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travel in Spain or France from Barcelona or Madrid

travel in Spain or France from Barcelona or Madrid

Old Apr 11th, 2015, 04:54 PM
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jft
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travel in Spain or France from Barcelona or Madrid

We will be in Barcelona early October for a conference and have the 4-5 days prior to travel. We have been to Barcelona, Girona, San Sebastian and Bilbao recently and awhile back we visited Madrid, Seville, and Cordoba. We would be flying into Barcelona or possibly Madrid from Canada. Any suggestions of where to spend the few days in Spain. Another option would be to go to Provence.
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Old Apr 11th, 2015, 11:37 PM
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Three thousand year old Malaga city by the Med. On the high speed AVE train line or affordable and direct flights all the time from both Barcelona and Madrid. Genuine and laid-back Andalucian atmosphere, fabulous sights, food, theaters, nightlife and museums. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/home.htm

International articles about Malaga city in the past couple of weeks:

Telegraph, "Malaga: Spain's best kept secret": http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...pt-secret.html

Guardian: "City of museums: Málaga bets on culture to draw tourists and talent": http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...-culture-spain

NYT: "Málaga, Spain’s Self-Appointed New Arts Hub": http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/ar...-hub.html?_r=0

And
"The emerging fine food scene in Malaga and around": http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...taurants-tapas
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Old Apr 12th, 2015, 04:55 AM
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Thanks for the suggestion. I might incorporate the city with some of the surrounding area possibly a visit to Granada. Another thought would be to visit the A Coruna/ Galicia area.....
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Old Apr 12th, 2015, 06:05 AM
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I will strongly recommend to go to Granda! Is an amazing city, an a view of the Alhambra will amaze you. The food is very good too.
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Old Apr 12th, 2015, 06:21 AM
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Santiago and environs including down to Northern Portugal would be a new area for you.
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Old Apr 12th, 2015, 10:02 AM
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I spent a vacation in northwestern Spain in 2013 which included Santiago, A Coruna, other parts of Galicia and more. Here's a link to my pics in case it helps you decide:

https://plus.google.com/photos/10755...CPbR6qm-vJjuGA
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Old Apr 12th, 2015, 03:10 PM
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Wow, great photos! It is a hard decision- because we have only a few days and the weather may be better in the south I think we will head to Malaga, Granada and possibly a town in the vicinity of either of these places. I will return to the northwest another trip when we have more time. I really have liked the diversity of Spain and look forward to more time.
If doing the south, any suggestions of highlights in the area? Unfortunately we only have from Friday night to Tuesday night. Thinking we would start off in Malaga (either fly in or train from Madrd)and then fly from Granada to Barcelona. We may not have time for more than Malaga and Granada.....
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 12:17 AM
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<Malaga, Granada and possibly a town in the vicinity of either of these places>

Close to Malaga, I recommend Antequera, the so called heart of Andalucia and the first of the Granada emirate towns to fall to the Christians in 1410: http://wild-about-travel.com/2011/07...ing-antequera/

Close to Granada, perhaps Alhama de Granada: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...d-of-town.html

Tons of higlights in the area, depending on your interests. Phoenician, Roman, Jewish, Christian, Moslem and Gitano history an culture hand in hand with modern life all around, beautiful landscapes and lots of regional specialities when it comes to food and wine.

Here's a start for Malaga: https://www.stay.com/malaga/guides/5...hts-in-malaga/

and for Granada: https://www.stay.com/granada/guides/...ts-in-granada/
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Old Apr 15th, 2015, 07:34 PM
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Thanks kimhe! Once our flights are confirmed I will look into hotels/b&bs and possibly a short car rental leaving from Malaga driving to Antequera and then to Granada with a flight to Barcelona from there. I am not sure if there is a hefty fee to rent from one location and drop off at another.
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Old Apr 15th, 2015, 10:49 PM
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Should be no extra fees renting a car in Malaga and leaving it in Granada. But also good and frequent bus connections between Malaga and Antequera (40 mins) and Antequera and Granada (70 mins).
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Old Apr 16th, 2015, 12:00 AM
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... sorry, a bit optimistic about the bus rides: Malaga-Antequera is 50-60 min, depending on routes, and Antequera to Granada can be up to two hours. Both lines are operated by Alsa (alsa.es)
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Old Apr 20th, 2015, 06:22 PM
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Kimhe,
So our plane arrives in Malaga on Oct 2nd around 3pm. We need to be in Barcelona by tuesday night October 6th and plan to take a Vueling flight probably from Granada but are open. How would you suggest we go.....travelling east from Malaga towards the Sierra Nevada and then go to Granada or going towards Antequera or Rondo and then towards Granada. We were thinking of renting a car for part of the trip getting rid of it once we get to Granada but could use transit...Would we be better based in Malaga doing daytrips with the final night in Granada or should we stay in three locations? What is the driving like?
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Old Apr 20th, 2015, 11:45 PM
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I would've stayed in Malaga and done day trips to Antequera (30-40 min drive) and/or Ronda (70-90 min drive). The drive to Antequera is very easy, to Ronda a bit airy, but also fine.

You could go to Granada along the coast and then inland from Almuñecar up the very scenic and so called Suspiro del Moro-road (the Moor's sigh). http://www.holavalencia.net/2010/02/...and-almunecar/

The name comes from the legenedary sigh of Boabdil, the last emir of Granada, when he at the mountain pass known as Puerto del Suspiro del Moro, for a last time had a look back upon the now lost city before heading down towards the Med (1492). His mother shall then have said: "You cry like a woman over a city you couldn't defend as a man".

On the way you could stop for lunch in excellent, typical and no fuss fish and seafood restaurant La Marina in Nerja. Have splurged here on several occacions, and very popular with locals. Three course lunch Menu del Dia with drinks included is 8,50€. http://www.guideofnerja.com/pages/gu.../marina_en.htm

Or have the famous paella at Ayo's right on the Burriana beach. http://www.ayonerja.com/chiringuito_en.html

The spectacular Nerja caves are also on this route. Lived people here more than 30 000 years ago: http://www.cuevadenerja.es/index.php?lenguaje=en
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Old Apr 21st, 2015, 05:54 PM
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Thanks so much! You have a wealth of knowlege about this area and other parts of Spain. I was looking at tickets for the Alhambra and night visits at that time of year are only Tuesday- Saturday. Does that mean it is not lit up on other nights?
We were thinking of arriving on a Monday later in the day after driving from Malaga via Nerja and Suspiro del Moro Road and seeing the Alhambra on Tuesday morning , flying to Barcelona on the 7 pm flight. Will we be missing out if we don't go to the Alhambra at night? If it is lit up can we view it from a distance somewhere? As we only have 3 nights does it make sense to spend 3 in Malaga doing a day trip to Antequera or Ronda and then leaving in the morning of our last day there enroute to Granada?
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Old Apr 21st, 2015, 10:52 PM
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Seeing Alhambra on a Tuesday morning sounds very fine, and you'll have a great view of Alhambra up at de Mirador San Nicolas in the Albaycin at any time, day or night. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/gr...or-san-nicolas
https://atikahamalina.files.wordpres...an-nicolas.jpg
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Old Apr 22nd, 2015, 06:07 PM
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I will start looking into hotels....
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Old Apr 23rd, 2015, 05:41 AM
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Agree with Kimhe, Malaga is a wonderful city and the best part of it you can pretty much get around most of it on foot. Traveling to Granada and stopping off at Nerja is a good idea.

IMO the best hotel in Malaga is the Molina Lario, it's right in the historic centre directly opposite the Cathedral. You can also walk to the Plaza de Merced from here which is where Picasso was born,now a museum and the square here (recently renovated) is fringed with some lovely restaurants in the restored 19th century buildings.

Nerja has a very different feel to it, very laid back village feel with lovely windy streets to explore and the views from the Balcon de Europa are very dramatic as its set on a cliff edge with little beach coves below.

You can't go to Granada without seeing the Alhambra, a local bus from centre of town will take you there but be sure to book tickets well in advance:

http://www.alhambra.info/en/

enjoy your stay, October is a great month in Andalucia for weather.
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Old Apr 24th, 2015, 07:46 AM
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How will the Molina Lario be if we have a rental car ( for example for a day trip to Antequera area....and then for departure towards Granada.....
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Old Apr 27th, 2015, 05:13 AM
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You can actually get a bus direct to Granada which takes about 1.5 hours from the Maria Zambrana station, you can walk to the station from your hotel in around 10 minutes.

Just a thought if you weren't keen on driving...
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Old Apr 27th, 2015, 03:32 PM
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I thought a car would allow a stop in Nerja and a short visit along the suspiro del Moro Road.....but nice that bus is an option...
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