Spain: help with itinerary and other misc.
 

Going to Spain last 2 wks. in May, looking at train, which is the best? would like to wing it for train and hotels. Last year had one hotel call to next stop and make reservations. Plan is Madrid to Toledo to Seville to any other small towns and areas of interest to Muxia and along northern coast, hopefully by train. Any ideas appreciated!!

Don;t know what you mean "which train is best". there is only one train system. Do you mean high sped verus locals? And wouldn't that depend on your budget?

Ditto, as #1. There is only one national rail company operated by RENFE.
And 'any other small towns' may not have a train station, but between train and bus you can touch almost everywhere.

I'd do Toledo as a day trip from Madrid (catch a bus), then you want to go down to Seville (any interest in Cordoba? Grenada? Malaga?) then way up to the North. I might hire a car to beetle around the north coast a bit.

What interests do you have? May should be "wingit" territory but check for any religious festivals which will decimate hotel accommodation.

If you're planning on traveling by train, you'll have to return to Madrid after visiting Toledo in order to continue south to Sevilla.

Not reserving your hotels ahead of time can end up coasting you a great deal more then planning ahead, but then hey, it's only money.

Train service along the north coast is limited. Check the Renfe route map. The FEVE line (part of Renfe) covers the north coast from the País Vasco to Galicia, including Castilla y León, and then there is the El Transcantábrico Gran Lujo, if you really want something interesting, and expensive.

www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/feve/mapas/index.html

You will not be able to do both the north coast and southern Spain in two weeks.

I love these forums, sooooo helpful,everyone has such good ideas, thank you. So, what are the must sees with Cordoba, Grenada, Malaga and Torremolinos? and anything else from Madrid south to Seville and the north coast starting like around Muxia going east?

I think you will find that investing in one or more guidebooks will be well worth the money -- you'll learn about things you didn't even know to ask!

"So, what are the must sees with Cordoba, Grenada, Malaga and Torremolinos? and anything else from Madrid south to Seville and the north coast starting like around Muxia going east?"

well, i'd drop out Torremolinos and I might add a horse ride up in the Sierra Nevada. Some people talk about the white towns, some about Rhonda, some Cadiz and some about Jerez. Of these only the last two would interest me but not as much as the other list at the top of my page.
Seville, Cordoba, Grenada and Malaga (surf this site on a city by city basis) have some of the finest buildings from 50AD to around 1492 AD in Spain (when the country shipped all the mass murderers (sorry greatest warriors) to South America), ethereal palaces with rose gardens protected from the med. sun, cathedrals built inside massive mosques, cigar factories acting as sources of inspiration for great opera and museums of some of the worlds greatest artists.


In terms of the North coast there is so much to do but most people don't go there. If I was going I would not visit Muxia at all (I guess you have specific reasons) but I would hire a car and depending on time visit Santiago, any number of little towns along the north coast (pretty bays, little hotels and local foods) then I'd look at the line of monesteries that follow the Camino and visit a bunch of them (with a guide book) as each one has its own history of the Camino, the crusades within Spain and the move to South America. You will also find the gold mine that funded the Roman Empire at Las Medulas, Leon (read Pliny as a guide to the centre and the use of the Golden Fleece (see wiki)). And of course you have the Picos d'Europa, some of the top three wine producing areas in Spain and more castles and ramparts than you can shake a stick at.

I suggest it is worth investing in the Rough Guides spanish guide which knocks the Fodors into a cocked hat.