Family of 4 seeking worthwhile vacation with about 8 real sightseeing days. Should we do Barcelona only or Barcelona + Madrid? I went to Spain 100 years ago when I was a teenager. My daughters are teens now (both take Spanish). Recommendations for cheap airfares welcome.

with 8 days i think you can do barceona, then fly to sevilla, then up to madrid, via cordoba, ( on the AVE or in rental car)and if you feel like it, go to toledo at least for the day (on the way if you are driving).

actually this would be one of the easiest roads in spain to drive. you could drop the car off in toledo, spend the night and then train to madrid on the AVE.

you would need to buy an open jaw ticket so you could fly out of madrid. this may be rushed, but it would give you a good feel of the country.

otherwise, i think you can defintely do just the two cities you mentioned, with a day trip to toledo or segovia.

www.vueling.com will have low cost one way flights between barcelona and sevilla and /or madrid. but book early. these are prime travel dates.

with 8 days i think you can do barcelona, then fly to sevilla, then up to madrid, via cordoba, ( on the AVE or in rental car)and if you feel like it, go to toledo at least for the day (on the way if you are driving).

actually this would be one of the easiest roads in spain to drive. you could drop the car off in toledo, spend the night and then train to madrid on the AVE.

you would need to buy an open jaw ticket so you could fly out of madrid. this may be rushed, but it would give you a good feel of the country.

otherwise, i think you can defintely do just the two cities you mentioned, with a day trip to toledo or segovia.

www.vueling.com will have low cost one way flights between barcelona and sevilla and /or madrid. but book early. these are prime travel dates.

Can you recommend any top hotels?

what price range? there is alot here already. i suggest you take a look at others' requests and posts and see about the posted recs already.

if you define what is important to you..boutique hotel, luxury, charming but simple?
chains?

there are many good deals out there.

www.talonotel.com
www.gtahotels.com
www.solmelia.com
www.rumbo.es

Your plans should take into consideration that many places will close for 2 or 3 consecutive days for holidays. We flew from Madrid to Barcelona on Xmas day and we found many sites were closed on the 26th and again on the following day because it was Monday.
If you are in Madrid on Xmas eve, you must get dinner reservations somewhere soon, and be prepared to really dress up. At the Palace Hotel, locals arrived in formal wear for dinner and 2 Americans in jeans looked totally out of place entering the restaurant.

I am not so sure about lincasanova's suggested itinerary. It may be a non-issue if you were traveling by yourself in June and had 10+ days. Not a good idea by far when the conditions are a December trip, family of four, 8 days. Factors such as limited daylight, reduced train schedules, holiday schedules need to be considered. I do agree with the 2 home bases idea.

You need to elaborate, though. Looking for suggestions for a "worthwhile vacation" means something different for just about every human being. Same goes for "cheap" hotels and airfares (from where?; $1,000/pp from Seattle-Madrid may be considered a bargain).

A strong suggestion: check out go-today.com

b210,
We were in Madrid over the holidays last yr. and will be in Madrid and Bcn from Xmas to Epiphany this yr.

With the closings of tourist sites, the limited daylight (it will get dark around 6), the restaurant closings and the logistics of moving a family of 4 around the country, rather than just a couple, plus the price of airfares for 4, even the discount ones, or the AVE-ALVIA-ALTARIA trains, I just wouldn't attempt more than 2 destinaitons in 8 real sightseeing days. I might even concentrated on Barcelona plus day trips by bus/train to Figueres (Dalí Museum), maybe Montserrat (if that holds appeal), Girona, Tarragona. The later 2 cities will have more appeal with their holiday decorations and store displays.

While vueling.com does have low fares, their mid to late afternoon flight times may not be particularly convenient for you, although some are low as 20 euros plus taxes (37.66). Our morning flight Bcn-Madrid cost 76 euros.
The quickest train now from BCN to Madrid, the Altaria, takes 4 hrs. 50 min., the Alvia takes up to an hr. longer. Fares in tourist class run about 63 euros.

If your dates include Sun. Dec. 24, you will find in Madrid that most museums, if open, will close early between 2-3 p.m. Plus your dining will be very limited to those few restaurants that will open that Sunday night, charging a very high fixed price, or the hotel restaurants, which can also be expensive.

Dining anywhere on Dec. 25 will be very limited to chains such as VIPS, Gino's, tourist meccas like Botín, Café de Oriente or your hotel.

New Year's Eve dinners in Madrid usually are dressy, gala affairs, very, very pricey, fixed menu plus cotillon, dancing with orchestra or D.J. plus brk. affairs. Prices last year ranged from a low of 75 p.p. (just dinner at Zaranda) to 545 (Hotel Ritz) with most averaging btw. 90-150 p.p. I would expect the same situation in Barcelona.

And those restaurants that do have gala dinners will be closed on New Year's Day, when dining is mostly limited to hotels.
We ate our NY Day dinner (not dressy) at the Hotel Urban last yr., reserved well in advance, and the bill for 2 was 120 euros.

I much, much prefer watching the midnight madhouse of the 12 grapes and cava at Madrid's Puerta del Sol on TV rather than joining the hordes in the frey, but if you do attempt this, please go well in advance and without your wallets!!

Some museum closings:
Madrid's Prado will close Dec. 25 but open til 2 on Dec. 24, Dec. 31

Reina Sofía (very popular with teens) closed Dec. 24, 25, 31, Jan. 1

Thyssen closed Dec. 25, Jan. 1 but open til 3 on Dec. 24, Dec. 31

Palacio Real closed Dec. 24, 25, 31

Bcn's MNAC closed Dec. 25, Jan. 1
Museo Picasso closed Dec. 25, 26, Jan. 1

Hope this helps you to decide.

depending on how many museums you plan to go into, your itinerary can be as calm or "movido" as you think your teens and you can handle.

if you have 8 full days for sightseeing, i assume you are stayng about 9/10 nights in all.

i certainly have had a blast in sevilla(where i think your kids will have the most FUN, as it is the most unique IMHO) in just a mere weekend. it can be done. and it certainly will give an opportunity for PERHAPS a bit milder weather ( but no guarantee mind you!), and i love the folkloric atmosphere there, and the less cosmopolitan attitude. it is a very "up" and happy, fun place. The andaluces have a way about them that can't help but bring a smile or two if you are able to get the gist of what they are saying.

i would try to squeeze in two nights there somehow... just my opinion again, but i do like to move around... whatever suits you.

there is so much to see in spain, with such a wide variety of excellent options.. you can't go wrong whatever you choose.

b210,
lincasanova is certainly right about Seville's being FUN and the MOST "typically Spanish", most true to Spain's legendary outside image of flamenco, guitar, sun, romance, of all the above suggested destinations.

But if it doesn't fit within your time frame, your desire to move around or your budget...

How about a train ride on the Euromed from BCN down to Valencia, lin's home, where we spent New Years last yr. We loved our wkd. visit and were amazed by the tons of Xmas lights, the Santa Claus figures hanging from the balconies, the bustling Mercat, and were delighted by our 59 degree weather on New Years Day (but not guaranteed!) plus the 2 p.m. fireworks. Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences was actually open, to our surprise, on Jan. 1 from noon to six, which would be fun for the kids.
And who doesn't enjoy horchata/orxata at the beautifully tile decorated Santa Catalina or a beachside paella lunch at Las Arenas, and you can see where the America's Cup will be held next summer.

Lin, I regret to say that I hadn't been to Valencia in many years, but I'm happy to say that I immediately fell in love with it again! You live in a delightful city.

wow, maribel, if you start promoting this little visited place i think we will need even MORE new hotels!

by the way, the westin just opened in an historic building. it is very nice. what luxurious bedrooms! wish i could duplicate one of those in our house.. sheets, covers and all!

i will say, after barcelona 1992, valencia is the capital that has most changed its architectural facade, although i am not crazy about a lot of it, impressive as it may be.

valencia can also be alot of fun and wil give you easy train access to madrid if you go there.

fine restaurants, huge historic area, beautiful marketplace, and some world heritage buildings to keep you shooting those cameras.

and, defintely, if boating interests you in the LEAST, a day at the america's cup bases will swoon you.

you will also be very suprised at the great improvement in the roads, thanks to the European Union. (One of the successful attributes.)

Lin,
Just read industry reports about the Westin. We inspected the Balneario on New Years Day, when it
"officially" opened, and we found the rooms really pretty and terraces great. Have they finished all the landscaping, opened the pool and all that was left to be done? We have a friend who was hired as a banquet manager. We also liked Hotel Neptuno.
In addition to charm, you all also have fabulous cuisine. We dined splendidly and hardly scratched the surface. I'm itching to return!

i haven't been back to las arenas since July, but i love sitting on their terrace and work when i am between appointments in the port area, however, they are really trying to improve their service. it is taking awhile. i think the landscaping is finished.

i am not sure if they have completely finished the pool area,( i imagine they have, though) but i did read complaints that they had bought too few lounge chairs and people were putting towels on them all morning and never showing up.

The westin is not completely finished,( but it is open and functioning) but the areas and rooms we were shown were exquisite. It is closer to downtown,( walk across a bridge) but still with easy access to the port.

both hotels are about 150 euros/night when there are no conventions/car races, etc. in town.

i don't think the westin has chosen their in house chef yet. i was with some french colleagues for this hotel escort/lunch morning, and they seemed to know all the names being considered. i am anxious to find that out.

i had a sushi plate at the lunch that was nothing out of the ordinary, but the presentation of all the food served was very nice. the waiters were very attentive.

hotel neptuno did a great rehab. The rooms are a bit functional, but the location can't be beat. i will never understand why they didn´t make a glass wall upstairs where the jacuzzi is on the top terrace so you could see the water when you are in the tub.

hope you come back sometime when i am here. would love to meet you.
i still haven´t met kenderina nor claire...hmmmmm...
must get working on this.

Lin,
I'm with you about the glass wall on the terrace at the Neptuno. With no water view, what's the point of sitting in the Jacuzzi, if you can't see the action in the sea?

Thanks so much for the great insider info.
I promise to let you know when I return so that we can meet. (and I'm very sorry to read about your dad's failing health).

I just love your city.

b210,
Remember that Valencia makes a great destination from Barcelona-only 3 hrs. by Euromed and 3 hrs. 20 min. by Altaris from Madrid!

yes.. thank you. i will be going back soon..

there must be a good reason about no glass wall. probably some idiotic restriction from the historic department.