anniebarndoor

We have 5 nights to see these three towns, and the Valley of the Fallen/El Escorial (before leaving the car at the airport and returning to Madrid). I'm tempted to rent one casa rurale for the 5 nights, and take day trips (we have a car) into each town. I really like the idea of a home base. But maybe that would involve too much driving each day. The distances don't seem so great, but sometimes the roads make it take longer than one might think. One alternative is 2 nights in Salamanca, one night in Avila, (see the Valley of the Fallen on the way to Segovia) one night in Segovia, and one night in Pedraza (on the way to the airport--thanks to Mirabel's excellent Segovia report). My husband is leaning that way because he hates to miss the nightly paseo in town. Are there evening paseos in any of these towns? Any advice?

Maribel

The paseo around the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca! We often do a casa rural rental for 5 to 7 days, but one of the things we do miss is the evening tapas scene in town.

I suggest that you do 2 nights in Salamanca, then move down closer to Madrid, either with 3 nights in the Segovia for easy day trips to Avila, Duratón, La Granja Palace, Pedraza. Or those 3 one night stays...but, I admit that I'm not a big one night stay fan, because I find that for me lots of precious touring time is wasted in the changing of hotels, checking out/checking in, packing and unpacking.

I think you'll find Segovia enchanting, and it's great at night around the Plaza Mayor.

annhig

hi annie [love the screen name BTW]

i think that Maribel is right - the time you lose in driving is more than made up by the extra time you gain from not changing hotels every night, which I, too, hate.

and Salamanca is definitely worth at least one night's stay.

regards, ann

anniebarndoor

Yes--good compromise Mirabel. I'll have to wait until our next trip for the longer rural stay. This is our first trip to Spain and we seem compelled to see as much as possible. And while 36 days seemed plenty at first, we now see clearly that we'll want to return--unless, as seems impossible right now, we get there and none of these places are as fabulous as they seem like they will be.

Thanks so much for your generous advice!

Maribel

I think you'll fall in love with Spain because the cities on your really nice itinerary are quite beguiling. My personal favorite provincial cities are all the "S" towns: Salamanca, Segovia, San Sebastián, Santiago, Sevilla and Santander (plus my home-away-from-home, Pamplona). And I certainly wouldn't miss sitting at an outdoor cafe in Salamanca's gorgeous Plaza Mayor at night.

I certainly hope you are captivated by Spain and that there will definitely be a next trip. Have a wonderful journey!

anniebarndoor

Thanks Maribel. We get to see every one of your favorite "S" towns, but we have to miss Pamplona.

And yes, Ann, I too hate to move every night! (my screen name is the result of flailing when my usual ones were taken--probably by all of the other Anns in the world, although I had not tried yours!)

alamedadan

We are also spending 5 days doing a similar loop to yours. First two nights in Segovia, the last two nights in Salamanca and the middle night in the wonderful-sounding parador in Lerma (good in-between spot and a nice base in which to tour a bodega or two in the Ribera del Duero region. We hope to squeeze in a short trip to Pedraza on the way to Lerma, and we'll stop for lunch in Avila on the way back to Madrid and Semana Santa. We leave in three weeks--can't wait!