Flying into Madrid...
April 2016
Would like to spend a week in a small city/town - base of operations for touring Andalucia by train/bus.
(train from Madrid to ?)

I thought Seville would be ideal, but understand that a large festival (Spring Feria) would be during our stay. Have been eyeing Cordoba, now.

Am I being unnecessarily resistant to staying in Seville (noise, crowds, etc.) during fair? Thoughts on Cordoba for base of operations? Other?

From Cordoba (or Seville) we could head out on day trips to places like Montilla, Montoro, Malaga, Puente Genil, etc. to get a good feel for life in southern Spain.

We typically rent an apartment, cook many meals in, though eat out some....a relaxing, but informative (historical, museums, etc) time.

We were in Madrid 15 years ago, but thinking of also spending a couple of nights there before flying out (or upon arrival)...day trip to Toledo, Avila, etc.

(for example, last spring we spent 10 days in city of Tours, France - using trains, buses to see the Loire Valley, ending with a couple days in Paris)

Any and all thoughts would be appreciated as we begin planning this journey.

with regards,
Bruce

will be posting a similar post in Portugal forum, as we plan to head there from Madrid for a week

Cordoba would not make a good base to explore Andalucia unless you want to be driving everywhere. You'll be better off using Sevilla because of the good public transportation options, train and bus.

I think you need to work with the bus and train schedules to recognise the amount of time taken and what time is left from your day for any day trip, from almost anywhere, using 'one base fits all' for Andalucia. The schedules are not built around you the (day) tourist. Cordoba might work for the places mentioned, but what is 'etc'?

A fine little town Montoro, I was there last year again for an afternoon, unique view of the bridge and river from the loo window in an bar/eatery on the Plaza Espana Using Seville as a base will take you three hours minimum each way, even if the transport connects efficiently.

Malaga and Cordoba worked as good bases using public transport on two occassions. To get a rough overview you might like to use rome2rio, details are not always correct but they give a good overview of travel tools.

You may have to do the odd overnighter (if you did Granada say) and you may have to eat the cost of the appartment

I really appreciate all of this feedback.