My husband and I booked a last minute trip to Spain. I am used to planning well in advance and I'm trying to be spontaneous about all this but there's so much we want to see. I don't want to spend the whole time traveling and tired from traveling. <BR>Is there any way to see Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Granada in a little under two weeks? <BR>We arrive in Madrid on Sunday, Nov. 19 and fly out of Madrid on Sunday, Dec. 3. <BR>Right now, we plan to spend a few days in Madrid, take the overnight train to Barcelona mid-week, spend a few days there. <BR>Take the overnight train to Granada on Saturday night. <BR>Then, rent a car in Granada to see Andalucia and Seville over the rest of the week (Mon/Tues through Fri). Take Ave to Madrid on Saturday. Fly out of Madrid on Sun. <BR>Is this crazy? Are we trying to do too much? What would you cut? If you could only see two towns in Andalucia, what would they be? <BR>Any help would be great! <BR>Thank you! <BR>Mayne

Hi Mayne, I spent 10 days in Spain in Sept. I'll e-mail you my trip report. If you have any additional questions you may e-mail me. <BR>Art <BR>

Art, I accidentally posted the wrong email address! I will contact you!

hi mayne,i did spain in 2 wks last mth.this is my recommendation.forget madrid.nothing impressive.but if you must 2 nites is plenty.go to barcelona 3 nites, then fly to granada for 2 nites.drive fr granada to ronda (a must if visiting andalucia).stay at the parador or at hotel molino del santo in benaojan,10 mins drive away 3-4 nites is enough. then tour the surroundings of andalusia and return car in seville (2-3 nites). forget the trains from barcelona, they take too long. flying costs US$80 one way only from barcelona to south spain.then from sevilla you can take the AVE bullet train back to madrid where you can tour toledo and madrid surroundings. enjoy!

I've only been to Madrid and Barcelona, and I'd advise more time in Barcelona and less in Madrid. Madrid seemed more crowded and busy and Barcelona more magical. And do look into flying between the two. It was pretty affordable when we went in 97, even for one-way fares.

Don't forget about Toledo! Madrid didn't impress except for the Prado museum. In my opinion it's the best art museum I visited. Madrid is big, and the only city in Spain where I didn't feel entirely comfortable in terms of safety. I would actually consider staying in Toledo and daytripping into Madrid rather than the other way around. Seville is lovely

I've noticed in the weather reports for Madrid for about the past 2-3 weeks scattered rain - Barcelona has been mild, sunny to cloudy. I just visted Barcelona for 10 days - a beautiful city, great food (make reservations for dinner always). Speaking to an acquaintence in Barcelona who is teaching English there - he said that Barcelonians are a bit class oriented while in the rest of Spain people are very gregarious. And two friends here at work really liked Madrid more than Barcelona regarding food and shopping. The architecture in Seville looks to be wonderful - moorish and islamic influence. Whatever you choose to do - take your time, you're on vacation and remember, you will be back again - check out the restaurant reviews in Fodors. The ones for Barcelona were right on the mark. Have a great trip.

Thanks to all of you for your advice! I hadn't even thought of flying. Can anyone advise where to book flights? Can it be done online? <BR>We leave Saturday and I'm starting to relax and really look forward to it! <BR>Thanks again! <BR>Mayne

Hi again Mayne, In brief, heres what we did. Two nights in Madrid. Took a day trip to Avilla and Segovia, very worth while. Also El Escoral and Toledo worth visits. We then took the AVE train to Seville, great experiance. Spent 1 1/2 days in Seville, then picked up our rental and drove to Algecera. Took a day trip to Morocco, Spent 1/2 day on Gibralter and on to Granada. Overnight in Granada, visited the Alhambra early next morning and afternoon started out toward Barcelona. Stayed that night in a town about 100 km south of Barcelona, drove in the next morning for 2 days in Barcelona. A bit hectic but worth whild. The Prodo in Madrid is great as is the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. Spend some leisurly time on La Ramba in Barcelona and visit Gaude's Segrada Familia. <BR>Have a great trip. <BR>Art <BR>

Mayne... we spent a couple of weeks in spain last may, 1st trip and loved it. <BR>we flew into madrid and rented a car and left, was suppose to spend last 2 nights there but instead elected to stay in smaller towns such as segovia and avilla.

It sounds to me like you have a pretty good plan already. Four cities in two weeks is probably perfect; you'll get to see a nice sampling without overdoing it. I prefer trains to planes within Spain; I would stick to your original itinerary. While there are many beautiful cities in Andalucia, Granada and Sevilla are the two must-sees. Don't forget to take time out for tapas in Granada - it's the only place they're free. <BR>Have a wonderful time and eat lots!

Hi Mayne! WOW! What an exciting adventure you have planned. 2-weeks and hitting nearly all corners of Spain, eh? <BR> <BR>Sounds like a pretty good plan if you're taking those night trains, but don't expect to sleep too much (hopefully you have a private sleeping car). <BR> <BR>While Barcelona really is a must-see, and since you're flying INTO/OUT-OF Madrid, I might suggest skipping the gem of cataluña (Barcelona) and concentrating on Madrid and Andalucía. <BR> <BR>Of course, you can do all you want to do in 2-weeks if money is no concern but it will be much more rushed and lose a lot in travel time unless you plan to go to the expense of flying from Barcelona to Sevilla as wein suggested. This is a really good idea, but I prefer to concentrate on a few cities and since Barcelona and Sevilla are on different ends of the country I might concentrate on the lower half. <BR> <BR>Spend 5 nights in Madrid (or a minimum of 4) and make a couple day trips to Toledo and Segovia while there. Then go down to Sevilla (4 nights), and then over Granada (3 night) and maybe even squeeze in a night or two in Córdoba to visit the beautiful mosque, La Mezquita, and finally one last night in Madrid before flying out. That will pretty much take up 2 weeks. <BR> <BR>BUT, if you think this will be your one and only trip to Spain you might want to sqeeze in Barcelona as well. There's much to see there...... <BR> <BR>There are a number of itinerary discussions on MadridMan's Spain Message Board @ http://www.MadridMan.com/bbs.html if interested in the input of others who have make whirlwind trips. <BR> <BR>OH! Guess what...I doubt you'll even see this message because you're leaving... TODAY!! Probably too late, but you never know. Have a great trip!! <BR> <BR>Saludos, MadridMan <BR>@ http://www.MadridMan.com