Driving in Spain
 

Plan to drive from Madrid to Granada to Sevilla. Any advice on rental car? Safety?
The Pallaces and museums are grand(been there), but I am not a pallace person. Do you have recommendation for other attractions that's less touristy in and around Madrid? Any recommendation on local and authentic restaurants? Thanks.

First, I would not maintain a car in Madrid or Sevilla.

There are many worthwhile towns around Madrid that are day trips including Toledo, Salamanca, Cuernca, and Segovia.

That is a long boring drive. Check Maribelsguides for great restaurant advice.

A couple of suggestions on local and authentic restaurants in Madrid and Sevilla:

Casa Marta - going back to the late 20s - in Calle Santa Clara 10, close to the Madrid Opera.
http://11870.com/pro/casa-marta
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ta-Madrid.html

Eslava in Sevilla, just north of the city center in C/Eslava 5, is extremely popular with locals:
http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/category/eslava/
http://11870.com/pro/bar-restaurante-eslava

Actually, you can spend a lot of time just around Madrid. The area is very scenic - with meadows, steers, rivers and mountain chains. We once stayed at the Parador in Oropesa (which is, by the way, one of the best Paradors at all, inside a medieval castle), which is a charming old town with nice restaurants. Other places in the area are Avila (walled medieval town) and Toledo (touristy).

In Andalucia, you can easily leave the beaten tourist path if you drive by car through the area. Sevilla has become almost Disney-like, but nearby Carmona is a town that kept lots of its authentic charm. The region south of Sevilla (with Ronda in the center) is very scenic, and you will enjoy driving through the mountains and seeing the villages.

BTW, I hope you do not plan to go between June and September to Andalucia. If you do, forget it. Drive to Cantabria instead.

We enjoyed our drive in our rented car from the coasta del sol to Ronda and Gaucin.
But driving iin Granada would be murder.