Art

Hi fodorites, I'm taking my sister to Paris for 2 days and then on to Portugal and Spain for the next 10 days. She has hardly ever been out of the State of Maine let alone out of the country. (I convinced her with my pictures of Hungary and Czech Republic from my trip last year.) She would like to mostly see the sites. I thought that we would spend 2 days in Lisbon and take a train to Seville and rent a car for the rest of the time. I thought from Seville I might drive around the ROCK, through Malaga, Cordoba, up to Madrid down to Valencia and on to Barcelona as out last stop. Am I crazy? Any suggestions would be much Appreciated. <BR> <BR>Thank you very much. <BR>Art <BR>

Art

Sorry, that is 12 days in Portugal and Spain. <BR>

Maira

Art---- I would re-think the whole schedule one more time.... <BR> <BR>Paris for two days? Not fair. For a first timer to Europe, Paris is a great choice. But, two days you'll probably be rushing her around and not truly capturing the experience. (4 DAYS) <BR> <BR>Then on to Lisbon? I would train to Barcelona. Rent a car and tour the area, including day trips to Carcassonne (sp?) in France, Montserrat, Sitges, Tarragona, etc. (4 DAYS) <BR> <BR>Then, train to Madrid. Enjoy the city and combine with day trips to Toledo, Avila, Segovia. (4 DAYS) <BR> <BR>Even for 12 days, this itinerary still loaded, but doable and varied. <BR> <BR>What do you think? By the way, you are one AWESOME brother!

Art

Maira, thanks for your reply. I know Paris in 2 days is not enough, but I've been there several times and it is just a bonus for Sis. We already have tickets for the trip so I can't change my arrivals and departures. Its just that I had to go through Paris and thought??. How about the rest of the trip? <BR>

xxx

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Betty Ann

Going to Lisbon is a great idea. So much to see and do and the city is very walkable. But don't forget the rest of the country. Obidos, Marvao, Castelo de Vide, Viana do Castelo and Barcelos are only a few of the great small towns in Portugal and they're not overrun with tourists. Driving, except for Lisbon, is very easy. <BR> <BR>A search on this site for any of these towns will give you a lot of info. I'm sure you will both love Portugal. Enjoy!

frank

If by the rock you mean Gibraltar, it isn't the sort of priority you shoudd set yourself on a short trip. <BR>If you do go, walk over the border, you will have to queue for ages in a car.(the Spanish aren't exactly happy with the constitutional position - the Brits say someone has to control access to the Med, the Spanish can't) <BR>If you actually want to go to that part of Spain & look across to Africa, drive past the rock to Tarifa (nearest point to Africa) you'll get a good view of Morrocco's Rif mountains,then on to Cadiz, go to the old city. <BR>You can also do all this by bus from Malaga, or express train to Cadiz from Seville. <BR>Express train is a good choice to Seville, saves you time <BR>If renting a car, get one with Seville plates, otherwise it wont be secure to park there.Use inside Seville is limited - not a car friendly place, great for walking in.

Maira

Art---Ok, with that good clarification out of the way, my only comment has to do with the amount of driving you are going to be doing; a bit too much! I'll suggest that you spend at least three days in Seville, day trips to Cordova, an overnight in Granada, on to Malaga. I wasn't particularly impressed with Malaga, it all depends what you are into. Gibraltar is an impressive sight from the road; nothing to brag about once in. Europa Point was nice though; you can see the African coast from there. Fly from Malaga to Barcelona (I think the rates are reasonable), otherwise train.

Katieml

Last summer we spent a week a week on the Algarve and then the second week traveled to Seville and then on to Ronda, Granada and Cordoba and then back to Lisbon. Went up to Zahara en route. Had enough time to see the main attractions and get a feel of the places. The drive back to Lisbon was long and we spent the night in Estremoz. Had one day in Lisbon and took the open top bus tour of the city which gave us a good overview. Our teenagers were exhausted and slept on the bus!!! Driving into Lisbon was a nightmare with the traffic - took us nearly two hours!! When moving from town to town we tried to do that during the middle of the day - siesta time - that way we could do some sightseeing in one town in the morning and then orient to a new place in the afternoon. Would not attempt to cover more ground in a week. If you have a car make sure you book parking with you hotel reservation. We did not use the car while in the towns/cities.