summer in spain
 

Hi,
I am going with a friend to Spain in August for 9 days. Do you recommend Barcelona and Northern Spain or Sevilla and Southern Spain? We prefer trains/buses to renting cars. We are interested in a combination of sightseeing/beaches/nightlife, and any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

Never been to Northern Spain, but I do know that Costa del Sol has a great nightlife (if you don't mind getting started to party at 2 a.m. and stop until 8:00 a.m!) and sightseeing. You can see people/families eating on the streets (in outside cafes) at midnight. If you don't rent a car, all the hotels have tour buses to go to the different places of interest.

Barcelona is probably cooler, although anywhere but the northwestern coast will tend to be hot. Seville is not on the coast, so in that respect Barcelona has an advantage. It is also larger and probably livelier.

Northern Spain has a very pleasant climate in August whereas southern Spain is sweltering hot!
Asturias province on the Atlantic coast north of Madrid is especially very diverse with both mountains and seashore, and many festivals.
Bus & train service in northern Spain is frequent & economical.
Recommend the Semana Grande festival in Gijon starting at the beginning of August when the "nightlife" runs to sunrise! .

Stay north--Andalusia is too hot. Also, Barcelona has the best nite life for young people, and San Sebastian is not to be missed.

Thanks for all of your great advice. It sounds like Barcelona is a definite, and possibly San Sebastian. We are still torn on the third city we want to hit. Has anyone been to Costa del Brava or Valencia? Is it possible to do Costa del Sol with these cities or is it too far? Where is this cool Gijon festival?
Thanks again!

If you are staying in Barcelona, you can reach Valencia by train in 3 hours, so it's very convenient. In Valencia, you can visit old monuments (as the cathedral or la Lonja), museums, and the new Museu de la Ciència (Science museum), l'Hemisfèric (planetarium) and l'Oceanogràfic (Aquarium). Night life is lively and very funny, although quite late. You can also visit "El llit del Túria", which is the old river bed, now made into a garden (the river itself has been re-directed so as to avoid floods). But you must be aware of the weather: Valencia is really hot in August, much hotter than northen Spain and Barcelona.

Barcelona is August may not be as hot as, say, Seville, but it is much more humid.

Gijon is a major port city on the north central coast of Spain in the Asturias province. There is one beach in town with medium sized waves (occasionally tested by surfers) & another protected by breakwaters.
The Semana Grande festival runs this year (2003) from August 9 to 16.
There are all kinds of outdoor & indoor activities running day & night during the festival, including free concerts. In fact the singles crowd seldom goes to bed before 6am!
Bullfights featuring well known matadors are scheduled throughout the week.

M is for mallorca which is magnificent!