We will be arriving in Madrid on Thursday 3/20 and planned to stay a couple days. Would it be best to take the train to Sevilla on Saturday or Sunday (which is Easter)? I know Sevilla will be very busy and we want to see the festivities. Will there be different activities on Saturday vs. Sunday in Sevilla? Thanks very much.

Sorry, kathy! Most festivities (as you call them) will be over by midday Saturday. The Processions for Semana Santa peak on Friday.

Then there's the feria de Sevilla that begins 2-weeks after Easter. You don't say how long you'll be staying ...

Once, we did a 'same day return' on AVE Madrid-Sevilla on Good Friday and saw some awesome Processions. We took the 07:30 AVE from Madrid & 20:00 AVE back to Madrid (arr.22:30).

Kathyv,
There are wonderful processions in Madrid as well as Sevilla, if you don't want to chop up your trip. My family enjoyed the ones in Madrid and Granada the most, I think (in 2003). We got to watch a procession in Madrid right from the balcony of our hotel and it was a great experience!

Thanks for info. We are arriving in Madrid on 3/20 and leaving from Barcelona on 3/28. Would it be better to go straight to Sevilla on 3/20 and then head back up to Madrid before going to Barcelona? Thanks again.

We were in Seville for Santa Semena and made the mistake of not having train reservations in advance, and had to change our plans because of it. Make sure to get reservations ASAP--seems 3/4ths of Spain travel during this time!