We are very lucky to be returning to Seville again in late May and would like to vary our route from Madrid (train from Paris).

Thanks to Maria, Maribel and Oreilly for their wonderful trip reports which have made my decision very difficult!
And advice on the following itinerary would be appreciated.

Wednesday: 9am arrive Madrid, rent car
route 501 and either visit Trujillo and Caceres staying overnight in Mérida
OR
visit Caceres and lunch at Altio, overnight in Trujillo.

Thursday visit Merida en route to Seville
Friday and Saturday : Seville
Sunday: drive to Guadalupe visit monestary and lunch at Paradore (perhaps in the opposite order).
Drive to Madrid for night train.

Trujillo is quieter, but Mérida is much more interesting if you are going to spend the night.

I have done this places, and have one remark to make: The Extremadura highway into Madrid shall be crowded on Sunday afternoon/evening. Either you miss that (last day) full afternoon or you may miss the train. There is a jam at Talavera, and the Madrid jam reaches Santa Cruz del Retamar, I have suffered it. So, I recommend: Tour Extremadura, reach Seville and drop car. Go back to Madrid via AVE train.
On your drive Madrid to Extremadura, you can make a stop at Oropesa, beautiful Palace-Castle that houses the Parador (for lunch), and 2kms away is Lagartera, with the best enbroidery you can find.
Guadalupe is a pleasant little town with little to see but the big impressive Monastery. We spent the night at the Parador and visited the Monastery first thing in the morning (scarcely 15 people, before the buses arrive). Then drove to the Humilladero, NOT TO MISS, the high point with the first sight of Guadalupe, when you come from Navalmoral.
I have been told that the road from Deleitosa to Berzocana has very beautiful scenery, and the Berzocana church is impressive.
I love Trujillo, but you can do it as a side trip from Caceres, only 40 km.
Perhaps you could make your first night in Guadalupe, next day drive to Caceres, where there is much to see.

Whatever I was going to say Josele said it a hundred times better. You had the luxury of his advice....
I hope you find it possible to sleep the first night in Guadalupe, a charming small place, the Parador and the Monasterio make a good combination. Then
Caceres is superb, Trujillo also, and Merida is fascinating for its Roman ruins and excellent Roman Museum. My advice is: do not try to do too much. Choose what you think you would prefer, and leave the rest for another trip.Take the AVA back. Buena suerte.

Thank you for your advice. I will take the train back from Seville.

Our dates changed for the good so now we have much more time to explore Extremadura and Castille.

I have devised the following schedule and would appreciate your comments and suggestions. I tried to include Paradores but due to location have opted for some hotels.

day 1: Valladolid, Coca, Pedraza (lunch at El Yantar), Segovia (Dinner and night at Paradore)

2: Avila, Salamanca (palacio de san esteban), ? Dinner

3: La Alberca, Las Mestas, (picnic somewhere) Béjar, Gredos (dinner and night at Paradore)

4: Jarcendilla, Guadalupe (lunch at Paradore), Trujillo (dinner and night at Paradore)

5: Caceres, Meridas (dinner and night at Paradore)

6: Zafra, Seville drop car -- any easy location suggestions?
4 nights at Casas de la Juderia)
7-9: Seville
10: train to Madrid

Areas where I need help:
We arrive in Valladolid at 7 am and need wait to rent car at 9 am. Any bars or sights to see near the train station?

Salamanca: comments on the hotel palacio de san esteban ?

any Restaurant suggestions?

We will arrive in Madrid on a Sunday afternoon. The Prado is closed as are most restaurants. Any ideas or should I just take a later train from Seville?

Thanks!

Hi Moxie,

Sounds like a lovely trip!

The Prado is open on Sundays until 8 PM!

Re Palacio de San Esteban I have read mixed reviews. I suggest you check Tripadvisor. We stayed at NH Palacio de Castellanos and were very happy.

"We arrive in Valladolid at 7 am and need wait to rent car at 9 am. Any bars or sights to see near the train station?"

Years ago, my son & I toured Spain: When we were ready to leave Toledo, I told my son that we would get something to eat (i.e., lunch) at the Taberna across from the old Renfe Station. He was dubious: he asked how I knew there was a Taberna there. I told him there is ALWAYS at or near the rail station. I repeat the same advice to you for Valladolid.

If you're driving, it might be easier to continue to Badajoz. I believe there is a limited access expressway from there to Sevilla (or Huelva).

May 28 is Pentecost Sunday: a time for big happenings around Sevilla and Huelva. The Feria del Campo and Romeria al Santuario de la Virgen del Rocio attract about a million Pilgrims

The Santuario is near Almonte in Huelva Province, on the west edge of the Donana wildlife refuge.

May is also San Isidro in Madrid.

How embarrassing; my guidebook from 1999 has the Prado open only til 2pm on Sundays; Thanks so much for setting me straight AND solving my problem of what to do in Madrid

I agree that there are usually bars around a train station I just wonder if they'll be open at 7 am...

We'll miss all festivities in May.

I'll check the Palacio de San Esteban reviews again. I did check the NH Palacio de Castellanos too but they are charging 60€ extra for the Saturday night stay which seems to be excessive. Is the location really that much better?

I have several suggestions and little time now, shall be back tomorrow. I know these places well.

Salamanca restaurant: my recommendation is Chez Victor, phone 923213123.
I suppose you are driving Salamanca to La Alberca (excellent choice!!) to TamamesàEl Cabaco? If so, you arrive right to a square at the edge of town with a stone cross: park there and begin walking. The town is as small as beautiful. Do not miss the Casa Museo Satur Juanela. Ask anybody. A must to understand this way of living. In La Alberca you can eat anywhere in the Plaza, specialities: limón Serrano (sounds weird, but don’t miss it) and ternera morucha (with pork products as starters). Other towns in this area (Mogarraz, Miranda del Castañar) you’d find very similar, so no neeed to visit. The road to Bejar is long, no matter which road you take. I think convenient skip Bejar at all and head south (road N-630) to Plasencia (Parador and a very beautiful city) and spend the night there (Alberca locals told me to drive there via Pinofranqueado, but I didn’t, I was more for scenery, found fog, got lost, etc but it was worth).
Or you can keep your plans, go to Bejar, and then to El Barco del Avila and 1 hour to the Gredos Parador. Next day go to Mombeltran (beautiful castle), Arenas de San Pedro (beautiful visit, rest rec: El Bodegon, Travesia del Castillo, 920371379); and La Vera towns, but this route choice will leave you little time for them.
La Vera: from Plasencia go to Jaraiz de la Vera, Cuacos de Yuste and the other towns. I have visited most of them. Here is a link I’ve just found: http://www.viajados.com/web/viajes/0...verano2006.htm
As I see you have not much time, and as several towns are already spoiled, I rec. what not to miss: The Roman bridge at Losar de la Vera, you see it from the road, but stop and go down to the river. And the old quarters at Valverde de la Vera. The Parador is in Jarandilla, but here I recommend restaurant Rincon del Altozano, phone 927 560 716, you can order cochinillo, and not to miss patatas meneás.
From Jarandilla you can head south to Navalmoral de la Mata, and there take the A-5 hiway to Trujillo or go to Guadalupe (1h30min drive EX-118), wether you finally decide to spend the night (I wrote about this on my previous answer).
Zafra: good choice. The Parador is very easy to reach as usual. Park there and make your reservation for lunch at the beautiful courtyard. Then go to the Tourism office (the Parador staff’ll guide you) as they make free walking tours of the town (which is very beautiful), including the castle where the Parador is. It takes about one hour, they are very kind. Spend the day in Zafra. To Seville is 1h40mins.

Thank you so much for your suggestions; I will try to incorporate them into my plans and give a full report when I get back.

Thanks again for all of your help and previous postings, sorry I did not mention eskrunchy and Josele before.

This is our 5th visit to Spain; we have devoted other trips to Andalusia, Toledo, and Barcelona and Catalonia and the coast) It's our first time in Extremadura.

Our dates changed and then my DH decided to help so I would appreciate your comments on our final itinerary (I tried to keep the daily driving down to less than 4 hours):

Friday: arrive in Madrid, rent car.
Drive Madrid to Pedraza via Lozoya
Lunch at El Yantar
Drive to Segovia with quick looks at castle in Turégano and Zamarramala (Iglesia de la Vera Cruz), pausing at Maribel's viewpoint on the way into town.
SEGOVIA HOTEL: ACUEDUCTO HOTEL
Dinner: Jose Maria (but not totally decided yet)

Saturday: Drive Segovia to Avila via Arévalo (look at castle)
Drive Avila to Salamanca
SALAMANCA HOTEL: NH Palacio de Castellanos
Dinner: La Hoja or Trento (at hotel) (Chez Victor is listed as French and I can get that at home...)

Sunday:
Flea Market in am
Drive Salamanca to La Alberca SA210 (via Vecinos and Tarnarhes)
Continue on to Gredos via D220 and AV 100
GREDOS HOTEL and dinner: Gredos Parador

** Any interesting sites to see along the way?**

Monday:
Drive Gredos to Arenas San Pedro, Valverde de la Vera (old town), Loscar de la Vera (roman bridge)
Drive through Jarandilla de la Vera to Guadalupe (via Navalmoral)

**is it a big mistake not to stop and visit Jarandilla?**

GUADALUPE HOTEL and dinner: Guadalupe Parador

Tuesday:
Very hectic day -- thank goodness we'll be on fast(er) roads!
Drive Guadalupe to Trujillo, quick walking tour
Drive Trujillo to Caceres, quick walk about
Lunch: Atrio, may need to cancel this reservation...
Drive Caceres To Merida: roman theatre/amphitheatre and museum (closes at 9pm)
MERIDA HOTEL and dinner: Merida Parador

Wednesday:
Drive Merida to Zafra: visit castle and town
Drive Zafra to Seville
SEVILLE HOTEL: Las Casas de la Judería

Thursday and Friday: Seville, Las Casas de la Judería

**Any suggestions for dinner in Seville?**

Saturday:
Drive Seville to Ronda (via Moron de la Frontera, Algodonales and Grazelema)
RONDA HOTEL and dinner: Ronda Parador

Sunday:
Drive Ronda to Baeza (walk around town)
Drive Baeza to Ubeda
UBEDA HOTEL and dinner: Ubeda Parador


Long Drive Ubeda to Madrid
**anything we should stop to see enroute?**
? depending on time and luggage situation, may stop off at Las Rozas for shopping
Night train to Paris

Thanks again for any further help you can offer!

* Las Rozas is not enroute from Ubeda! I suggest stop in Aranjuez (near Madrid).
* Dinner in Ubeda. Restaurante Museo Agricola. Try lomo de orza (loin).
* I don't remember any bar near the rail station in Valladolid. Walk cross Campo Grande park to Acera de Recoletos.

Moxie, where do you get that spelling from? Please, be careful, some places are hard to guess!
Chez Victor is not that much French. Anyway, it is your choice.
Salamanca to La Alberca, 201, Vecinos and Tamames. But the fastest route to end up at Gredos takes 4 hours driving, so you’ll have little time to visit anything. I may suggest skipping some location. Though I love La Alberca, I believe skipping this the best option. Take N-630 to Bejar, and visit nearby Candelario (restaurant Cristi, on the square), a very beautiful small town on the verge of serious spoil, and then continue to El Barco de Avila and Gredos (1hr this last part). It’ll be a total 2hr45min drive, on better road.

Gredos to Guadalupe is 4hr30min drive. Arenas is worth visiting, and not very big the interesting part in the center. Losar is just a stop at the bridge, I remember it was past the town. Valverde old quarters is very small, it won’t take much time to visit. Jarandilla you’ll find similar to Valverde, only that bigger. As it is mid-point in the route, I’d suggest eating here. Either at the Parador, easy to find, on the castle-palace; or at the Rincón del Altozano, phone927 560 716, I recommended previously (check as some places close on monday).
Navalmoral de la Mata I have not visited.

Tuesday is very hectic indeed. I believe you are visiting the Monastery first thing in the morning. Ask as soo as you arrive the evening before as I think it opens at ten.
Trujillo needs little visit, the main feature is the Plaza Mayor, with the Pizarro statue and the famous balcony. There is a nice church up hill, but you’ll find similar ones in Caceres, a bigger city.
The full drive is a little over 2 hours.(40 mins Trujillo to Caceres). If you eat late, for example at three, nothing unusual in Spain, you may be in time for Atrio, which I should not miss. Visit Caceres afterwards, as it is only 1 hour by motorway to Merida.

Zafra: park at the Parador (easy) and eat there at the courtyard. Everything is handy in this town.

Now, a suggestion: I am afraid that the Ubeda/Baeza part is going to be too much at this point of the journey, and I’d skip it at all. From Ronda, you can visit Antequera and take the AVE train to Madrid from there. Or you can go back to Seville and take the AVE there. AVE is always on time, it arrives at Atocha and there is a direct link from here to Chamartín, where the Paris trains depart. You can leave Ubeda/Baeza (they are TWO cities and it takes 2-3 days to visit) for your next trip, as there aremany sidetrips from there.

Hi Moxie,
if you con´t make it to Atrio, you can try Altair in Mérida.

It belongs to the owners of Atrio in Cáceres. I had lunch there last Monday and it was pretty good. Their tasting menu sounded like very good value. It´s located right by the river.

Altair - Mérida
Dirección: Avda. José Fernández López, s/n. Tel. 924 30 45 12

Bye, Cova

We just got back from Spain and here I am looking in the Spain board again. Oh dear!

Just a general suggestion that may or may not work for you. We stayed at paradores for 5 nights in Costa Brava, and have stayed at them on previous trips. Since you're going to have a car and they may work into your schedule, I suggest you check them out. (www.parador.es) I'm really impressed with them!

Also, if you're in Segovia at dinner time, I'd recommend Narizotas at Plaza de Medina del Campo, 1. Try "the left hand."

Will look forward to your trip report for future notes.

Moxie: Jarandilla is a pretty town but it is very small; if you want to get out of the car and walk around you can do this in a half an hour or less. If you do not have time, you don't have to worry that you are skipping it...We stayed at the Jarandilla Parador which is just off the main road.. the building (a castle) is worth a look.

There is much more to do and see in Caceres than in Trujillo....I would call Caceres a small city while Trujillo is a medium-sized town. Or at least that was my impression from the brief visits we paid last year..