Where in Spain?
 

Yes, I know it can be a frustrating question, but ...

My wife and I have just returned from two wonderful weeks in the Netherlands, and I'm now in the first stages of selecting a destination for our next vacation. I know very little about Spain and I'm hoping that you'll be able to help me focus my efforts. To do so, of course, you'll need to know a little about us.

We are in our early 60s, reasonably active, but far from party animals. We love old cities and great museums and lush gardens and grand palaces. We also very much enjoy beautiful beaches and (mixed) day spas. Some of the places that we've most enjoyed include Jerusalem, Strasbourg, and Delft, Sissinghurst and Keukenhof gardens, the beaches in Phuket, the bathes in Baden-Baden, the Art museums of Paris and Amsterdam, and almost everthing about Puerto Rico.

We are not big fans of early religious art nor, for that matter, Picasso.

We enjoy good food with a strong preference for healthy cuisine, particularly seafood. We also enjoy good wine, and anything comparable to a couple of days wine-tasting in Napa-Sonoma would be great.

We'd much rather be in 80-degree weather than 70-degree weather.

So, where in Spain should we go for a 14-day vacation

When?

Probably next Spring, but anytime during the year that works best. We timed our recent trip to the Netherlands to hit the peak of the tulip season.

Suggest you read maribelsguides.com

I think you'll enjoy Barcelona + side trips from there.

Andalucia is one location that sounds good for you. Cadiz, the white villages, Seville and Cordoba. The other is Barcelona and the Costa Brava. Using cheap airlines, you could actually do a week in both.

My choice would be Cadiz, Sanlucar de Barameda, and Sevilla.

Certainly Cadiz will serve your food needs. 90% restaurants are fish places and the ingredients are very, very fresh. Don't select the fried fish platters but those which are grilled on the "plancha".

Sanlucar has some of the best shellfood/fish restaurants I've ever found.

And while you still have some cultural needs, head towards Sevilla. You can still find good food but lots of other interests.

If you want to spend some time in the grapes, the vineyards between Jerez to Puerto de Santa Maria and to Sanlucar. These are the grapes for the sherries of the world. Plus, you can spend visiting the sherry bodegas. Most of them offer a visit.

These places are going to be very warm. I guess that there are warmer in Spain but not much more. Yet, it's a great place to visit and even better being a good place to live.

Blackduff

I would do a week in Madrid and environs and then a week in Barcelona /Costa Brava.
Madrid is beautiful in Spring :) And also is Barcelona. But if it is in early Spring then I'd change Costa Brava for Andalucia ! In Barcelona area early Spring is still a bit cold.

If you decide to head to Seville, you should time your visit with Semana Santa (Holy Week). I hear it's incredible. Also, all 10,000 bitter orange trees will be in bloom during that time in Seville. One of the locals told me the fragrance from the orange blossoms extend 1 mile outside of the city.

For a first trip to Spain, check out Andalucía. You may not find any spas comparable to Germany but if you like art the Prado in Madrid is a one of the best art museums in the world and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection shouldn’t be missed.

Head down to Granada and spend some time at the Alhambra, it's amazing. Go to Seville, Cordoba it’s a great trip.

Once again, I don't agree with most of the Andalucia recommendations. And once again, I prefer Cantabria, the Principality of Asturias, and Galicia.
If you've seen some of José Andrés cooking shows on public TV, they should make your mouths water.

In Asturias I like Llanes for its beaches, and Favada Asturiana that Hanibal Lechter describes in Silence of the Lambs. The Chorizos and Morcillas from Asturias are a gourmet's delight. Stop in Bilbao at the Mercado Central and stock up on those sausages.

My favorite in Galicia (Pontevedra) is Vigo. There's a morning seafood market a block west of the Hotel Bahia Mar. Unfortunately, if you don'y have a place with cooking privileges, you'll just have to rely on restaurants. Nearby, there's Santiago de Compostela, where the Apostle James is said to be interred. Vigo also has an excellent Public Beach (Playa Samil) and down at the end of the Ria is Baiona, Columbus' landfall on his return from hid first Voyage of Discovery.

Sorry, I can't help you with Spas: Maybe one of the Paradors will have a Spa.

Nedsireland, I agree with you on the north recommendation. But I think spring uses to be still too cold to enjoy it to the full. Still, the north is my favourite ;)

Talking of spas..we have a "few" good ones, this is not the best website but it is the only one I've found in English :

http://www.balnespas.com/en/default.asp

Our first trip to spain we went to Barcelona/Valencia/Madrid - we did the Eurorail between cities. Based on what your likes are I think you would love Barcelona and you can't beat the beaches in Valencia - its unbelievable....but a lot of people told me that next time i should go to the south of spain - that i missed out on a lot e.g Aundalucia, Seville but hopefully, next time

IMHO the part of Spain you would enjoy the most is the south - the ancient and multi-cultural cities (Sevilla, Granda, Cordoba - unlike any place else in europe), the small white villages to explore and some really top notch beach resorts (near Marbella). But you don;t want to go in mid summer -when the temps are oten over 100. We have found late April/early May to be pleasant- days in the low 80s and not TOO hot at night - although you do need to make sure your hotels have AC.

Also, this is an area best explored by car, - so you can see all the small villages as well as the cities.

Spain is large and diverse country with much more to see and do than in Netherlands.
The temperature also varies from north to south so the beach weather can be tricky.
You could select 2 regions and spend a weeks in each depending on your interest.
Reading a bit about the country would help..

Since you seem one of the few who don't drop dead when temperatures exceed 70F, I would recommend a mix of Andalucia plus 2-3 nights in Madrid.

In Madrid and environs you will find both: three world-class museums (Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Reina Sofia) and grand palaces (Palacio Real in the city, and Aranjuez and Escorial in the capital region with easy access with local trains).

Andalucia will have more palaces and castles. You even stay in some which have been turned into (Parador) hotels. Due to the moorish tradition you will find great examples of formal gardens and parks of that era (e.g. Alhambra) and architecture.

Yet, if wine tasting and sampling are very high on your list, I would also check other regions like Rioja, Valdepenas, Penedes, or Navarra. Andalucia has some vineyards in the Malaga area, and -of course- Jerez, but if you want to sample a wider variety of wine you could also do a trip (by car) from Madrid north and then west thru Ribeira del Duero, Rioja, Navarra, to the area of Barcelona.

Here is a map where the wines you may like come from regionally:
http://www.cielo-del-vino.de/weinanbaugebiete.html

Seeing you want “We love old cities and great museums and lush gardens and grand palaces. We also very much enjoy beautiful beaches and (mixed) day spas” then I would also suggest you visit the North of Spain.
I live in Galicia and run a Casa Rural so here are my tips for the community of Galicia.
Visit Santiago, as it is important. But the city is not Galicia. It is quite touristy and the older quarter is small so maybe a day would be good there. Another day could be spent in Lugo. Another world heritage site but this time with little tourists. Then maybe head further east towards the mountains of O Courel. Again the area is not visited much by tourists. Then head for the area I live in the Ribeira Sacra. A wine-growing region (mainly reds). Near by is the city of Ourense with free public hot spring baths. There are a few where you can pay and maybe get a massage or other services too. Then head for Ribadavia where you could find the old Jewish quarter of interest. This area is also known for the white wines.
Then head for the coast. Personally I don’t find Vigo suits my tastes but like NEDSIRELAND says there is plenty do explore in the area.
To find out more about Galicia the first web site you should look at is www.turgalicia.es as it has a lot of information and downloadable brochures etc.
Weather cannot be guaranteed anywhere in the world for instance they say that Galicia is wet and cold but at the moment Barcelona is receiving more rain then us, but they need it as they have a water shortage.

PS Glad you like The Netherlands as my wife is Dutch and I lived there for a number of years.

Thank you all for your continuing responses.

Just one minor clarification: we tend to enjoy baths (think Baden-Baden with its large pools, saunas, steam rooms and salt baths) rather than Day Spas where one goes off by oneself for some "spa treatment".

Where are the most beautiful castles and gardens?

Most of Spanish "Balnearios" are not Day Spas but the kind of places you describe in Baden Baden. They are probably more expensive...usually here (and I don't know why) these places are connected with Luxury hotels.

Also look into San Sebastian, the original tapas place. It's an historic sea spa town, beautiful beach scene, lovely gardens, jump-off to touring the rioja wine regine. It is, however, very cool, especially as compared with the rest of Spain. You would have warmer beach weather in southern Spain for spring, if that's your time-line. We had 2 great days in Madrid, then drove to San Sebastian, then drove to Barcelona through the Pyranees. Beautiful trip. Spain is very large, and everyone I've talked to (including us) felt that you can waste a lot of time trying to get to too many places. Base in Barcelona for awhile and Madrid for awhile. From Barcelona don't miss the Salvador Dali museum in Figuera (easy bus tour day trip) even if you think you don't like Dali. You also stop in Girona, the Jewish ghetto town on the way. You'll never forget the trip!