Wow, thanks for all those replies! 50% of the votes seems to be Itinerary B. I would never have known that Granada is a must from reading the tour books. Currently, we are leaning toward Itinerary B. If you have any more feedback, it will be greatly appreciated.

I vote for a variation on C: Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, and Granada, not necessarily in that order. I think you can do it in 8 days. I did this trip a year ago, plus Denia to visit my son, for a total of 9 days. We drove (not a great idea), and took in ALL the museums & major sites. I WOULD go back to Barcelona. Maybe not Granada, though it's wonderful. If you are early risers, and don't mind some late nights, this is a great country to visit. If you like history, spend more time in Granada & Toledo, if you love architecture &/or are religious, spend more time in Barcelona. Enjoy!

a comment about when people say they need not go back to granada.
it is such a visual experience.. that once you have seen it, i imagine many feel .. been there, done that.

on the other hand, big cities always do offer endless possibilities for dining and museums. thus.. many times you can always go back because so much was left "undone".

this does not mean granada isn't worth an intense visit. i think it would be a rewarding addition to any itinerary. study a little of the history to get the real feel of the place and what happened there, and when.

all of your itineraries are interesting and can provide a wonderful variety of spanish architecture and culture.

for me, part of the experience is hanging out and letting the world go by.. take in a concert, an exhibit, which does eat up a lot of time.. but so worth it!

Adding on to what lincasanova says. . . I have been to Granada 8 times. My host father was determined that I see the Alhambra in all 4 seasons, so we did 4 separate trips there. Since then I have taken 3 different people and gone once just for myself. Each time has been different and has really colored my way of seeing the city and the Alhambra. Places are as dynamic as people and where construction is one day, finds a building the next. So, if you have "already been there," you may be surprised to find that you "remember it being so different." Perhaps it was.

As art conservation is extremely important to me, I like to visit places and study how well they have held up under strenuous tourism. Not only does it get me paying attention to little details, but it is really helpful to understanding why things were made like they were. I can tell you that from that point of view, no place is ever the same.

Claire

Hi, We did b and it was fun. Ofcourse you;re talking about 1 day in Madrid, 1 in Toledo, train 2 1/2 hous to Seville for 2days (1 night). Before getting off in Seville, spend a few worthwhile hours in Cordoba. After Seville, rent a car and drive to Ronda for 1 day and then on your drive to Granada maybe you can stop at other white villages or drive straight through and spend 2 days, 1 night in Granada. Sure its just enough to wet your tastes, but you will see the major sights in each stop and will give you a reason to reason to 1 or more of your stops some other time. If that seems like too much moving around just do the AVE line from Madrid to Seville and use those as your bases for taking a few day trips from each place. Have a great time.

At the risk of being overly simplistic, I would comment that when you are in Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Ronda, you know you are in Spain. When we were in Barcelona, we knew we were in another large cosmopolitan European city -- which is not a bad thing -- but it may not be the "Spain" you are looking for.

Although Barcelona is my favorite city in Spain, it is not typically Spanish. I would go with Itinerary B. Sevilla and Granada are "must-sees" and unlike anywhere else.