Seville for 5 days in Dec? Or is Granada Better?
 

HI- I have never been to spain. We are planning to spend Dec 26th - Jan 1 in Barcelona with my Boyfriends parents, and then on New Years day, we would travel to the south of Spain to spend another 5 or 6 days... just the two of us. My boyfriend and I are not travelers who like to stay in busy tourist areas or who like to site see 10 hrs a day. We perfer a much slower, relaxed trip. We like "authentic" and "local" spots. I am looking to rent an apt place on Air BnB.

We live in the East VIllage, New York City, and both have traveled quite a bit, and are used to big cities. I have just not been to Spain before, but I also don't feel the need to try and see it all in one trip! I'd rather nestle into a place for a few days and really get to know it.

SO here is my questions:

Is Seville the best place to go to Southern Spain? In light of my description above, will we be bored after 5 days?

Is there another City (granada?) that people would recommend?

What area of the city should I look to find an apt in?

Thanks

Seville is a good choice as it pretty wonderful but is also a train journey away from Cordoba and you could even do a long day and get to Grenada or Malaga. I've spent 4 or 5 days in Seville and found lots to do.

Seville for sure over Granada IME but - lots of neat day trips - Jerez de la Frontera for the sherry wine house tours and to see the practice sessions of the huge Andalusian Horses - yes Cordoba and others - places you need only to mosey around and will love even if you do not traipse thru any museums, etc.

We just spent 11 days in Seville and could have spent several more. In addition to all of the things to do and places to explore in the city, we took two nice day trips, one to Cadiz and one to Cordoba. Each is easiily done by train and each of these cities is interesting to explore.

Pjk

We were just in Seville, Cadiz, Ronda, Grenada, Cordoba, Barcelona, and Madrid. We spend two months vacationing in Europe every year. In Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville are our favorite cities. The Alhambra in Grenada was fantastic - but I think the "other stuff" in Grenada is not nearly as interesting as Seville. Stay in Seville and take day-trips to "old" Cadiz, and Cordoba.

Stu Dudley

I would agree with Seville given your description of the kind of vacation you like. Seville is full of fountains, open air cafes, etc., so a great place to just tuck in and enjoy city life. Grenada seemed more "touristy" to us and the hilly topography changes the feel a lot from Seville.

One of our favorite tapas places in Seville is Eslava and I notice on their site they rent apartments as well. The neighborhood there is nice since it is a bit away from the super charged tourist area but still a lovely area not too far from anything-including a very good transit system. We loved that area of town-that would be heaven-you could go there every day to eat :)

http://www.espacioeslava.com/es/restaurante

http://www.espacioeslava.com/es/apartamentos_en_sevilla

Thank you so much for all the helpful replies!

There should be quite a bit going on in Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga during the first week in January. On the night of the 5th there will be floats, bands and dancers in the streets celebrating the season. Three Kings Day, "Dia de Los Reyes", and Epiphany are celebrated on the 6th.

Just got back Oct. 24 from my first trip to Spain. I fell in love with Sevilla--4 nights there. This did not feel rushed, had some great tours (google Concepcion Delgado and David at Notjustatourist.com) and ate well and felt very relaxed in the warm weather after colder Madrid. I agree with others who said Granada is not that interesting except for the Alhambra. After Barcelona and Madrid each for a week and 10 days in Andalusia, Seville is the place that won my heart. I did spend most of a day in Cordoba and liked it very much. The Mezquita is astounding and definitely worth the trip. Also ate at a lovely Sephardic restaurant not far from the Mezquita (next to the synagogue) called Casa Masal; I liked it so much I tried to talk them into opening one in Los Angeles, where I live. But Seville wins for me, hands down.

Just got back Oct. 24 from my first trip to Spain. I fell in love with Sevilla--4 nights there. This did not feel rushed, had some great tours (google Concepcion Delgado and David at Notjustatourist.com) and ate well and felt very relaxed in the warm weather after colder Madrid. I agree with others who said Granada is not that interesting except for the Alhambra. After Barcelona and Madrid each for a week and 10 days in Andalusia, Seville is the place that won my heart. I did spend most of a day in Cordoba and liked it very much. The Mezquita is astounding and definitely worth the trip. Also ate at a lovely Sephardic restaurant not far from the Mezquita (next to the synagogue) called Casa Masal; I liked it so much I tried to talk them into opening one in Los Angeles, where I live. But Seville wins for me, hands down.

Sorry for the double post. First time it got stuck and wouldn't budge, so posted again. Anybody have suggestions for eliminating double post if you didn't preview the first one? Thanks.

Seville is great - our favourite city in Spain. Five or six days is a good amount of time to spend. However, if you can get to Granada for a short time, the Alhambra is one of the most incredible sights in Europe IMO. It is a bit long for a day trip but maybe one overnight would be worthwhile.