Madrid or Barcelona
 

Looking to get out of London for a long weekend and am torn between Barcelona and Madrid, both look vibrant, stylish and fun but which is better for a first visit, i'm a huge foodie btw if that makes it an easier call!)) Jay

Depends on what kind of food wouldn't you say?

To me as a city Barcelona is way way more nicer than Madrid - in terms of older architecture, less obnoxious traffic going everywhere and in general dreamy looks. Madrid has some neat sights but overall as a city is very very modern and very very busy IMO.

I second Barcelona...fabulous food and great walkable districts. Not the wonderful art centre Madrid is, but for a weekend a little Gaudi and a tad Picasso should be enough.

For food, I GREATLY prefer Madrid. When it comes to the city itself, I find it much nicer overall, and much more vibrant as opposed to living so much off tourism. Truth is, I just dont like Barcelona, but I truly think the food there is way overhyped. I also simply can't stand Gaudi and I am not such a huge fan of Picasso (plus you can see some of his best work in Madrid). For art and elegant surroundings and food, I pick Madrid.

But in reality, you might as well come out and ask: "Chocolate or vanilla?" or "Prefer blue or red?"

There is no objective measure. There are lots of walkable areas in Madrid, fabulous food, art, style in both places. Any poll you take will just reflect who happens to be hanging around the internet at that moment -- and you have no idea whether they share your tastes in food and style.

I much prefer Barcelona, but as sandra says, it's a vanilla or chocolate question. I will say that I liked Barcelona a lot better the last time, when I stayed in the Eixample area. And I am a huge Art Nouveau fan - there is a lot more than Gaudi to see in Barcelona.

We prefer Madrid, but it shouldn't really matter much for you. You're in London so have those cheap flights to Spain available. You are able to visit for only a weekend. Go to one this time and go to the other the next. If you were coming from a great distance like many here and had to choose just one, it would have to be MADRID.

>>>there is a lot more than Gaudi to see in Barcelona.<<<

True, but it's not that easy to get away from all that Gaudi.

For a short stay...Barcelona.
Madrid is one of my favorite cities, but it requires longer stay to be appreciated.

One can only take so much Gaudi

I know both cities well and I clearly prefer Madrid. There is MUCH more to to and to see in Madrid - there are worl-class museums, the Royal Palace (still used by the Royal Family), great historic architecture, plazas, parks etc.

You can sum it up like this: Madrid is the Capital, Barcelona is a provinicial city.

Foodwise, I consider both cities equal. Both have more Michelin-starred restaurants than you can visit.

There is one difference between Madrid and Barcelona: Gaudi. You either love him or hate him. Those who love him might prefer Barcelona. We here in Europe (at least the schools of architecture) consider Gaudi's architecture as kitsch, so we do not see Gaudi as an advantage of Barcelona.

"There is one difference between Madrid and Barcelona: Gaudi"

In addition to: history, culture, language and , of corse, the sea.

Danon: you forgot another difference - about 4 goals worth in the last Clasico.

There is no right or wrong answer to this one. I had a great time in both cities.

Loved the food in Barcelona, really enjoyed the museum of the city of Barcelona with access to the underground ruins of the Roman city. Maritime museum in the medieval shipyards also very interesting. The cable car across the harbor gives lovely views.

In Madrid I loved staying near the Plaza Santa Ana, very vibrant atmosphere late into the night. Dinner and flamenco at Casa Patas. Wonderful museums.

I would go back to either city in a heartbeat.

Yup, Barca is hard to beat...although, I am not sure how many travelers care about football.
( this side of the pond :soccer)

Madrid is great, but Barcelona would be my advice for a first visit for a foodie. The 22 Michelin star restaurants in town set the standard and make Barcelona one of the top food destinations in Europe. http://www.timeout.com/barcelona/res...michelin-stars

La Boqueria is one of the finest food markets in the world: http://www.gardenista.com/posts/la-boqueria-market

Also world class architecture, local feel neighbourhoods, fabulous tapas bars, museums, theaters, concert halls and nightlife. http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/

Some of my Barcelona food favourites:
- Tickets, tapas from heaven: http://www.barcelonabook.com/tickets...estaurant.html
- Cal Pep, voted among the 50 best restaurants in the world in 2005, and they keep the standard: http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/past-lists/2005
- Xemei, the Bigoli en salsa Veneciana is a must: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lvcjtoh0tU
- Set Portes from 1836 is an instituttion in town and great rice dishes ++: http://www.7portes.com/catala/index2.php
- La Perla is as genuine Barcelona as it gets, lunch only: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Catalonia.html
- Gourmet lunch at bargain prices in Somodo: http://www.somodo.es/
- Tapeo was our great food find on last visit in March: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/

Two of them are awesome. If you can, visit two of them in your future. They are very different so we can not compare them. I visited Barcelona more times in my life I loved it but I have been living in Madrid and I can say Madrid is awesome too and for living is the best place. I know better Madrid and spent more time there too so I can describe you a bit better and I can tell you some cool things to do there.

In Madrid you find party every night. A lot of bars, pubs and clubs. It is amazing. The best way was for me to see more pubs a night was the pub crawl. I did one in Madrid and it was amazing. We experienced more pubs with free shots, discounts and free entries to the pubs and club. I went to this one: www.madride.net

The food is amazing too in Madrid. There are a lot of places where you can find delicious and cool food: La Cueva del Gato, Rosi La Loca...I love El Tigre too.
Typical food in Madrid for ex: calamary sandwich, cocido madrileno and churros...I love them.

In the other hand, Madrid has a lot of cool monuments and parks too as: Retiro Park, Templo de Debod, Plaza Mayor, Royal Palace; cool museums: Prado, Reina Sofía, Thyssen Bornemissza...
Everybody can find their favorite places in this city.