I am travelling to Spain from London for a 4 day weekend. I was curious as to what city would be the best to go to. I was thinking Madrid. Is that a good choice?

Madrid is my favorite city of the ones I've visited, but that is because it has great art museums and is very wealthy and grand.

Advocates for Barcelona and Sevilla will surely show up shortly, but in the meantime, what time of year are you going? Do you care about museums or Spanish history? Are you a Gaudi fan? Do you want tiles and flamenco? Would you rather be by the beach? Are you a foodie? Are your sure you want to be in a city as opposed to a lovely place like San Sebastian?

Nessundorma was right and here I am to advocate for Barcelona. Before I do so, though, I would like some answers to the questions. What are you looking for? When will you be there?

Spain is an extremely diverse country, so I will venture to say that you will find anything. However, certain cities are stronger in certain things. So, guide us and we will do the same for you.

Hola

Madrid is an awesome city. Nightlife, architecture, shopping, tourist sites, dining, handy for day trips to Toledo, Segovia etc. Its all good and not as expensive as Barcelona and other European cities. My preference over Barcelona.

Adios

Sevilla is great, especial if you speak Spanish. Even so, the food is great and the night-life is good too.

Lots of sights to visit in Sevilla too.

But, Madrid is way above Sevilla in regards to night-life, food and sights to see.

The bars along the Passeo Castillano (sp??)in the summer is awesome-each one is different and the group is different too. The music varies at each bar and it's all outdoors.

So, you're looking for a quiet visit to a city, head elsewhere. Both of these places are great. Both cities will be full of people on the street at 2:00 am or later. Great cities!

Blackduff

Topping

If you have never been to Spain before I strongly suggest Madrid. First, it is the capital. Second, there are by far the most things to see and to do.

Madrid has
- the Prado,
- the Royal Palace (outstanding!),
- tapas bars & nightlife,
- a diversity of architecture from medieval over turn-of-the-century to contemporary,
- the opportunity to make day trips to Escorial (outstanding!) as well as Toledo.

Of course, Barcelona is beautiful and interesting. But do that after you have visited Madrid.

Of course, Valencia is beautiful. But it is not as diverse as Madrid.

Of course, Sevilla is beautiful. But do that after you have been to Madrid. BTW, I prefer Cordoba over Sevilla. The cathedral and the old town are way above cathedral and remnants of Jewish quarter in Sevilla (which is a tourist trap).

I think you need to tell us more about what you like for that would determine what city you might like best. Even though I'm an artlover if I had only 4 days I'd flip a coin to decide between Seville and Barcelona.

Between Madrid and Seville, I would pick Madrid because there is much more to do there and you won't be treated like a tourist everywhere you go.

Barcelona is a special place for its location on the sea, its bustling street life, its Gothic quarter, its unique architecture, its great museums, etc.

Well, no one is taking up for Barcelona and since indigo has not returned to tell us why he/she is traveling, I am just going to go for it.

I assume you are not English, because most English people tend to spend their 4 day weekends on a coast, so perhaps you are an American studying or working in London and want to cut over. In that case, you probably want some sunshine, stuff to see/do, nightlife, good food, and a good/cheap airfare. Ryanair flys into Girona, and from there you can shuttle over to Barcelona, making the trip more than affordable and pretty easy to make.

Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona are 3 dynamically different cities, and they are the 3 that have been brought up here. The latter 2 are capitals of regions with extremely strong characters. Sevilla is the easy-going, beautiful, cosmopolitan yet deeply traditional city of Andalucia while Barcelona is the Catalonian metropolis. Instead of competing with other cities in Spain (namely Madrid), it decided to get on board with the rest of Europe and at the turn of the century (when the city expanded to about 10 times its original size), decided to give Paris a run for its money. Now, of course, Paris is Paris, but BCN gave it the old college try and really came out ahead of most cities with memorable architecture (how lucky to expand just as Art Nouveau was spreading throughout europe!), fabulous public transportation, quite a lot of marketable culture (actually, it is one of the few cities in the world that has been able to build sustained arts growth without the backing of an on-site royal collection).

And then along came Franco, who (in very very short) repressed/suppressed the entire country and was particularly hard on Catalunya, a region that already had a strong identity completely separate from Spain from having not originally been a part of the Castillian Kingdom. The Civil War was really hard on the city and after Franco died, I don't think the movida was stronger anywhere than in Catalunya, and Barcelona was its epicenter. People broke out and Catalan was again spoken all over the place, the streets were re-written in their original Catalan names (Franco was against languages other than Spanish), and the Barceonese in general were on fire for fun and a return to vitality. And that is still going on.

As diverse as any big city, Barcelona has its grandiose parts and its ghettos, and everything in between, so you have access to whatever you want. . . museums, great food, superb nightlife, delicious coffee, sex, drugs, rock and roll. . . you get the point.

So, listen to everyone and know that every city listed offers you something of particular interest and wonder, but 4 days coming from London are best spent in Barcelona.

Madrid is a good choice.

Barcelona Turisme should be paying you laclaire.

How do you know they aren't? Mua ha ha ha ha (she says, diabolically rubbing hands together. . . which is hard while typing).

I can see the dollar symbol in your eyes, Claire

No question about it. Go to Madrid.

LeClaire, the movida started in Barcelona? That's the first time I heard it that way, but no surprise.gt

However, for someone with 4 days to spend, I think you can really see more of Madrid since almost the entire historic center is walkable. You may want to take a taxi or Metro to the bullring or soccess stadium (a game or a tour), but the rest of the monuments from the Palace to the Prado are very walkable...with some breaks for a drink, tapa and people watching. With Barcelona you must jump on the Touristic Bus to get from Gaudi's Sagrada Familia to the Ramblas or vice-versa.

holakjs- I didn't say the movida started there, just that it was extremely strong there. If I were to go for origins, of course I would say Madrid.

Also, granted I am a walker like no other, but I find BCN to be extremely accessible on foot.

LaClaire,
Sorry about the typo getting your gender wrong. Thanks for the gracious response.

I can't believe there aren't more advocates for Barcelona -- Madrid usually gets creamed in this competition. I'm a huge fan of Madrid, but it's hard to beat being on the Med like Barcelona is and Claire made a great pitch for it up there.

We seem to have lost indigo.

(Of course the movida was born in the Plaza Dos de Mayo in Madrid when everyone took off their clothes and jumped into the no longer existant fountain -- but many would argue that Barcelona is a more cosmopolitan city.)

Sevilla is THE best Spanish city (be sure to take a day trip to Carmona).