travelbaba

Hello Fodorites,

We are a couple planning to travel to Spain in early June 2012 for about 8-9 nights / 9-10 days. Our son would be about 20 months by then.

We have a LA - MADRID non-stop flight. We can continue to another destination OR fly-out of another city.

I'm trying not to do more then 2 cities & minimize packing/unpacking/moving hassles.

I'm looking for suggestions on iteneraries - 4 nights Madrid(Toledo day trip), 4 nights Granada (Alhambra, Nerja/Rhonda day trips) (Train ??)

OR 4 nights Madrid and 4 nights Barcelona (Train ??)

OR 4 nights Barcelone and 4 nights Sevilla.

We are not too much into art/paintings, but love architecture, historical artificats and great scenery.

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks a lot
TB

danon

I am partial to Barcelona...unique architecture, great food, the sea...
On the other hand, many consider Alhambra a must ..and find only Andalusia a "real Spain".

Madrid - Barcelona split with day trips and easy train ride in between sounds good to me.

Aduchamp1

Either plan sounds reasonable. As far as architecture is concerned you have a clear choice. There is the extraordinary Modernisme of Barcelona and the equisite Moorish (and other)influences of the South. It depends on your prejudice.

Madrid had world class museums of which you are not interested and is an excellent hub to visit a number of worthwhile nearby towns. With limited time and a little one, I would not stay in Madrid and head elsewhere.

CathyM

I'd save Andalucia for another trip when you have time to visit Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada - and when the weather si cooler. I'd also fly open jaw so you don't have to backtrack to Madrid.

CathyM

Aduchamp1 has a good point. If you're really not into museums and prefer architecture, historical artifacts and scenery it may be an option to just spend the entire time in Barcelona. You could even potentially take 2-3 days and stay along the coast or in Girona or Tarragona. However, with a young one it may be best to stay in one place (get an apartment) and make various daytrips based on how you feel each day. If you haven't purchased airfare you could just use Barcelona for both legs.