Spain and Portugal
 

I am going to be backpacking with a friend of mine in Spain and Portugal for about 11 days. We are flying into Barcelona and flying out of Lisbon. We intend to spend a 2-3 days in each of those cities and are trying to determine where else to see. We figure on being able to see at most 2 other places. Any suggestions?

how old are you and what do you like to do/see?

That's easy. Madrid. Home of flamenco. The best tapas bars and sherry bars in the world. And it is directly between Barcelona and Lisbon. If you want another stop Salamanca and Valencia are both top contenders.

Depending on when you're going, I'd suggest Seville and/or the Algarve in Portugal. Seville is an amazing city and totally different from Barcelona. In the Algarve, you can chill at beautiful beaches and eat great seafood.

For me, the best tapas bars are in San Sebastian and the best sherry is in Jerez de la Frontera. Madrid however has three excellent museums and is perfectly located for day trips to Segovia, Avila, and Toledo.

A few of our favorite places in Portugal are Evora, Sintra and Braga.

I assume you are young and you will have many opportunities to travel, thus I would recommend seeing one country well, rather than two poorly. And Spain is a much richer country to visit than Portugal.

And at the top of list for first timers to Spain besides Madrid and Barcelona are Seville and Granada. The Alhambra is one of the one of the few tourist attractions that lives up to its reputation.

If you are in Barcelona on a Saturday night or Sunday morning, go to the Cathedral and watch the Catalans dance the Sardana. It is a simple dance that signifies unity and pride in their Catalan heritage.

hi, lazarus,

for the reasons bobludlow states, Madrid, and Salamanca because it's easy to get to from Madrid, and because it is a fabulous small city with the best plaza major and a great student centre, which i suspect may appeal.

The towns of Andalucia are also lovely, but they wil take longer to get to and they are further away from each other. Leave this area til another time, and make it the focus of a separate trip.

regards, ann

The Algarve is beautiful and very relaxing. Lisbon is a lovely city too.

Thanks for the great advice so far. I am 27 and just graduated from grad school, as did my friend, and we are taking this trip to celebrate. I have previously been to Madrid and so was considering skipping it this trip in order to new areas.

As far as what I like to see, I really don't have a good answer except that on previous trips I really enjoyed walking around new cities and people-watching. I also love to eat new and interesting food.