Madrid and south for a week in early November
 

Hi All,
We (retired couple) have a week in Madrid in early November-and a rental car. I like warm places, oceans, paradores and no more than 3 destinations. Suggestions, please.
Thanks,
E.

Have you been to Spain before? If so, Where? Can't begin to suggest destinations without knowing that -- that's an ambitious wish list for one week!

As you head south - dont miss Toledo - not far at all from Madrid - a must do and it will take a full day to see everything.

Granada - see Alhambra!

Marbella - catch some sun on the beautiful beach, watch the Billion dollar yachts owned by Princes in the Harbor, eat great food, relax, and shop.

On the way back perhaps you could stop in Seville for a night.

It would be quick but doable.

Enjoy!!

I should say it is a lot to pack in but doable. I guess it depends on how active you are or how ambitious you are.

I would suggest Málaga on the Mediterranean coast. A vibrant city with tons of Andalusian charm and character. And early november should normally still be quite warm (when I visited in Nov 2002 and 2009, the temperatures were in the 70's). Lots of things to see (within 300 metres you find a quite recently excavated Roman theater, the 8th century Moorish Alcazaba/fortress, the grand 16th century Cathedral, Picasso's birthplace and the new Picasso museum), excellent cafés, tapas bars and seafood restaurants.

Parador Málaga Gibralfaro is overlooking it all: http://www.paradores.es/es/tratarFic...66?parador=036

Molina Lario, right in the center, would be another excellent option: http://www.hotelmolinalario.com/

I would recommend to stop for a couple of days in wonderful Sevilla on your way to or from Málaga.
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/sevilla.htm

Here's some good info on Málaga:
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/home.htm

You should also consider the fashionable five star Larios Hotel: http://hotellarios.bookhotelz.eu/roo...os-malaga.html

Have you already purchased airlines tickets so you must be in Madrid?

Thanks all! To skibumette (nice alias!), yes, I have been to Spain several times - Barcelona, central and northern parts also, plus Islands. Looking particularly for recs on nice paradores and warmer spots.

CathyM - no ticket yet, but I will be returning to Chile after teaching for 6 weeks in Finland and wanted somewhere warm without too much detour. Ruled out Greece because I have been there enough times.

Besides Malaga rec. by Kimhe, I suggest you study the route A5 from Madrid towards Extremadura and then south to Seville. Several nice Parador options along the way, I rec. Oropesa, Trujillo and Zafra (your choice). Then from Seville to Malaga there's Carmona. Not only the Paradors are nice, the cities are worthy too.
Another suggestion, you can drive A4 to Parador de Almagro, and consider the detour to Renaissance cities Ubeda (Parador here) and Baeza; then to Malaga.

if you go to the parador website, you will find that there aer some offers on - 2 nights in the same parador for example, or picking by area and price - for as little as €60 per night. the Malaga one has nights for only €70 I think.

we stayed in Granada in November, and though it rained one day, we were still able to walk round in T-shirts during the day. the gardens were still lovely and it wasn't too crowded. you could do two nights in GRanada, one in Malaga, and three in Seville, perhaps.

I was going to suggest something similar: try to fly into Malaga, spend 1 night Malaga, 2 nights Granada and 4 nights Sevilla (do a daytrip to Cordoba). If you need to fly out of Madrid to return it's an easy AVE train from Sevilla or you could potentially return home from Malaga.

To be honest, my favorite parts of Spain are the north and central parts you've already visited. Barcelona/Catalunya is something distinct. But you've gotta go south...

I'm not a big fan of the condo villages along the Costa del Sol, but I would second CathyM's suggestion of Granada (don't miss the tombs of Isabella and Ferdinand in the Cathedral and, of course, the Alhambra) for 2 days and Seville (with a day trip to Cordoba). Much of this can be done by train.

That said, we LOVED Extramadura (see Josele's note): Yuste monastery in Jaradilla del la Vera (where Charles the V retired after abdicating to Phillip II to nurse his gout, while still feasting on delicacies imported from around the world), is home to a nice parador. Caceres, Trujillo and Merida are also worth vists (all have paradors); you can do these in a couple of days and then head to Seville. We also liked Ubeda and Baeza (olives!) but would definitely do Granada/Seville/Cordoba first. My favorite guide book for Spain is Penelope Casas' "Discovering Spain: an Uncommon Guide." Lots of emphaisis on wonderful foods.