naomikayne

I'm trying to plan a relatively last minute mother-daughter trip to Madrid and Barcelona for the week of August 2nd-9th. I have lots of questions. Does anyone have any recommendations for moderately priced hotels or b&b's ? Second, does anyone know of a good tour guide. I'd love to get a tour on Day 1 in each city. We could do either private or group tours.

nytraveler

There are tons of local tours you can take in each city - your hotel can help you with options. Not sure what you mean by "moderate" - assuming you want a triple with with AC in a central location at fairly short notice. If you give a specific price people can provide more help.

Do you already have air tickets? If not, then definitely buy open jaws to avoid having to return to Madrid to get home.

cruiseluv

In Madrid check Hotel Prado www.pradohotel.com. It's a 3 stars with AC and very well located. I am staying there in late July and got a rate of 66 euros for a double.

danon

if you are taking AVE from Madrid to Barcelona, try to get web fare right away.

slbuz

Hate to say it but it sounds like you should buy a Rick Steves Spain book - he has good tour guides and a good run down of three star hotels. Also, Trip Advisor website. Great hotel reviews and things to do links. Been to both cities with twenty something daughters. Barcelona - Barric Quarter or Eixample areas are great areas. Madrid near Plaza del Sol. Both cities are very walkable and both have excellent metros. Have fun!

slbuz

Oh, and fly Vueling for cheap between the two cities. Why waste several hours on the AVE when your daughters could be spending more time at Zara? AVE to Toledo is great. Sevilla too is fun and 2.5 hours. Barcelona is long even on the AVE.

danon

AVE takes less than 3 hours center to center ( no travel to the airport, controls , check ins, waiting for your bags, travel to the city )) .The train is new, comfortable , you can even watch a movie.
We took it in April .Highly recommended if you get the web fare ( 60%off)

lincasanova

The tourist office offers several walking oturs. Plaza Mayor office has the info and is the starting point for some.

good website

http://www.esmadrid.es/es/portal.do

I think the Angel Corella dance company is performing in August in Madrid. They are a lovely troupe to watch.

Egbert

I've had real good experiences at Hostal Macarena in Madreid and Regencia Colon in BCN. Madrid and Barcelona will be extraordinarily hot that time if year. Have you considered San Sebastian?

Revulgo

Download the helpful Maribel's guides to Madrid and Barcelona
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_madrid-06-09.pdf
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_barcelona-03-09.pdf

Paul1950

Hotel Preciados in Madrid is very nice. We also liked the location on a quiet, smaller plaza, but only a couple of blocks from Calle Gran via and within easy strolling distance of Pureta del Sol and Plaza Mayor--plus there is one Metro line stop just across the plaza and two others within a 5-minute walk.

usernameistaken

In Barcelona, I highly recommend the B-Hotel. I got a really good rate ($85 per night) for Sept on expedia.

kathy_from_texas

In Barcelona last summer, and the first thing we did was a trip around the town on the hop-on/hop-off double-decker bus. You get to see a lot from it, and then you can always go back to places you want to see more in-depth. The tickets are sold right in the main plaza in front of the big department store, El Corte Ingles.

In the El Corte Ingles, don't miss going to the top floor for the view. You can eat a fairly decent meal there (Thank you, Rick Steves), and the view is to die for. In the basement of the same store, they have a wonderful grocery store. Great place to shop for epicurean gifts for folks back home.

Fashionista

In Madrid, even if you dont really 'get' modern art take time to see Guernica at the Reina Sofia.

Its worth reading up a bit before you get there so you know what you are looking at. I wept buckets in front of the darn thing.

It will never travel.

kfoxontherun

I took a fat tire bike tour in Paris with my best friend, we are both twenty somethings. they are a blast!! you see the entire city, and the tourguides are always great. they have tours in barcelona.

http://fattirebiketours.com/barcelona

this is a MUST. after our first tour we took another.

Woody

In April, we took the AVE train between Barcelona and Madrid. Travel time from city center to city center was 3 hr 15 min.

We booked in advance, go 60% off, and paid 45.55 EUR pp (62.50 USD pp).

It was great, since (1) we were not limited to an airline's baggage allowance, (2) toiletries were not limited to the 3 oz. container/one quart ziplock rule; (3) we did not have to get transportation to and from the airports; (4) we did not have to arrive an hour early for check-in, and (5) we did not have to wait for baggage claim.

Woody

Drewg55

For barcelona check out inside-bcn...its an AMAZING location, great friendly service, and fairly cheap.

kimhe

Hostal Persal in Madrid is great value and the location is as good as it gets. Just off Plaza Santa Ana and 150 mtrs from Plaza Mayor. They also have triples: http://www.booking.com/hotels/hotel/...madrid.en.html

If you are interested, between 4th and 7th of August, the up-and-coming 21 year old flamenco dancer Selene Muñoz, Madrid premieres her latest performance "Cartas del Amor" (Love letters) in intimate Teatro Pradillo. Tickets at entradas.com or your hotel will help you.

Trailer to the performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JI8emXHqLY

MFNYC

We took a couple of the walking tours offered by the tourist bureau in Barcelona and really enjoyed them. You didn't mention how you plan on splitting the time between the 2 cities. I strongly suggest spending a little more time in Barcelona. We were there for a week last fall and just loved it. My daughter (120 at the time) was there last summer for 6 days during a 6 week Europe trip. It was by far, one of her favorite places. All of us were in Madrid a few years ago. A few days is enough there, but Barcelona, I could spend weeks in.

Definitely print out Maribel's guides. We used them in both cities. She has info about tours, and hotels that you can refer to, to answer some of your questions.

I don't know what you consider moderate, but we stayed in Hotel Carlos V in Madrid, and Hotel Inglaterra in Barcelona. We were happy with both. Both hotels were in great locations to walk almost everywhere, but also had nearby Metro access.

MFNYC

...that should be " My daughter (20 at the time)" not 120!