i'm planning a trip with 3 other friends to spain in mid-march 2005. since we'll only have one week there, we'd like to plant ourselves in 2 cities at most. where would be the 2 best places to visit at that time of year?

Given that it's mid-March, the south of Spain seems a more logical choice. In a week, you can probably see the three most important cities in Andalusia: Seville, Granada (for the Alhambra) and Cordoba (for the Mezquita). In Cordoba, try to have a meal at El Caballo Rojo, very close to the Mezquita, for wonderful Andalusian (i.e., Arab-influenced) cuisine.

We were in the south of Spain in late March of this year. The weather was windy, rainy and chilly most of the time, so be prepared for anything. It was much like Florida, except overrun with elderly Brits instead of elderly Americans.

Sevilla was fantastic - wish we'd spent more time there. For all the hype about Barcelona, it was a filthy sprawling mega-city, very unworthy. Malaga was decent, and the day trips in the regions were great, such a Granada (AlHambra) and Gibralter. Be sure if you don't rent a car that you check out your hotel carefully - we were bound by public transportation, and our resort was 5 km out of town.

elberson - do you guys like big cities or smaller towns? Andalucia has the smaller towns, and the weather will be warmer there - Eloise gave you 3 that I would hit.

However, if you like big cities, I'd probably split the week between Madrid and Barcelona. They are very different from each other. Unlike sknight, I LOVED Barcelona. It is a fascinating, vibrant city. You can cheaply fly between the two. Look for an open jaw flight from home to Madrid and then Barcelona to home, and in between you can either fly (check Iberia.com or Spanair.com), or take a train between them.

I don't usually worry about weather. I went in February to all of the places we have been mentioning, and the weather didn't bother me at all.

Karen

It seems that March can be tricky no matter where you are. If this is your first visit and you only have one week, I think your best bet is Madrid. Madrid has it all, including three world-class museums and the national palace if the weather is not so great. It's also a good base of operations so that you can very easily take day trips to Segovia, Avila, Toledo, etc.

We were in Spain last March, and spent most of our time in Andalucia. Seville was fabulous, with temps in the low 80's, and the streets lined with blossoming orange trees. Granada was in the 60's and rainy, but a more interesting city than we anticipated.
We also spent a few nights in Nerja, a beautiful seaside resort town. Temps were in the 70's on the beach, and the water was warm enough to wade in. Madrid was fun, but I wouldn't consider it one of Europe's most interesting cities (except for the art musueums).

consider valencia and see some of the world famous festivities called "las fallas".
www.fallas.com

an usual week long fiesta with many celebrations , folkloric dress, bands, flower offerings, and amazing statues that are built and then burned the 19th.
quite difficult to get hotels the last two nights at decent rates, but i actually prefer the previous days andway..
adn there is a lot to see and do.

television cameras from all over the world are here.
you would definitely enjoy it, and also the world reknown fireworks every single night are something to be seen at least once if you are in spain from the 12th to 19th of march ANY year.

otherwise, as said previously, march can be an iffy month anywhere, but if the weather is nice.. it is lovely here also in march.
still only 5 hours by car from granada, a couple more to sevilla.
you could fit a lot in.

also cheap flights SOME timm everywhere.

this, by the way, is the best place for valenciano paella(chicken and rice one).

good tapas bars, restauraas and LOADS of FREE museums.