Barcelona or Madrid
 

I have 7 days and was wondering if I should go to Barcelona then the south of Spain or Madrid and the south of Spain or all 3. Would I be able to fit it all in in 7 days?

Well, maybe the question is not as much if you can, but if you should even try. If this is your first trip to Spain and you are NOT traveling in July-August, my recommendation is stick with the South first. Otherwise, a Barcelona- Madrid combo will still be pushing it, but would be more manageable. Ideal?....either Madrid OR BArcelona OR Seville as home base for the whole seven days.

Niqui, Barcelona is my personal favorite city. There is sooo much to see and do and EAT!!! There's a great little town only 1/2 hour metro ride from Barcelona called Granollers. I stay there every year for a few days and I never tire it. In Granollers there happens to be a cool little hotel called Hotel Ciutat if you are on a budget or not you can't beat the price....$40 - $60US including breakfast.

Niqui: To do both Madrid and Barcelona you need at least 9 days, especially if you plan a day trip or two outside of Madrid. Enjoy your stay, Spain is a great place to visit.

I personally would choose one city as a home base for the 7 days and then do day trips from there. For instance, if you go to Madrid, you can do side trips to Toledo (a must), Segovia, Avila, El Escorial, Aranjuez, etc. I spent 9 days in Madrid and never ran out of things to do. <BR>I have never been to Barcelona, but I know you can do sidetrips to Montserrat, Sitges, Tarragona, Cadaques, etc. <BR>Or, you could go to the Costa del Sol and see Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Marbella, Malaga, Ronda, or even Gilbralter. <BR>To try to do all three areas in 7 days would be too much--you lose part of a day traveling between cities and getting re-settled. Any of these 3 choices would be wonderful, however, depending on what you are looking for. <BR>If you don't want to do sidetrips out of the cities, and you want to visit more than one, then you could do Madrid and Barcelona, or do Madrid and Seville, dividing your time between each city.

You COULD fit it all in (assuming you're willing to let one southern city stand for "the south") if you spend 4 days in Madrid, one of which you spent taking the highspeed AVE train to Seville at 8 am and returned on the 5 or 6 pm train to Madrid -- and then spend 3 days in Barcelona. <BR> <BR>But 3 days in Madrid is bare minimum, and 3 days in Barcelona -- the queen of all cities IMHO!!! -- is not nearly enough. We were there for 4 1/2 days and felt downright deprived -- wanted time to do much more, including meandering up the Costa Brava and visiting Montserrat. I think you'll come back much more satisfied if you choose one or the other city as home base and do what's within, say, 100 km. around that IF you want to leave the city. And my strong recommendation is to choose Barcelona -- it has so much to offer and it is such a beautiful city.

Niqui: <BR> <BR>I spent three weeks in Spain in early April, visiting Madrid, Sevilla, Ronda, Grandad and Barcelona. My two favorite cities were Sevilla and Barcelona. Seven days seems, to me, too short a time to have any significant time in more than two cities --- and visiting two cities in a week is pushing it. A flight from from Sevilla to Barcelona takes about an hour and a half. You could fly into Barcelona and then get a round-trip flight to Sevilla. I'm already making plans to return next year, and definitiely Barcelona and Sevilla are at the top of my list. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip!