Madrid, Seville and Lisbon in early March
 

I am helping my sister and niece plan their spring break trip to Madrid, Seville and Lisbon in early March, they have 10D/9N. Yes, I know they should rather do only two cities, but my niece has her heart set on this and they have already been to Madrid. Luckily they'd already have spent a few days in Europe and won't be jet lagged, they also will not be doing any day trips in Seville, just staying in town.
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I have two main questions for you. Firstly, hotels in all three cities, we're not looking for anything fancy, just neat and clean accommodation in a central area, would welcome your suggestions. I see that some people suggest renting an apartment, Spain Select being mentioned quite often, would that be a better option? We have rented apartments in Europe quite often, but usually for larger family groups.

My second question is about trains. Madrid to Seville is quite simple, there are hourly trains which can be booked on the Renfe website. How do you suggest they go from Seville to Lisbon?

In Lisbon, one of my favorite cities, I usually stay at the Residencial Florescente. Not fancy, but clean and central. And the Bom Jardim, very basic, but which has to-die-for chicken, is very close.

For me, the best route between Spain and Portugal is the night train from Madrid to Lisbon. However, not everyone can sleep on trains, although it might be an interesting experience anyway. Otherwise, I would fly, or there are buses or bus and train from Seville to Faro to Lisbon, but it will take most of a day. On such a short trip I would concentrate on Lisbon.

Click on my name for my Lisbon TR. Rather old but the info on sights is still valid. They should definitely visit the Gulbenkian, and Belem for the Monasterio.

Easy jet flights M - L , around 50 euros. .one hour.
SS is a very good outfit but not inexpensive, many hotels are cheaper.

In Madrid, we stayed at Only You Boutique Hotel in Chueca area and loved it. We also stayed at the NH Palacio Tepia in and that was another fun neighborhood. I am planning a trip to Portugal now and am planning on staying at AirBnB and have had success with good selections and great communication so far. If you only need one room, a hotel may be about the same price.

Thanks a lot. Tap has flights to Lisbon from Seville for $90, I think this would be a better option than taking the train which would eat into a good part of the day.

Again, for just two people a hotel might be preferable to an apartment, especially since they’ll effectively have only a couple of days in each city. We’re looking at Hotel Meriodia in Madrid, opposite the Atocha station, they could take the train from the airport to the city center. What do you think of it, how convenient is the location for walking to the historic center? I know it is relatively close to the museums.

Will also look at the other hotels you have suggested, thanks again ��

We went to Portugal with another couple so we stayed in an Airbnb in the Baixa neighborhood - great central location. I traveled solo to Spain (separate trip) but I stayed in hostels in most cities. By the time I got to Seville I decided to splurge on a hotel for myself.

Here are my trip reports with itinerary, photos, and recs.
Portugal: http://fanofblank.blogspot.com/2017/...nd-sintra.html
Seville: http://fanofblank.blogspot.com/2014/...-in-spain.html