Spain Itinerary
 

Hi,
I would like recommendations for must see cities in Spain, for a 10 day trip in early May. My husband, 25 year old daughter and myself are flying into Madrid and meeting our 21 year old daughter who has been studying in Barcelona for the semester. My only other European trip was spent entirely in Rome, for a fabulous 8 days, so needless to say I'm not well travelled. Options are obviously to divide time in Madrid & Barcelona, but I'm also interested in Andalusia, i.e. Seville, Malaga, Cordoba, Granada, & Ronda. Unfortunately, 10 days is not enough to take it all in. Should we rent a car, or rely on public transportation? Finally, the hotels that I've looked at don't accommodate 4 people, so it's either getting 2 hotel rooms per night which could be cost prohibitive, or looking into VRBO or Air BNB opportunities. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I think that the Alhambra is the single best sight in Spain, but with only ten days you might be better off splitting your time between Madrid, Toledo and Barcelona, connecting them by train. I am not a big fan of Madrid, but there are a number of good museums, and Barcelona is a delight for any fan of Art Nouveau. I would favor spending a night or two staying in Toledo, but it can also be done as a day trip from Madrid.

For my recent visits to Madrid and Barcelona, start here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-9452181

I am a big fan of Madrid and have to say it's difficult to go wrong spending time in Spain's capital. It's full of history, culture (with a little bit of everything from around the rest of Spain) and some of the top cuisine in the country.

http://www.esmadrid.com

I am a BIG fan of Madrid, too. Early May is the perfect time to visit Andalucia. I would hit Madrid, Toledo as a daytrip, Granada, Cordoba, and Seville. leave Barcelona for another trip when you visit southern France. Of course, more time would be better, but 10 days can accomodate Madrid and Andalucia. You should be able to find reasonable hotels. Look on booking.com. Renting a car for 4 people is cheaper than using public transport. Loot at AutoEurope.

Trains are great for going between cities - especially since lots of the interior of Spain has long distances between main cities - Barcelona to Madrid and v.v. is just about 3 hours or so on bullet trains going up to nearly 200 mph - ditto Madrid to Seville so you can get around faster by train (both those journeys would be all day drives by car).

for a good fix on Spanish trains check www.renfe.com - discounted tickets you can book yourself on that - over walk-up fares - www.seat61.com- good info on discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - check the latter's Spain section of their free online European Planning & Rail Guide.

Madrid and Seville would be easy to do in 10 days with a day trip from Seville to Cordoba being easy - and yes Toledo IME is fantastic - short day trip by train from Madrid- to me Toledo is one of the most superb cities in Europe for old-world flavor and churches decked out in Mudejar decor galore.

You have such a wealth of options!

IMO, May is perfect for Andalusia, and -- depending on your interests -- 10 days could be just enough to comfortably cover Granada (and the magnificent Alhambra), Cordoba (and the amazing Mezquita), and Sevilla (aah, Sevilla!) and either Malaga (or perhaps Nerja instead?) or Ronda.

Or 10 days would, IMO, be great for central Spain -- Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, maybe Avila or Cuenca....

Each of these options should be do-able by public transportation only, and IME, public transportation in Spain is comfortable and convenient.

Hope that helps!

I would have said Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla and Granada but since your daughter is studying in Barcelona, I'd go with Barcelona, Madrid and Toledo. I'd spend four or five nights in Barcelona, catch the AVE fast train to Madrid and spend 4 to 5 nights there with an overnight in Toledo. Go to the RENFE sight to book your train tickets as soon as they become available. As others have said,Spain's trains are fast, clean and one of the best in Europe.

While I loved Granada, I would save that for another trip.

Córdoba in May is something special, almost the whole month is food, wine, song, dance, music and fiesta spirit: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/festivals.htm

The famous patio festival is much more than flowers and patios, and most nights there will also be concerts, both free outdoor events and in theaters, and you could expect to see some of the greatest flamenco artists on stage.

Cordoba is only 1h 40 minutes from Madrid with the high speed AVE train, city center to city center.

"Cordoba - vida y genio" (life and spirit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyfGdpF55Uk

As others have said,Spain's trains are fast, clean and one of the best in Europe.>

Yup - whereas not long ago "The Pain in Spain Was Mainly on the Train" it no longer is and Spanish mainline trains rival any of those in other places - especially places like the U.K. that has almost third-world trains compared to the rest of Europe.