Nilesh

Hi,

Me and my wife are going to spain in september and have planned an Itinerary for same. The details are as follows:

DAY-1 SEP-11 SAT MADRID Arrive at 4 PM
DAY-2 SEP-11 SUN MADRID Museo del Prado, Puerta del Sol, Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real
DAY-3 SEP-12 MON MADRID Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial
DAY-4 SEP-13 TUE MADRID Side trip to TOLEDO(Alcázar), Catedral de Toledo and SEGOVIA(Alcázar)
DAY-5 SEP-14 WED SEVILLE Early Morning Fast Train(2hr), get down at CORDOBA(Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba) at 9:30 AM, Take afternoon bus to seville.
DAY-6 SEP-15 THU SEVILLE Catedral de Sevilla, Alcázar, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla
DAY-7 SEP-16 FRI GRANADA Leave Seville by afternoon bus(3hr), arrive Granada between 6-7 PM.
DAY-8 SEP-17 SAT GRANADA Alhambra
DAY-9 SEP-18 SUN GRANADA Guided Bus Tour - Sierra Nevada
DAY-10 SEP-19 MON GRANADA Day Trip to Nerja
DAY-11 SEP-20 TUE MADRID Early Morning Bus to Madrid(5hr), Bullfighting – Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, Flamenco Dancing-Gran Via neighborhood
DAY-12 SEP-21 WED Real Madrid Stadium, Flight home back 3 PM

We would like feedback from people who have been to spain or live there, so that we can have a good holiday.

I know no two people may have same concept of holiday i.e. some may enjoy spending all time at beaches and some may enjoy mountain walking for weeks. But, we are not going there with such a holiday in mind, since, we could do that here in India itself, which would be much cheaper..

We like historical places like forts and castles and also some really good museums. At the same time we would also like to see/feel some really beautifull places over there. We have tried to minimize travelling as we would be dependent on public transport, at the same time we tried to include the most famous places.

Our dates are fixed at the moment however we are open to changes in our plan i.e. different cities/route etc. Hence request you all, to advice us if there are better options considering what we are looking for.

Also can you pls let us know if these places will be very hot in mid sept? We already have hot weather in our country, generally btw 30-35 C degree, would prefer cooler place.
Will there be huge rush at these places? No one likes hot weather + huge rush, nor do we.

Thanks
Nilesh

Aduchamp1

You might consider the palace in Aranhjuez. and the walled city of Avila. Both trips are easily made from Madrid. Also Day 2 will be extremely tiring and day 3 a bit unrelaistic.

And Toledo and Segovia are in opposite directions.

kimhe

You should consider to see flamenco in Sevilla at Casa de la Memória. Popular with tourists, but some of the finest flamenco artists in the world perform here on a regular basis.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Andalusia.html

Flamenco in Madrid would also be great, and I can recommend Casa Patas and Cardamomo, both just off bustling Plaza Santa Ana.
http://www.casapatas.com/
http://www.cardamomo.es/

When in beautiful Nerja, I recommend to have lunch at La Marina. Extremely popular with both locals and tourists alike and as good as you get a seafood freiduría in all of Andalucía:
http://www.guideofnerja.com/pages/gu.../marina_en.htm

Photo of Nerja: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2622/...de6a8146_o.jpg

Or when in Nerja, perhaps have the famous paella down at Ayos's? http://www.ayonerja.com/ayo.en.htm

indiancouple

Too little time in Seville (just 1.5 days), as it is worth much much more. Probably add two more days to Seville, and cut off one day from Granada, and one day from Madrid on the return journey. Much better to see flamenco in Seville.

Agree that it is virtually impossible to combine Toledo & Segovia in one day. Stick to Toledo, and leave Segovia for a later visit.

You can click on my name and scroll through my trip reports to find my report on Spain, if interested.

kimhe

agree that you should add a couple of days to Sevilla, the undisputable queen among the cities in the south of Spain.

This site gives great information: http://www.exploreseville.com/

And very knowledgeable suggestions for tapas bars/restaurants in Sevilla: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/

Be sure to visit the oldest restaurant/tapas bar in Spain, El Rinconcillo: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletap...l-rinconcillo/

Two of my favourites in town are in the San Lorenzo district, a little north of the more touristy Santa Cruz area with the Cathedral, the fantastic Alcazar etc.
http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/category/eslava/
http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletap...omment-page-1/

When in Madrid, have breakfast or lunch at Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes in down town Calle Alcalá, 42. One of the city's most emblematic cafés. Grab a window table and watch Madrid life on bustling Calle Alcalá. Take the lift up to the roof topp terrace (the azotea) for the most spectacular views of the city. Photos and videos: http://11870.com/pro/circulo-bellas-artes

And perhaps watch the sunset over the Guadarrama mountains from the terrace at El Ventorrillo in the Vistillas park, next to the Almudena Cathedral and the Royal palace. Great pollo al ajillo, some say the best in town. Map, video and some pictures: http://11870.com/pro/restaurante-ventorrillo

danon

agree with others..
more time in Seville, less in Granada ( why Nerja?).
Toledo and Segovia in one day - not a good idea.
Escorial is not in Madrid.
Thyssen is closed on Monday.

kimhe

I guess you go to Nerja for the spectacular caves with 20 000 years old wall paintings just outside town? http://www.nerjatoday.com/nerja/nerja-caves/

kimhe

... and after Nerja you could go to close by Málaga and take the morning high speed AVE train to Madrid in 2 1/2 hours.

nytraveler

Southern Spainis hot as hell (routinely more than 100 degrees in the summer) and in Sept Madrid will likely still be hot as well. (We were there at the end of April and it was about 98 and humid.'

If you want cool in Spain you need to go to San Sebastian - or in midwinter.

nytraveler

Southern Spainis hot as hell (routinely more than 100 degrees in the summer) and in Sept Madrid will likely still be hot as well. (We were there at the end of April and it was about 98 and humid.'

If you want cool in Spain you need to go to San Sebastian - or in midwinter.

danon

The weather is strange everywhere, even in Spain. We were in Madrid at the end of April last year and it was rather nice 80 degrees.
Mid April this year, we arrived in Seville to 88 which our friend ,who lives there, declared unusually warm for April. After two days it rained and the tem. dropped to mid 70s.

Today, it was warmer in Berlin than in Madrid.

Nilesh

Thanks to all, for sharing such valuable tips. After considering your suggestions, we have modified the Itinerary. Kindly share your feedback on same.

DAY-1 SEP-11 SAT MADRID Arrive at 4 PM
DAY-2 SEP-11 SUN MADRID Palacio Real, Museo del Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Museo Thyssen, Puerta del Sol
DAY-3 SEP-12 MON MADRID Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, Real Madrid tour, Museo Romantico(If time permits), Faunia National Park, Plaza Mayor
DAY-4 SEP-13 TUE MADRID Guided Bus Tour: Ávila and Segovia, Plaza de santa ana
DAY-5 SEP-14 WED SEVILLE Early Morning Fast Train(2.5hr) to Seville, reach there by 9:30 AM, Alcázar, Giralda, Catedral de Sevilla, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, Plaza de Espana
DAY-6 SEP-15 THU SEVILLE Archeological Museum, Maria Luisa Park, Evening - Flamenco
DAY-7 SEP-16 FRI GRANADA Explore Seville, Afternoon Bus around 4PM to Granada(3hrs)
DAY-8 SEP-17 SAT GRANADA Guided Bus Tour(9AM to 6PM): Las Alpujarras
DAY-9 SEP-18 SUN GRANADA Alhambra, Albaicin, Sacromonte
DAY-10 SEP-19 MON MADRID Early Morning Bus(2.5hrs) to CORDOBA(Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba) and Jewish Quarter, Take Train/Bus to Madrid
DAY-11 SEP-20 TUE MADRID Side trip: TOLEDO(Alcázar), Catedral de Toledo, El Retiro Park
DAY-12 SEP-21 WED Flight home back 2 PM

Thanks
Nilesh

Aduchamp1

Days 2 and 3 are unrealistic. When you write the names of the museums, I assume you want to go inside, not just swing by.

danon

what Adu said. You are packing too much in almost each day.
You might not realize how big most museums are or that one often has to wait in line for 20-30 minutes to get into some places .

When you reach a location ,let's say Seville, you need time to get to you hotel, check in, unpack, find your way around, get from one location in town to the next; for example : from Museo de Bellas Artes to Plaza Espena, or from Palacio Real to Prado.
I assume you also wish to sit down and have a meal or a beer at on point in the day.

Nilesh

On Day 2 Museo Thyssen is optional, will cover it only if time permits and we like previous museums.
Similarly, on Day 3 Museo Romantico is optional.

We are not very serious art buffs. We just browse though most of the stuff, spending time on only items of our interest. Just to give an example we browsed through Louvre in Paris in 4.5 hrs. I don't think any of these museums would be that huge.

Day 5, Giralda, Catedral de Sevilla, Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla - I don't think any of these should take more than a hour i.e. combined 3-4 hrs. Besides, our plan is flexible in seville as we have spare time on Day 7.

Pls note we generally tend to cover a lot in a day, generally grabbing lunch at fast food joints.

At the moment our first priority is to fix
a) Cities we would be staying and for many nights? and
b) in what sequence?
This will help us in booking our Hotels. We have already booked our Hotel in Madrid for 4 nights, but are not sure which cities would be best for next 7 nights and in which sequence.

Can you pls confirm the sequence and the number of nights I have mentioned in my plan seems like best possible option for 11 Nights?
Note: I have deliberately shifted one of the Seville nights to Granada, since hotels are cheaper in Granada.

Thanks
Nilesh

Nilesh

Also, regarding lines at monuments/museums, we generally avoid it by puchasing city cards which gives us priority access.

Cheers
Nilesh

danon

Yes, your sequence works. Perhaps, see Alhambra before taking a side trip from Granada.
I wish I had your stamina to cover so much in a , possible, very hot weather.

Nilesh

danon,

if you were in my place, which would be the places you would drop/include and why?

In Spain's hot weather condition, it would help to have a backup plan, just in case i start finding it difficult to meet my plan.

My experience so far in European cities such as London, Paris, Edinburgh, Rome and Florence suggest, if you plan in advance and well, you can cover 3-4 monuments daily, without streching yourself too far.

danon

I am a "lazy" traveler who prefers to skip a few museums and monuments in favour of just strolling in the park ( Retiro in Madrid), window shopping ( Salamanca district in Madrid), having a coffee or lunch in a lovely cafe ( Plaza de Oriente, Madrid) or spending an evening "fighting" locals for a table in a tapa bar in Cava Baja ( Madrid).

I do book hotels and train tickets but don't make a daily itinerary. We got back from Seville a few weeks ago; we were considering going to Cordoba for a day ( I had been in the past), but it was rather hot, it was Semana Santa, we came from Malaga and were going to Barcelona, so we just dropped it .
I (we) travel to Europe 2-3 times a year, we are not in our 30s any more. Also, we are not budget travelers.
You are experienced and prepared travelers so it is not my place to tell you what to change .
As far as the ( possibly) hot weather, one could book hotels with good AC, take a few hours off in mid day , plan Alhambra or Alcazar visits for first thing in the morning
( you have to book Alhambra tickets ahead of time) and
,perhaps, be a bit flexible as you go along.

Nilesh

damon you are lucky to travel to europe 2-3 times a year, wish we could do the same.

We could not have as much flexibility as you have, as without prior bookings things start to get out of our hand(start loosing time and money).

This is our first visit to spain so trying to cover as much as possible.

As for heat we r accustomed to 25-32C, it gets hot for us only if temp starts to soar above 35c. Hoping to get temp below 35c during mid sept.

Thanks for your suggestions, keep posting.