Pegontheroad

I plan on visiting Spain in April. My itinerary so far: Málaga for Semana Santa ( with possibly a side trip to Nerja)
Cuenca for two days,
Barcelona ( just for a side trip to Montserrat)
San Sebastian, two or three days.
Madrid, one day so i can visit the national archaeological museum.

I've been to Spain several times and have visited Granada, Sevilla, Ronda, Cordoba, Granada, Mérida, Zafra, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Madrid and Barcelona.

I like architecture and culture and walking around or sitting in a cafe just taking in the ambiance of a city. I'm not interested in nightlife.

I plan on being in Spain for two or three weeks, depending on which cities I end up visiting.

Any suggestions for an interesting city in either north-ish of Madrid or in Andalucia? How about in Basque country?

Aduchamp1

The coast of Galicia is spectacular and Santiado de Compostela is a most interesting city as is nearby Lugo and the Islas Cies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/200...16/beach.top10

Although Montserrat is interesting it would take time and out of the way from visiting the north.

The Basque country is beautiful and you have seen much of the south already.

ribeirasacra

You can see similar Semana Santa parades in say Santiago de Compostela, without the crush you find in Andalusia.
Nerja for me was a big disappointment. Mainly catering for the UK visitors with English this that and everything else, plus a small percentage of Spanish shops too.

lincasanova

If you have not been to Merida and Cáceres, I would suggest those additions. Very low key but full of interesting buildings. The Mérida archeological museum was designed by Rafael Moneo, who also did the renovation to the Prado,among other striking buildings. He designed the Atocha station also.

Pegontheroad

Oops! I forgot Caceres. We went there in 2006. Beautiful city! We went to Mérida last year and did visit the wonderful museum. The Roman theater was fascinating too. I'll never forget seeing my friend sandy so overwhelmed by her first sight of the theater that she had to fight back tears.

As I was strolling around the city, I saw sunk into the sidewalk a plaque with the old Roman name, Augusta Emerita. I wanted to take a picture of it, but it was defaced by that most disgusting of American exports, wads of blackened chewing gum.

The Atocha station is my favorite train station in the world. I think it is fabulous. Amazing that an architect can take an old station such as the one that must have existed before and make it into such an imaginative structure.

Adu: Maybe I'll take a couple of extra days and go to Santiago de Compostela and the coast of Galacia. My time will expand to encompass everything I decide to see, and I am bountifully supplied with credit cards, so I don't have to worry too much about cost. I may not return to Spain, since there are other countries I want to visit.

I'd just do a day trip to Montserrat. Mainly I want to hear Escolania sing.

Aduchamp1

Merida is most interesting town with a beautiful Roman amphitheatre. It was the first venue where Jose Carreras performed when he recovered from cancer.

We were there one June and it was so hot we could only spend a few minutes in the sun.

Peg, did you see "The Way" with Martin Sheen? Besides being a fine movie it will show you northern Spain, Santiago, and the Coast of Death in Galicia.

Cowboy1968

Haven't spotted Valencia in your list of cities you already visited. Though it's neither north of Madrid nor in Andalucia.

Besides that there are probably tons of smaller towns and villages that could suit your taste.
Will you be traveling by public transport only, or also rent a car?
Instead of Nerja you could visit Frigiliana, very close to Nerja, and a picture perfect "White Village".
http://www.frigiliana.es/

Pegontheroad

Adu: Yes, I did see "The Way," and I also followed your thread on your wife and her sister doing the Camino. It sounded wonderful, and of course the end of "The Way" includes some of the coast of Galacia. It looks stunning.

Cowboy: No, I haven't visited Valencia, mainly because it's a bit out of the way from other places I've visited. It's not impossible, though. Do you recommend it?

I'll probably travel by public transportation. I've driven a good deal in Spain, and I enjoyed it. However, I detest driving in cities that are hilly, such as Cuenca. I seem to end up stalling on a hillside with a string of cars behind me.

I'll check out Frigiliana. I mentioned Nerja because I thought it would be fun to see the Balcón de Europa. The mention of catering to visitors from the U.K. is actually an additional lure because I could probably find some tea and scones somewhere. I have a weakness for scones with clotted cream, a delicacy which is exceedingly rare in eastern Washington, where I live.

Thanks for the responses.

ribeirasacra

When I mean catering for the British I mean pubs with cheap British ale, not even traditional British ale. Go and you will be sorry It is not the Spain you are looking for.
Valencia is not out of the way if you are heading for BCN then Andalusia.

jpie

While I agree with the fact Nerja has a large tourist quotient, I wouldn't dismiss it entirely, especially if you are interested in Frigilian, which is right there. The Balcon is nice, and the nearby caves are worth a visit for sure. And if you want clotted cream then Gibraltar might be worth the trip.

Kwoo

Have you traveled along the Costa Brava, north of Barcelona? If not, I highly recommend it. Places worth seeing are Tossa De Mar, S'Agaro, Calella Palafrugel, & Cadaques. I'm sure there is more but these are the places we stopped at. Also, Girona is a wonderful city. And from there, or from Cadaques, you can travel through the Pyrenees & visit towns such as Besalu, Ripoll, Rupit & Vic. Perhaps you could travel from Cadaques through the Pyrenees to San Sebastian, or vice versa.

PPR

HI
I lived in Andalucia for 8 years until Jan 2011.

Nerja (aside form the caves)is BORING. Frigiliana (5 min drive from Nerja) is pretty and possibly worth an hour or two (it's very small) and if your knees/hips/ankles/feet, etc are at all "dodgy", don't do it because it's perched on a hillside and walking is pretty strenuous - OK for the fit (ish) - no good if you are arthritic.

The Balcon is essentially a toilet for the locals' yappy dogs. You need to keep you eyes peeled and oriented downwards to avoid a nasty skid. The Balcon sounds grand but it isn't worth a visit.

If you'd contemplate going to Nerja from Malaga... instead go to Ronda. Now that's pretty spectacular and if you rent a car and take the scenic route via Coin, Alozaina, Yunquera, El Burgo, etc you will be staggered (literally) by the mountain scenery. It's an amazing journey - about 1.5 to 2 hours (from Coin) allowing for the odd photo stop and a coffee along the way. Now the road has been upgraded it's very safe and you can zip along if you want to - better though, to take your time and enjoy the journey.

There's a lot to see in Ronda - you could fill a whole day there without any trouble.

Caceres is nice but not a patch on Ronda. And if you are up that way, as others have said, Merida is definitely worth a visit if you have time. As is Trujillo and continuing further North, Salamamca is architecturally stunning.

Whatever you do... have a great time - the weather that time of year should be very pleasant, dry and warm without being roasting.

Pegontheroad

Kwoo: Interesting suggestions. I will look into them in my multitude of guide books and on the internet, too.

Kwoo

Pegontheroad,
If you wish, you can click on my name to read my travel report from October 2010. I go into detail about Girona, the places we visited along the Costa Brava & in the Pyrenees.