Hi there.

Going to Spain in September and spending 2 weeks there.

Itinerary will be:

Fly in to Barcelona
Barcelona 4 days (including a day trip to San Sebastian by plane)
Madrid 4 days (including day trips to Toledo and Aranjuez)
Granada 2 days
Ronda 1 day
Cordoba 1 day
Madrid (and fly out that day)

For my 2 day trips out of Madrid, planning to do Toledo and Aranjuez (or some other place). Taking the train.

I think Toledo is more or less settled as a must go. What about Aranjuez?

I read a comment that if you've seen the Palacio Real in Madrid then Aranjuez' Palacio Real is about the same. Unless I go there for the gardens. Otherwise, what other possible day trip ideas from Madrid? Or is Madrid worth 3 days and just do the Toledo day trip?

Thanks.

Madrid is very much worth three days. Apart from the world class museums, the very different local feel districts that make up the center of town, the parks, the fabulous tapas bars and restaurants, the theaters, the concerts, the best bars and nightlife in Spain etc, I've previously posted these suggestions for Madrid:

Have breakfast or lunch at Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes in down town Calle Alcalá, 42. One of the city's most emblematic cafés. Grab a window table and watch Madrid life on bustling Calle Alcalá. Take the lift up to the roof topp terrace (the azotea) for great views of the city. http://www.esmadrid.com/en/cargarApl...ntificador=179

Watch the sunset over the Guadarrama mountains from the terrace at El Ventorrillo in the Vistillas park. Great pollo al ajillo (garlic chicken), some say the best in town. Map, video and some pictures: http://11870.com/pro/restaurante-ventorrillo

Have lunch or some tapas at Casa Granada, on the 6th floor of an apartment building just off Plaza Tirso de Molina. Hard to find and an excellent terrace. http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Vide...ada-Video.html

Café Central, just off bustling Plaza Santa Ana, is a fabulous jazz venue with live performances from the best artists every night at 10. Artists shift every week. Entrance 15€. Good food also. Populart, a little further down the street, is also a great place.

Experience world class flamenco at one of the best tablaos. Madrid is arguably the flamenco capital of the world. Although the art form comes from the South (Andalucía), everybody has to conquer Madrid to get to the top. On their way there, or as an opportunity to try out new things and get an up close audience, many of them work the top tablaos. I recommend Casa Patas and Cardamomo, both close to Plaza Santa Ana.
http://www.casapatas.com/
http://www.cardamomo.es/

A stroll in the beautiful Retiro Park. http://www.aviewoncities.com/madrid/parquedelretiro.htm

Asturian Casa Mingo for the best grilled chicken and cider: http://www.casamingo.es/
Watch the video, and you're sold:
http://11870.com/pro/casa-mingo/videos/bc313f19

Txirimiri in Calle del Humilladero, 6 gives you an idea of why the Basque kitchen is considered among the best in the world. In the midst of one of the best tapas/restaurant districts in town, in and around Calle Cava Baja in La Latina.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ri-Madrid.html

I never leave Madrid without having had the squid in its own ink and the famous cod at Casa Revuelta, also in the same district.
http://11870.com/pro/bar-revuelta

The Reina Sofia contemporary art museum. The second floor with Picasso, Dalí, lots of other painitings, posters, films, photos etc., dealing with a couple of the greatest civilizational breakdowns of the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War and WWII, completely blew my mind off a couple of years ago.
(And of course Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museums)

This is the best Madrid guide, always updatede info on theaters, concerts and virually everything: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/portal.do

And a daytrip to San Sebastián by plane is of course doable if you go very early in the morning. But perhaps add a day or two here and cut Ronda and one of the nights in Granada? San Sebastián could easily be the highlight of your trip, a great many Spaniards will point in this direction when asked about their favourite city in the country. The culinary capital of Spain if not all of Europe, some of the finest city beaches on the continent, beautiful landscapes and a local culture that people take great pride in. http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/08/07...anted=all&_r=0

But, if you do it as a day trip: Direct bus from the airport in Bilbao in 1h 20 min, and some 20 min from the Fuenterrabia/Hondarribia airport. Taxi 100/20€ from the two airports respectively. Go for the world famous pintxos at lunchtime from about 1.30. The Parte vieja/Old town is packed with excellent places, but still some of the best in town are found elsewhere: http://www.todopintxos.com/home/home.php?lang=en

Be aware that September in San Sebastián is busy. Euskal Jaiak, a week long festivities celebrating Basque culture, is going on in early September. Could be great fun, but be prepared:
http://www.donostiakultura.com/index...id=396&lang=en
http://www.lacunza.com/events/euskal-jaiak.php

Towards the end of the month you have the famous film festival (Sept 20-28): http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/in/

I would do my best to spend a day in Seville. Madrid is great but Seville is my favoritecSpanish City after Barcelona

A DAY trip to San Sebastian is really too much and going to/from the airports is exhausting and time consuming.I would leave SS for another trip.There is so much to see/do in Barcelona-it's huge!
I have never been impressed by Aranjuez the number of times I have visited there.It really is a trip to do if you have run out of places to visit around Madrid.Other than the palace,there is little to see/do.The gardens are no big deal,not well maintained and the river ride is just that with nothing special to see-lots of overgrown weeds.
I would suggest a trip to Segovia and in the afternoon go out to La Granja-a short bus ride from the bus station in Segovia.Get an early start-try to get the bus that gets into Segovia by 9 AM to beat the tour groups!I prefer the bus -it dropds you off in walking distance to the aqueduct.Stop by the big tourist office for a map and work your way up to the castle.Take a different route on the way back down.La Granja de San Ildefonso is a wonderful place to have lunch-lots of choices.The summer palace there is based on Versailles with its fountains.The gardens are breathtaking,well maintained.If you are short on time and miss the tour of the palace,just walk around the grounds-free-and worth the time.Check the bus schedule and I have been lucky to catch the Madrid bus from La Granja.
Just be prepared for warm weather in September.The good news is that it stays light to well after 9 PM so that gives you time to rest up and go out again!
For Barcelona and Madrid I would take the on/off tour bus.You will be able to get your bearings so much quicker.
In Madrid, at the Plaza Mayor, there are loads of tours, about 5 euros, offered by excellent guides from the tourist office.Also a great place to pick up info and use computers to check your emails etc for free.

RedIced:
IMO, Segovia is a better day trip than Aranjuez, much better really, and we had been at both places.
Also, IMO,(and many will try to kill me) , Bilbao is better than San Sebastian, food is as good, and the Guggenheim has no match in the world.
You will enjoy Spain, you can be sure!

jelopez33,

Bilbao is history (dating back to the 14th century), a pioner in Spanish industrial development from the late 19th century (the population grew from 11,000 in 1880 to 80,000 in 1900), a financial centre and a deeply proud city with an unmistakable vibrant atmosphere. Totally different from neighbouring Belle Epoque San Sebastián. I love San Sebastián, but when I lived there - and on all my visits - I would never miss the occasional visit to Bilbao to get my batteries charged. Two fabulous and extremely different sister cities.

Guggenheim in Bilbao: http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao

I really really liked both Segovia and Toledo as day trips from Madrid. But in 3-4 days, I think you should only do one, but it's up to you. Never been to Aranjuez so have no idea on that one.

I would NEVER consider going to SS or Bilbao from Barcelona with only 4 days!!!!!
There are amazing places much closer.For example, go to Monserrat:
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...rat-spain.html
An unforgettable experience!
Look up Sitges, a great resort town and Cadaques Figueres to see the Dali museum:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...ain/spain1.htm

kimhe, Thanks for posting Madrid guide link... a .great source of info.
We are going to Madrid and Seville in mid Oct.

A hard copy of the Madrid monthly guide is available at the tourist office in the Plaza Mayor,Madrid where you can sign up for the tours (5 Euros)

Thanks Chapla, good to know

Kimhe: Thenks for your info! Always good to learn a little more about destinations. Hard to forget the Guggenheim, with the tulips, the Puppy and the Spider. Great art too!
Thanks again.

thanks everyone for their suggestions.

Do you realize the pace of your trip is quite hectic? You only have 4 days for Andalucia - 2 nights in Granada 1 night in Cordoba and 1 in Ronda. You're totally missing out on one of my favorite cites in all of Spain, Sevilla. 12 days for madrid, barcelona and Andalucia is not very long. I definately wouldn't try to add the Basque Country as a daytrip. You may consider another trip to focus on Andalucia and take these 4 nights to visit the Basque Country. At the least I'd probably skip Ronda and just spend 2 nights in Cordoba and Granada. You are very ambitious to have just 4 days each in Madrid and Barcelona and planning on 1-2 Daytrips from each. This will be quite hectic and I assume you aren't arriving in Barcelona after a translatic flight - as you haven't factored in the jetlag factor. From Barcelona my personal favorite Daytrips are Girona and Tarragona. Many people love Montserrat. For Madrid I would visit Toledo and Segovia. You could easily have 12 days for just Barcelona and Madrid with Daytrips or a couple of nights in cities like Toledo, Girona, Salamanca, etc.....

I am with Cathy, although many people prefer to change locations and do it without stress.
it also depends on one's interests..... Lovers of art could spend many days in Madrid exploring the
world class museums( also, enjoying food, nightlife, flamenco, shopping, parks)
After several visits to Madrid, we still stick to only one day trip.
Last year, Alcala de Heners was a pleasant surprise. This year, I am thinking Cuenca.
Has anyone been? Comments?

Actually CathyM & danon, I know it's kinda ambitious and I'm coming in from Asia. But Europe is not a place that I come often enough so for flavor, I sort of try to do a lot but in reality not too much because it won't be as packed day to day. Will hit a few must-do places but not all. I have to leave some for my next trip (whenever that is).

Definitely not doing Aranjuez anymore, maybe a relaxing drive to Consuegra? lol as windmills will certainly be different.

With your current itinerary you're going to spend alot of time on the road - way too much for me. I'd visit Segovia over Consuegra. There's more to see and logistically it's much easier to reach using public transportation.

Danon-do go to Cuenca,you will be amazed, impressed and so glad you made the effort to visit it.
I took the bus from Madrid and then another bus across the street from the Cuenca bus station.It's quite a steep walk to the Plaza Mayor.i don't know why it took me so long to finally visit it-I guess I had run out of day trips from Madrid!
I plan on visiting it again and will stay overnight.I want to visit the Parador but the prices to stay are too high so I found another lovely place,Posada San Jose in the historic part

thanks Chapla,
We'll take AVE....About 50 minutes.
I think there is a bus from the train station to town.