Visiting Granada for 1st time. Should we stay 2 or 3 nights?
 

Dear Travelers,

We have narrowed down our trip to Spain for 15 days, excluding travel days, to Madrid (3 nights), Toledo (1 night) Sevilla (2 nights), Arcos and surrounding towns (5 nights) and Granada. The questions is should we stay in Granada 2 nights or 3? I like the idea of spending more time in Granada than in Sevilla since it seems like a "smaller town".

Thank you!

I can only say that we spent all our one day at the Alhambra which we enjoyed. Those who have actually visited Granada itself seem to think it is equally worthwhile.

I suspect there will be those who will tell you that Seville is worth more than two days. I liked Seville but the architecture as a style certainly wasn't anything new and we managed to see what were us the real highlights (cathedral, alcazar, etc.) in a couple of days and to the everlasting condemnation of some here but hey, we were happy.

I'd say go with your inclination although if you think (as I very erroneoulsy did) that Granada is some little backwater which just happens to have the Alhambra nearby, definitely think again <G> and enjoy your visit for sure.

I would give the Alhambra just one night, as there isn't that much more to see in Granada except skiing in the winter. (with apologies to Granadophiles).

I would recommend spending at least 2 nights in Granada so you'll have at least one full day there.

And Dukey is right. :-) I'd recommend spending more than 2 nights in Seville. But if you've done your research and only want to spend 2 nights there, then spend 2 nights there.

My bias is that I'm usually a slow traveler and spent 4 nights each in Seville and Granada. But it was during Corpus Christi so there was more activities than usual.

IMO, Granada is underrated. While most people probably wouldn't want to stay there as long as I did, it's worth more than a drive by.

I would say one night in Granada is sufficient. We loved the Alhambra but didn't find much else that interesting - just our opinion. We loved Seville - found it much more conducive to wandering (granada felt a little "gritty" - to put it nicely).

two nites Granada and three in Seville. Granada is small enough that you can do it in a full day, but need a full day. It is NOT relaxing, however--very busy and crowded. There are enough things in and around Seville to warrant at least three nites there. If you really don't want more time in Seville, spend one nite on Cordoba to visit the Mosque and eat at El Caballo Rojo--yum.

We stayed 3 nights ( 2 and a half days ) in Granada, 2 would have been long enough to see Alhambra and the rest of the city.

"I like the idea of spending more time in Granada than in Sevilla since it seems like a "smaller town"."

I think it's quite the opposite of this - Sevilla seems like a smaller town than Granada to me. I'd definately say 2 nights in Granada is a good time to see the Alhambra, Albacin, Cathedral area, etc... For Sevilla I'd budget 3 nights minimum for a first time visit. If you don't want to take a night out of Granada to add to Sevilla I'd take a night out of Arcos & area (5 nights is plenty). Sevilla is well located for daytrips so if you budget 3 nights in Sevilla and have seen enough (which I doubt will happen) you can always add a daytrip from Sevilla (Jerez, Carmona, Osuna,Sanlucar, etc...).

Sevilla is large but feels to me like a smaller city without the traffic hustle and bustle as Granada. There are many areas where cars are prohibited making it very pedestrian friendly - not the case with Granada. Unless you're in the Albacin area of Granada it certainly doesn't have a small town feeling at all.

Two days in Granada minimum-- whoever goes to Granada and leaves without seeing the Cathedral, El Albaicin (the old Moorish quarter of the city), the Alhambra & the Gardens of the Generalife commits a cardinal sin against the Travel Gods (and proves to need some help as travel researcher IMHO!!:-D)....

Agree about Seville; a couple of days should meet the minimum requirement!

Thank you all for your responses! It's settled. We will be doing 2 nights in Granada and 3 Sevilla. Viajero 2, no worries. We will visit the places you mentioned, wouldn't want the Travel Gods wrath on us. :-)

We are staying in Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol. Have any of you been to it?

Also, have any of you ever visited Jaén?