter has no school on Monday and thought she could show us around Barcelona so we have Tues-Thursday free and wanted to be back to spend the last day on Friday with our daughter.

Thanks again.

<What would you suggest then for our second week? Our daughter has no school on Monday and thought she could show us around Barcelona so we have Tues-Thursday free and wanted to be back to spend the last day on Friday with our daughter.>

I'd just stay & spend it all in Barcelona, 5 days is hardly too much for a city that size :-) suze

Agree with suze- There is a lot to do in and around Barcelona-Monserrat/Girand, stay, relax and enjoy not being rushed to see all the sights.

“we haven’t booked any museums or anything in advance yet.”

IME, advance tickets / reservations are worth considering for the Sagrada Familia, Palau Guell, Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, and Palau de la Musica; and if you want to see flamenco while in Barcelona – the Tablao de Carmen and Tablao Cordobes.

“I don’t think we have enough time to go to Seville and get back to Barcelona by Thursday noon”

I agree!

“Toledo?”

Toledo is amaging and, IMO, well worth seeing. I was glad I gave it 2 full days (and 2 nights); other people visit as a day trip. I thought it much more evocative after daytrippers left.

Other options for day trips from Madrid are Segovia, Avila, and El Escorial / the Valley of the Fallen.

I strongly encourage you to consult a guidebook or two – perhaps the Rough Guide or Michelin Green Guide – to learn more about your options so you can make an informed choice based on YOUR interests.

“We were hoping to fit in San Sebastian and Bilibo”

It depends on what YOU want to see and experience. Personally, I wouldn’t try to smash those lovely places into your route -- together, they easily merit 5 days or more. If you can’t find enough to keep you busy in Barcelona, visit any of the other delightful options within day-tripping distance of Barcelona. JMO.

The problem is Barcelona is inconvenient for the train to go many places, only Madrid and east of there, not for the south. Just takes too long if you have only a few days.

You could, in fact, fly on Vueling from BCN to SVQ in only 1:30 hrs for probably around 30-40 euro each way. I would do that myself to see that part of Spain -- neither of those airports is that far out of town. I don't think I'd do it for just 2 days, though, but I would if you had 4 days. You could do the same thing for Bilbao, though, and the fact that you call that expensive suggests maybe I don't know your standards on that. that isn't very expensive to me. If you search Iberia's website, Vueling flights even show up, they must own them or something.

Enjoy Madrid and Barcelona and visit Toledo from Madrid. You will be wasting so much precious time traveling within the trip. Paris throws a big monkey wrench into the trip IMO.

DebMart, we are also visiting a DD on study abroad this fall - ours is in Madrid. I agree with the suggestions that you consider moving around a bit less. We decided to only try to see Madrid and Barcelona on this trip (we have 9 days on the ground). Like you, we want to spend maximum time with DD and also see what we want to see while in Spain. We considered trying to see other areas while there, and decided it would be too difficult when we are also trying to accommodate DD's class schedule. You have to remember that when you move from place to place you lose not only the travel time, but also time checking out/in, getting acclimated, finding your way around, etc.

Our solution was to spend 4 days in Barcelona (including our arrival day), and DD will join us as it's a weekend. We will spend the rest of the trip in Madrid with a day trip to Toledo. DD will be in class, and we will be sightseeing, and she will spend the evenings with us and stay with us.

From my research the four full days we have in Barcelona are barely enough to see the city, especially taking into account that our first day there is our arrival day after an overnight flight. Of course, different people have different interests - for me, I think several days are needed for Barcelona at a minimum.

Enjoy your visit with your daughter! I can't wait for ours!

CGS enjoy your visit with your daughter as well! I’m sure she is traveling around Europe and having as wonderful a time as my daughter .