Spain in July
 

Moved to Europe board and tagged for Spain

What kind of accommodation? Hotel? Apartment rental? Star ratings in Europe aren't comparable to those in the USA, so can be meaningless. Use Booking.com and take advantage of the filters.

What price range - in euros?

Must-sees and must-dos - there aren't any. Travel is about what YOU want to do and see. How did you choose Madrid and Barcelona without knowing what you wanted to see and do there? Start with a few guidebooks, the official websites of the two cities, and maps. The 15-year-old is old enough to make valuable contributions, so get her involved, too.

We stayed at this hotel that is right across from the 13th century cathedral. Easy for walking in the old city.

https://hotelcolonbarcelona.es

We also stayed at Hotel Colon as well and the location was perfect. Of course there are lots of great hotels in Barcelona.

In Barcelona the main thing is to not be right on La Rambla . But south of Placa Catalunya and north of the beach is fine. You won't be on top of everything but reasonably close to much of the touristy sites. Of course you can take the metro to get around the city.

For Madrid it depends on your interests. If for example you want to spend most of your time in the museums being in the golden triangle likely makes sense. If you're less interested in the museums you would pick other locations

Agreed, El Born is super cool, The Gothic quarter * I'd stay away from Raval at night and maybe stay up in Gracia as your base. Then you can easily head into the mountains or go down to the beach with everything in between.

Since you are already on this website, you can research for yourself what's already here by pulling down the Destinations menu. Or https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/

In the spring of 2017 in Barcelon we stayed at the Murmuri Residence Mercader, which is a condo hotel. We booked it on booking.com. We prefer booking.com to Airbnb (although have used both) since booking usually gives us more flex in terms of cancellation. It is a lovely property. They do have an elevator and A/C which you may want in July. It is in the Eixample neighborhood of Barcelona which is our favorite since it is a bit less tourist central than the gothic neighborhood closer to the coast. It is a wonderful walking area and close to both bus and metro.

We also have stayed at another apartment in Barcelona called BCN Apartments 41 (also booked on booking.com). It is a bit less expensive and the neighborhood is also nice-still in Eixample but closer to the Gracia neighborhood. It feels more like a neighborhood where Spanish families live as opposed to an area like the Murmuri which feels more like an equal mix of families and tourists if that makes sense.

In Madrid we stayed at Hotel Mexico, which is much simpler (the apartments in Barcelona were more 3-4 star and the Mexico is older old fashioned hotel) but very clean and the location is really great right next to the Prado and Retiro park.

Hotel Mexico - Madrid -España - Spain - Habitaciones Baratas - Habitaciones tranquilas - En pleno triangulo del Arte

Anywhere with a very good AC..

I would never say the star ratings in Europe aren't like the US (which isn't really the way to state it, as each country may have its own rating system and criteria and the US doesn't have an official one) are meaningless. They correlate very well exactly as you would expect. a 3* hotel is mid-level, of course.

I've only stayed in 4* hotels in Madrid as the costs are reasonable for me, and I mainly go by location. Also, some 3* hotels do not have AC, so check that out. (in some countries, even 4* ones sometimes don't, like in Germany I found out). Believe me, you want AC in July.

in Barcelona, I like the HOtel Jazz. great location for walking and public transportation but not right on the noisiest street.
https://www.hoteljazz.com/en/
it's a 3* hotel, so mid level.

Thank you!

Thanks so much for the clarification..we will check out that hotel.

For sure!

Oh thanks for this..will follow up on your suggestions.

Thanks