Tentative Spain itinerary
Aug 23rd, 2006, 05:24 AM
#1
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Tentative Spain itinerary
Ok, so I decided on Spain for December. For background, I am nearly fluent in Spanish, have an interest in Spanish art, food and culture and am not a beach or party girl on vacation. This is my first trip to Spain and I will not be renting a car. That said, I'm considering:
Fly to Barcelona, arrive 9:40 a.m. Spend day 1 and 2 here. What I really want to see here is Sagrada Familia, the Picasso museum and the Gaudi buildings/park and just stroll around. I think this is reasonable given that I'll be burning off jetlag too.
Day 3 Fly to Seville early. Spend days 3-4 in Seville, day trip to Cordoba.
Day 5 Train/fly to Madrid (I'm looking for faster, not cheaper)
Day 5-6 See Madrid (museums, palace, plazas, etc.) None of these days are a Monday, thankfully, so no closings to factor in.
Day 7-8 Day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Day 9 I have until 3 p.m. in Madrid before heading to the airport for a late flight home.
Is this reasonable? Biting off more than I can chew? Since I'm not wholly signed on to Barcelona yet (from what I have heard and read, I'm not sure I'm going to love the city), would it be better to see Granada or somewhere else instead? I'm really looking for a nice introduction to Spain that isn't too frazzled.
TIA for advice!
Fly to Barcelona, arrive 9:40 a.m. Spend day 1 and 2 here. What I really want to see here is Sagrada Familia, the Picasso museum and the Gaudi buildings/park and just stroll around. I think this is reasonable given that I'll be burning off jetlag too.
Day 3 Fly to Seville early. Spend days 3-4 in Seville, day trip to Cordoba.
Day 5 Train/fly to Madrid (I'm looking for faster, not cheaper)
Day 5-6 See Madrid (museums, palace, plazas, etc.) None of these days are a Monday, thankfully, so no closings to factor in.
Day 7-8 Day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Day 9 I have until 3 p.m. in Madrid before heading to the airport for a late flight home.
Is this reasonable? Biting off more than I can chew? Since I'm not wholly signed on to Barcelona yet (from what I have heard and read, I'm not sure I'm going to love the city), would it be better to see Granada or somewhere else instead? I'm really looking for a nice introduction to Spain that isn't too frazzled.
TIA for advice!
Aug 23rd, 2006, 05:39 AM
#3
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I think you are trying to cover too much in a short time.
You might cut one or two of the side trips, I mean Cordoba, Segovia or Toledo.
Seville is similar to Cordoba so you may avoid this trip and spend one day more in Sevilla.
Between Segovia and Toledo I will avoid Segovia.
Regarding your question about the Seville Madrid trip. train is the best choice. Two and a half hours city center to city center.
You might cut one or two of the side trips, I mean Cordoba, Segovia or Toledo.
Seville is similar to Cordoba so you may avoid this trip and spend one day more in Sevilla.
Between Segovia and Toledo I will avoid Segovia.
Regarding your question about the Seville Madrid trip. train is the best choice. Two and a half hours city center to city center.
Aug 23rd, 2006, 06:20 AM
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Your itinerary sounds busy, but OK. Instead of going to Cordoba, I would do a day trip to Sanlucar de Barrameda or El Puerto de Santa Maria, both on the water and you can tour a sherry plant. We did a day trip to Sanlucar last year and really enjoyed it. There is some great seafood and a beautiful beach. See more info here:
http://www.madaboutsherry.com/sanlucar-info.html
http://www.madaboutsherry.com/sanlucar-info.html
Aug 23rd, 2006, 07:29 AM
#5
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Thank you both, I will consider cutting the day trips. I'm still unsure about Barcelona entirely, so maybe I'll add those days to Madrid or Seville...these are the decisions I like!
Aug 23rd, 2006, 07:37 AM
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amyb:
Don't cut your daytrips to Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo. You can do it all in 9 days. I just returned from a 10-day trip quite similar to yours, except we switched your Barcelona days for 3 days in Algeciras so that we could visit Gibraltar and Tangier, Morocco. While it was an ambitious itinerary, we still had plenty of time to rest and relax in the outdoor cafes.
Don't skip Granada--our visit to the Alhambra was the highlight of our trip. The Alcazar in Seville and the Mezquita in Cordoba were great, but nothing compares to the Alhambra and the Generalife. The Segovia aqueduct and alcazar and the Toledo Cathedral are also really worth seeing.
Don't cut your daytrips to Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo. You can do it all in 9 days. I just returned from a 10-day trip quite similar to yours, except we switched your Barcelona days for 3 days in Algeciras so that we could visit Gibraltar and Tangier, Morocco. While it was an ambitious itinerary, we still had plenty of time to rest and relax in the outdoor cafes.
Don't skip Granada--our visit to the Alhambra was the highlight of our trip. The Alcazar in Seville and the Mezquita in Cordoba were great, but nothing compares to the Alhambra and the Generalife. The Segovia aqueduct and alcazar and the Toledo Cathedral are also really worth seeing.
