I am looking for help in planning 17 day trip to Spain without car. I am flying into Madrid and returning home from Barcelona. I want to have ample time in these cities, but also explore some smaller towns or cities.
Any suggesctions, advice, tips etc, will be much appreciated and are greatly needed!

Please read these boards and/or a guide book, there are many choices and we do not know your budget or interests. Then you can make more specific requests

It depends on your interest..
art, galleries, beaches, shopping, food ?????

the often taken itinerary would be:
Madrid 4-5 days ( with a day trip to Toledo or /and Segovia))

AVE to Seville for 3 days (stop in Cordoba )
bus to Granada for 2 days(Alhambra)

fly to Barcelona for for the rest of time ( side trips to smaller towns on the coast?)

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I should give more info about what I am interested in. My husband and I are not beach people, although we do enjoy a beautiful seaside town. We enjoy the simple pleasures of a new place with a culture and ambience different from our own... sitting in a cafe, watching street life..local markets, good food...We had thought perhaps 6 days in Madrid (including day trips) and 6-7 days in Barcelona. This gives us 4-5 days to spend elswhere. We haave been reading books and the boards, but I am not sure where would be a good place to spend more than a day trip e.g. Seville, Toledo, Segovia etc. I have done lots of research, but that's different than having been there...so I am looking for specific suggestions..open to all ideas.

Besides seeing Madrid and Barcelona themselves, each is great base for either day trips or overnight trips.

Madrid-Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Avila and the often overlooked Cuenca

Barcelona-Girona, Cadaques, Monserrat and Figueres

seems like you will be taking the train or bus. so a circle trip seems logical, after madrid day trips, down to sevilla a couple nights, on to granada, then orihuela for gorgeous churches and moanasteries/convents.

stay at the palacio tudemir hotel (there now a meliá hotel)www.sol-melia.com)

on to alicante.. then up to altea ( artisits village on coast).

stop in Valencia. then up to barcelona.

A lot depends on when your trip will happen: not just dates, but day of the week. Sunday in Madrid for example you can see all the street performers in Retiro Park; and in Barcelona it's Parc Guell.

There are also Fiestas you may want to be there for or avoid: Pamplona for los SanFermines (7-14 Jul) or Sevilla for the Feria de abril, or Semana Santa (19-21 Mar) or Feria del Campo (Pentecost) for example.

And, do you want to concentrate on the north of Spain or Andalucia??

Thanks for some very helpful ideas. Since we will be taking train or bus, I think I would prefer 6 days Madrid, with day trips, then perhaps four nights some other base town, then on to Barcelona for a week.Which would be a good base town? We are not that interested in churches and monastaries...if here were evening concerts or entertainment that would be a plus. We have spent a week on Costa del Sol and did some day trips from there. We had thought of San Sebastion, after Madrid and before Barcelona, but without a car it didn't seem practical. Still seeking more ideas and suggestions. Have not yet figured out a good plan.

How about Andalucia? You can take lots of day trips from Sevilla and then fly to Barcelona.
Sevilla is not a day trip destination--you gotta be there a few days.

Although I have not been to Valencia, that might be an alternative to research.
Zaragoza looks intriguing as well.
To me, picking a place isn't hard, it's eliminating places!
good luck

luvtosee,

We did the following itinerary last spring:

4 days in Madrid (We did not do any side trips)
4 days in Seville (did a day trip to Cordoba)
2 days in Granada
3 days in Barcelona

We loved Seville - it is a beautiful place - not to be missed imho. The flamenco shows were excellent. The day trip to Cordoba was well worth it. (The Mezquita was beautiful. But, we enjoyed walking around the Jewish quarter even more.)

If I were doing Madrid and Barcelona and had a few more days, I would do Seville. (It would be a very different experience compared to the cities)

Thanks everyone. I am now considering Madrid 6 days with day trips to Segovia and Toledo, then AVE to Seville for 4 days, then AVE to Barcelona, 7 days with day trip to Girona. Am I correct that AVE will go these routes? I am looking for feedback about the allotment of days in each city, as well as any other advice, suggestions etc. I am still very open to all ideas and am looking for as many as possible.

Have you checked the renfe site?

Sounds like a good plan. I would fly to Barcelona. Don't forget Granada!