blooshie

My fiancé and I are planning to tour Spain and Greece beginning mid April then finishing in Paris. We have 6 weeks total. I haven't booked ANYTHING yet and April is creeping up, totally lagging on this! Planning to book airfare this week. In the meantime, any recs would be much appreciated. Here are some initial thoughts:

Spain - Barcelona, Madrid, Seville with a day trip to Marakesh
Greece - Athens, Santorini and maybe one more island, Mykonos? Crete?

Weather-wise, what is the best route?
Can you recommend a guidebook aside from Rick Steves?
Restaurants, open to all budgets.
Do you suggest taking the train from Barcelona to Madrid?
Which areas to stay in to be central even if we pay a little more.

We both love museums, eating well and taking it easy on vacation. As you can tell I haven't done much research but I'm starting to! He is 40 and I'm 36. Thank you in advance!

blooshie

Marrakech

Kathie

Really? A day trip to Marrakech? Fly in in the morning, out in the evening? Why not wait until you have time to explore Morocco. You have plenty on your plate for this trip.

IMDonehere

Take a look at Time Out for individual cities.

Madrid is one of the best museum cities in the world, while Barcelona is one of the interesting. Sevilla is beautiful.

IMDonehere

Make the most of the six weeks, life ends as soon as you say, "I do."

thursdaysd

Granada for the Alhambra. That will give you a Moorish experience without the craziness of a day trip to Marrakesh. It's also, IMHO, the best sight in southern Spain.

Three's more to mainland Grece than Athens.

travelerjan

There's also more to Greece than Mykonos & Santorini .... somehow all of my fellow Americans automatically name the Cliche Twins of the cruise brochures.

I realize that these 2 are almost the only ones touted by travel agencies (because they have the biggest # of deluxe hotels that will pay them commissions) .. but they are also the most overloaded with Cruise ship crowds and package tour throngs. I would say one, but not both... Are you aware that Naxos, is the only Greek Island to make the Trip Advisor list of top 10 islands in the World ... but not M & S.

Bl. should look at some guidebooks about Crete. It is wonderful, magnificent, but it is more a country than an island: 160+ miles long. Worth if if you have 5-6 days, part in rental car.

If Greece is going to get a 2-week share of your trip, then you could easily manage 3 isles + 2-3 days in Athens. Good scenario to avoid backtracking would be:
(1) CRETE (5 days) - on Arrival in Athens airport fly immediately to Chania, Crete (stunning Old Town), after 2 days, rent car & wander s. then east to Knossos & Heraklion for ferry to
(2) SANTORINI - (2-3 days), mainly for the famous View, then ferry to
(3) ?? ISLE #3 -- MILOS? NAXOS?
(4) ATHENS -- 2 days for highlights

I hesitate to mention it, since Bl seems to have a firm itinerary in mind, but if she & fiance have in mind any beach-going, they should reverse the order of their trip. Paris is wonderful in April, Spain will have lots to do/see in late April ... and Greece is Glorious in May ... and the seas are swimmable starting about May 15. I'm from N.East, but can't really swim before then in Greece. And pools are same as the sea.. not heated.

ribeirasacra

Guide book? Surely these days you mean apps. Paper is so 20th century.

Heimdall

If you can be in Greece in the days leading up to Orthodox Easter (April 12th) you can witness celebration of their most important holiday of the year. I try to watch the Mykonos festivities on the mykon.net live webcam.

I agree with travelerjan about Mykonos and Santorini being overhyped, but they are both beautiful islands, and Mykonos has a bonus of the wonderful archaeological site on nearby Delos. In April they won't be <i>"overloaded with Cruise ship crowds and package tour throngs"</i>. If anything, they would be too quiet for me.

Unless you are interested in a quiet holiday it would be wise to look for larger islands or those that have longer tourist seasons. Mykonos, Santorini, and Crete would all fit that description. Be aware though that regular ferry connections between the three don't begin until the week before Easter. Most islands have daily connections with Piraeus or Rafina on the mainland. I would leave the Greece part of your holiday for as late as you can.

As thursdaysd wrote, "there is more to mainland Greece than Athens". I would paraphrase "there is more to Greece than the islands". A trip on mainland Greece would be great in April, although traffic will be heavy around the Easter weekend.

I am a lazy solo traveller, and usually end up going to the islands by ferry, then vegging out for 2-3 weeks on beaches during the day, tavernas & restaurants at night. Were I to visit Greece in April I would seriously consider staying on the mainland and travelling around the Peloponnese by rental car. The Peloponnese has everything: archeological sites, charming villages, mountains, coastline, and some of the best beaches in Greece. Spring weather in the southern Peloponnese is just as warm as Crete, with less wind.

travelerjan

ribeirasacra, yes I mean guidebooks. That's because every day new travelers come on these travel forum pleading for advice saying, I'm reading so much online and I'm overwhelmed. The guides provide the "filter" that's lacking online. Trying to get to a decision based solely on what you get from the internet is (excuse me, regulars, for repeating my metaphor) is like trying to get a drink from a fire hose. You are drowned in data but still thirsty. Guides (the best ones, which are candid) help you focus, and tell about the plusses AND minuses of each destination. After narrowing your choices, THEN you can get specifics online for your visits.

Christina

I agree, I think it is much easier to get a broad overview and plan trips from a real guidebook, not an "app."

I liked Rhodes in Greece, it's got interesting sites and history. I wasn't in Mykonos long.

The Alhambra is no substitute for Marrakesh, which is a different continent and culture, and still exists. The Alhambra is an old building and grounds you tour. YOu can actually see that kind of architecture elsewhere without even going there if you want (in Southern Spain), although not as grand. I enjoyed Cordoba just as much, and there is the Alcazar in Seville, after all. I don't see any need to add Granada to this itinerary.

nytraveler

Excellent guidebooks:

Michelin green guide - for detailed info on sights including how long it wil take to see them

Fodors - good general overview

Eyewitness Guide - great for photos of sights

Just go to the library (or Amazon, B&B if you don't have a library) and checek out which speak to you

travelerjan

Another note on guides --don't worry if your library doesn't have the newest editions, up to 4 years old is OK ... what you use the guides for is an Overview, not the latest prices for hotels & restaurants ... the beaches and landmarks and landscapes, which don't change that much. After you narrow things down, you can get lodging & dining specifics on threads like this. Actually on Amazon u can often buy a used guidebook for $1 plus shipping/handling.

IMDonehere

I could not disagree with Christine more. The Alhambra is a magnificent and complex compound.

thursdaysd

And at the time the Alhambra was built, Marrakesh may have been on a different continent, but it was certainly the same culture. Cultures are not limited by geographic borders. Hard to believe anyone can actually see the Alhambra and not be blown away. Unless they are rushed through in the middle of a tour group, I suppose. The best time to see the buildings is in the evening, when it's quiet.

BigRuss

Look: there are plenty of good reasons to go to Santorini and/or Mykonos and it's not a matter of cruise ship brochures. I don't know how beachy the weather will be in April, and Mykonos is all about the beach fly-and-flop. Santorini has more to do and see and more cats than you can count (this isn't a positive or negative, it just is). Athens is surprisingly unattractive, so 2 days of highlights should suffice. I'd drop Greece and substitute Italy in a heartbeat, especially if you're traveling without hobbits, but this isn't my trip.

I don't know how you do a day trip to Marrakesh from Spain without flights. It's not like the city is right on the sea or ocean like Rabat or Casablanca or (if you must) Tangier; it's inland. And a day trip by air seems like an unholy hassle - either stay a bit (I've not been, what I've heard is that there's more than enough to do on a multi-day stay) or go there on another trip. Quick Google search came up with no direct flights from Seville, Granada or Malaga to Marrakesh; the direct flights from Madrid are 2+ hours, and that's a LOT of pre-arrival travel time (considering the 25-30 minutes to Barajas and 1 hour b/f flight check-in).

blooshie

Thanks all! I really appreciate all the suggestions. I'm digesting the info and will get the Michelin and Eyewitness guides. Nothing is set in stone so love all the input on different places we could visit. Barcelona, Santorini and Paris are the main ones and revolving the rest around those. Thinking 8 days in Paris and split the rest between the two countries. So weather-wise, leave US mid april head to Spain, then Greece then Paris. Do you agree, I think some above do? We will be in Paris to celebrate my birthday!

In Greece, more interested in scenery and food than going in the water or laying out in the sun. Any resorts you recommend for pure relaxation for about a week? Thanks again.

blooshie

By the way about Marrakech, I thought I saw on Viator once you could do a day trip from Seville, but after further research, that does not look like the case!

FrenchMystiqueTours

I think the Michelin Green Guide to Paris is pretty good but I would also spend some time looking over the Paris tourist office website: http://en.parisinfo.com/

For some off the beaten path ideas about Paris check these links:

http://www.messynessychic.com/catego...-secret-paris/

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/board/46/paris

blooshie

Thank you! Bought the guidebooks and reading them now. I'm now considering Naxos in Greece.