realtime

Flying in and out of Madrid. Arrive September 2, 2010 until September 12. Would like some suggestions on traveling by car to the south of Spain; staying a few days in each location. We have never been to Spain before and I have no idea where to begin or which cities to visit. We love history, great food, fantastic wines. Thanks for the help.

yk

As suggested in your post (which you accidentally posted in the US forum), it'd be best if you look at some online guides or an actual guidebook, so that you have some idea of what YOU want to see first. Then you can come back and ask more specific questions.

Since you only have 10 days, I'd spend 4-5 days in Madrid (do one or 2 day trips from Madrid), then head to Andalusia for the remainder of your trip.

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/spain/

ribeirasacra

If you do not have a clue as to what to see then I will suggest another good web page.
http://spain.info/

portuense

agreed - read up, look at other posts here and elsewhere then come back for more detailed info...but if you only have 10 days, ignore Madrid and head south straight away

kimhe

My suggestion: From Madrid, drive into Andalucía on the N-IV through the spectacular Despeñaperros pass (the traditional "gateway" to Andalucía). Spend a couple of days in Granada with the magnificent Moorish Alhambra (13th century) and the Cathedral (16th century) built by the so called Catholic kings after their conquest of the last moorish kingdom on the peninsula in 1492. Now you are also about an hour away from the Mediterranean Sea and a bath in small seaside towns such as Almuñecar or Nerja.

I would recommend that you spend most of your time in Sevilla. I don't know where to begin, but I can assure you plenty of "history, great food and fantastic wines". This site will give you an idea of tapas bars and restaurants in the city:
http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/
In Sevilla, you would also be a little more than one hour driving away from Jerez de la Frontera and the famous sherry bodegas of the region.

You should check Maribels guides on Granada and Sevilla:
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_granada.pdf
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_sevilla.pdf (with a considerable section on the "Sherry Triangle")

Michael Jacobs' "Andalucía" is the perfect introduction to the region: http://www.michaeljacobs.co.uk/andalucia.html

nytraveler

Agree tht with so few days your focus should be Andalusia - ther really interesting part of Spain. You can easily hit the high spots of Madrid in 1.5 or 2 days. Then hop in a car and head south.

You really should do some reading - since besides Seville, Granada and Cordoba you may want to try for a visit to one of the white villages - or even Jerez.

NEDSIRELAND

You write: "staying a few days in each location;" that, to me, suggests 2-localities in Andalucia: maybe Sevilla and Cadiz, or Malaga.

As nytraveler writes: "You can easily hit the high spots of Madrid in 1.5 or 2 days." That doesn't include excursions to Toledo or Segovia, without which your Madrid stop would be superficial. I'd plan 3-days in/around Madrid, 3-days in Sevilla w/daytrip to Jerez de la frontera or el Puerto de Santa Maria.

For me, the really interesting part of Spain is the North, from Basque Country West to Galicia, pasing Covadonga (Principality of Asturias) where the Moorish Legions were stopped in their tracks by Don Pelayo (with a little help from a massive landslide).

Sorry, nytraveler: but we're each entitled to our opinion.
BTW
I also prefer the wines & cheeses from Cantabria/ Asturias

yorkshire

Begin with a guidebook or website. Andalucia.com is helpful.
Given that you have not expressed any particular places, here is a suggestion that hits the highlights. You do not need a car for this itinerary. In fact, it hinders you if you wish to stay in city centers.

September 2 arrive Mad, train to Cordoba
3 Cordoba
4 train or bus to Sevilla
5 Sevilla
6 Sevilla
7 train/bus to Granada
8 Granada
9 train to Mad
10 Mad
11 Mad--day trip to Toledo
12 Mad

Egbert

I agree with all posters on this one. However I would not drive. I would take AVE train to Seville and stay for at least 3 nights. I would then spend one in Cordoba or make it a daytrip from Seville. From here I might rent a car to drive to Granada for at least 2 nights. Put your car in a garage and leave it. Cars in Granada and Seville are a hassle. From there I would go to Malaga for one night before taking the AVE, not driving, back to Madrid.

Ifnotnow_when

Bookmarking

ribeirasacra

Yep all of you head south and leave the beautiful North to me, Nedsireland and Mikeg.

LSky

I agree with the people who love Northern Spain but for the OP Andulusia is perfect.

It's an enjoyable region with many things to do and sights to see without a lot of digging.

annhig

rioja. that's my idea. perfect in September.

you could spend a few days in Madrid to acclimatise, then pick up a car, drive north-west to Logrono, then end up on the beach at San Sebastian. this would make a lovely first taste of spain and you would meet comparatively few other tourists. it's the first part of spain that we came to and we loved it.

maribel's guides cover this area as well.

kimhe

Not a bad idea to go north either, why not the beautiful Basque Country? San Sebastián has been a favourite for Spanish visitors for more than a century and for very good reasons. Excellent food, great beaches, beautiful landscapes and a living culture that people take great pride in. The city and its surroundings can boast 18 Michelin Stars (Restaurante Arzak started it all and have had three stars ever since 1989), but perhaps the most interesting is going for pintxos (Basque tapas) in the fabulous bars around town.

One of the world's most renowned chefs, Ferran Adrià at El Bulli in Girona, suggested in 2005 that San Sebastián is no less than the best place to eat in the world "in terms of the average quality of the food, in terms of what you can get at any place you happen to walk into.": http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...rink.shopping2

The Basque Country is also small villages and great citys such as Bilbao (with the marvellous Guggenheim museum) and Vitoria. For example, go west towards Bilbao on the coastal roads through Zarautz, Getaria, Zumaya, Mutriku, Lekeitio etc. Charming small villages, excellent food as always in the region and nice beaches (Queen Isabella II used to prefer the beaches in Lekeitio to La Concha in San Sebastián). A small trip inland and you come to the tradtional Basque political centre Gernika who was almost totally destroyed by German bombers during the Spanish Civil War (Picassos painting). Not far away is also the Cueva de Santamamiñe with cave paintings dating back to 10.000 BC.

http://www.fotosdonosti.com/displayi...?album=9&pos=6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Q7dqqNYC8
http://www.spainguides.com/sansebastian.html

kimhe

The article "A different kind of Spain" gives an idea of San Sebastián and País Vasco: http://marshlands.blogstream.com/

puttakka

Well, there are lots of different things you can do, but I suggest deciding to go either north or south. If it is your first trip, I'd say go south and see "postcard spain" to see what all the fuss is about; if you go north, it will be a little more laid back.

Have you committed to flying in and out of Madrid?? It may behoove you to fly into Madrid and out of Barcelona or Seville. I know the price price is similar on British airways regardless of which city you pick. Sometimes it can be even cheaper to fly into one city and out of another. I did it on FF miles in April, into Madrid, out of Barcelona. Another time, on BA, I flew into Malaga and out of Sevilla.

If you are taking the trains, I really suggests spending one day and one night at least in Toledo. Most tourists just go to Toledo for the day and skip the night but the night is so magical there. It's El Greco's city and the vistas are amazing. The town is lovingly preserved and the food's amaizing. The annoying thing about Toledo is that if you are going by train, you cannot really go south from there. You need to backtrack to Madrid, which is only 30 minutes and not too bad. The other annoying thing about Toledo is you can't store luggage at the train station. Otherwise it is sublime.
If you are driving, you can even stay at the Parador. http://www.paradores-spain.com/spain/ptoledo.html

So anyway,i you are doing the trains, I'd spend a day or to in Madrid, and a day and night in Toledo. You can check outof your hotel in Madrid, pack an overnight bag, leave your luggage at the Madrid station, take one of the trains to Toledo, overnight there, spend the day there, then head back to Madrid and grab your bags and head south with six days left.

I highly recommend a stop at Cordoba. We stayed at the Macia Alfaros for 60 euros a night, It was clean, cheap, and well located.

So, with four days left, head to Sevilla, which is magical. Spend a day or two exploring the city and take a bus on one of the days to Jerez or Sanlucar de Barrameda, to chekc out sherry culture. If you can manage it, I'd try to head to Granada, but that might be packing too much in and might be a pain to get to (can't remember - I last went in 2004 to Granada). Then either fly out of Seville or take the train back to Madrid and fly out from there.

If you want to go north instead of south, here's what I recommend. Spend the first three days in Madrid/Toledo. Take the evening train to Logrono (I think it leaves Madrid around 6 and ends up in Logrono at 9-ish). Go to a hotel, drop your stuff, and do a tapas crawl on Calle Laurel. The next day, spend some time exploring wine country - if you time it right, you can take a bus to Haro where a lot of bodegas are and take a tour of maybe Muga or something. You need to call the bodegas ina dvance to do this. Spend another night in Logrono. In the morning, you can head to San Sebastian, or Pamplona, or even Barcelona via Burgos. If you need help with transportation, let me know and I may be able to help you.

ribeirasacra

I personally would check if the vendimia (harvest) is occurring when you are here in Sept. If so then visiting a wine region is not so good as the bodegas are busy collecting the grapes and have little time for the tourist, which is natural.

Viajero2

Firstimers with 10 days in Sept ought to go South; Andalucia. You may have to recalibrate the expectations for "fantastic wine", a Northern Spain specialty. Still, first timers? Go South. Leave Northern Spain and the Wine Theme for your second Spain trip

No car, public transport; flight all the way down to Malaga to avoid backtracking; head out to Granada for a couple of days. Train out to Seville for 4 days, one of which is day trip by train to Cordova. The remainder spend in Madrid, with a daytrip to Toledo.

Viajero2

Why did I think Nov.....? b-(