Hi all. We plan to Travel to Spain for 14-15 days in May or September 2026 or 2027. We are still in the planning, researching phase. We are trying to narrow down to 4 cities, spread over 14-15 days.

(We are in our late 60s, and this number of days works well for us, Having 3-4 cities also has worked well for us)

The SPAIN cities that we have on our short list include Madrid, Granada, Seville, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Cordoba, Malaga, Toledo.

The first two (Madrid and Granada) are at the top of our list.

The strong contenders for 3rd city include (Seville, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela).

Other cities still considering include (Toledo, Cordoba, Malaga).

As we stated, we strive for 4 cities. We could do 5 if it really was the best way, and an important city only required 1-2 days. We also could do 3 cities, if there was so much to see in each city (example: Rome), that it was worth it to limit to 3 cities.

(For a glance at the types of cities that we enjoy visiting: Rome (for 6 days), Florence for 5 days, Prague for 5 days, Sorrento, Vienna, Salzburg, Bruges/Ghent, Budapest, Trier, Cochem, London, Edinburg, Cesky Krumlov, Hallstatt).

Our interests? We love Historical sites (Castles, Fortresses, Churches, Cathedrals, Museums, Art Galleries, Bridges, Stately homes). We also love Scenic locations (Rivers, Oceans, Lakes, Mountains, Gardens, and views of cities from elevated places). We love quaint small town squares, and back alleys with old stores and cafes.

A few of our favorites (St. Paul's Cathedral, Colosseum, Pantheon, Borghese Gallery, Uffizi Gallery, The David, Prague Castle, Strahov Library, St. Stephens Vienna, Tower of London, Stonehenge, Bath, Hallstatt, Cesky Krumlov, etc. Maybe gives you an idea of things we enjoy.

Back to Spain.

We will not be renting a car.

Planes, Trains, Buses, or other public (or even private) Transportation will get us from one city to the next.

We started to narrow in on Madrid, Granada, Salamanca, and Santiago de Compostela (after watching some videos and researching).

After watching more videos, and more research, we felt strongly that we wanted to include Seville.

Then some folks diminished Salamanca and Santiago de Compostela, and instead indicated that some other cities might be better (Toledo, Cordoba, Malaga, possibly Valencia).

Lastly, a few friends have said "avoid the south (too hot and dry), and stick to the north (greener, better weather".

I wouldn't say that we are lost and wanting to start over.

But we are looking for additional input.

We enjoy walking around a city, admiring the history and beauty. We also lean towards (good quality) small group (or sometimes, private) tours with experienced guides. With small groups, or private, it limits the size so you can actually communicate with, ask questions, and have the guide stop at certain points.

Large crowded cities are fine at times (Rome, London, Vienna, etc.) but smaller cities and areas (Salzburg, Trier, Ghent, Bruges, Sorrento, and even Florence did not seem huge) are definitely appealing.

We know that Spain has Flamenco Dancers in many cities. It is not a huge draw for us. We might see a show, but it wouldn't ruin our vacation if we did not.

We definitely enjoy tasting local foods. But we do not typically go on Food or Wine Tours.

We'll stop here. Our apologies for such a long post. We added the details because sometimes folks will ask (when do you plan to go, what do you like to do, how old are you, how long will you be there, will you be renting a car, etc.

Thanks for any and all input and suggestions.

I would suggest that you think about regions, not just cities. So, for example, if you are going to Granada, then visit other places in Andalusia: Seville, Granada, Cordoba, maybe Malaga. If you go to Madrid, also visit Toledo and Salamanca. Santiago de Compeostela is quite an outlier geographically from the other places you are considering; it might make sense to defer a visit to that city (which I haven’t yet visited) until you spend time in the north of Spain.

The times you list for Rome, Florence, and Prague are simlar to what worked for me, so perhaps the time I spent in these cities will be useful to you.

· Cordoba – 2 very full days.
· Granada – 3 full days.
· Madrid – 4 very full days. I could easily have spent more time there.
· Salamanca – 2 very full days.
· Seville – 4 full days.
· Toledo – 2 very full days.

Spain is delightful! I hope this information helps.

KJA, We thank you for your reply and the suggestions. Very helpful. I suppose that if we asked you to rank the ones in Spain? Or maybe your response is in order of preference? Possibly, they are all similar in some ways different in others. (Like if i tried to rank the cities that we visited, it would be difficult. Prague was one of our favorites of all cities visited (people so easy to be around, transportation so easy (Tram #22), food delicious, and many historical sites). Rome and Florence, hard to beat those two).

Yes, I will look at Regions, make sense. But in Italy, we enjoyed the train rides (from Florence to Rome, and, Rome to Naples, car to Sorrento). In Austria, we loved the Train rides (Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest). And in Belgium/Germany, from Ghent to Bruges, from Ghent to Trier, from Trier to Cochem. Trains are our favorite means of getting around. Seeing the scenery - while on the Train - is half the enjoyment of the trip. Therefore, we may stick to a region. Or, take some trains and/or planes to get to most desired locations. Thanks again.

To add to kja’s excellent suggestions.…
If you are not focused on Madrid’s world class art museums, four days is probably fine.
As many posters would tell you, the south can be insufferably hot .
I even avoid Madrid from late May to late September.
.

danon makes an important point!
You might want to consult weatherspark.com

From your list,I have visited Madrid, Seville, Granada, Toledo, Cordoba and Santiago de Compostela. Of those I would say my favorite four were Madrid, Seville, Granada and Cordoba.

We tend to really enjoy all of the things you mentioned with the addition of museums.

Madrid surprised us by how much we liked it. The museums, royal palace, cathedral, food market and restaurants were all very enjoyable. We did take a walking food tour which served as an introduction to tapas and was a delightful stroll. Granada is more than the Alhambra. We really enjoyed walking through the city, particularly the beautiful Albaicin area. We ate dinner at a restaurant across the river from the beautifully lit Alhambra and it was a stunning. Seville has many beautiful places and is a favorite of many of the posters here. We added Cordoba to our itinerary at the last minute and were so glad we did. The Mesquita was amazing and the town is lovely to stroll through. Cordoba's beautiful courtyards are enchanting.

We did enjoy Toledo and Santiago d.C. but, for me, they weren't quite as captivating as Madrid, Seville, Cordoba and Granada. If I were to rank those four, I would likely choose in order of my preference; Cordoba, Granada, Madrid and Seville. However, if you're not museum goers, I would put Seville a notch ahead of Madrid.

You need to take into account the time it will take you to get from the north to the south of Spain, it will take a big bite out of your time there. Think about the time to check out of your hotel, get t the train, travel, get to the next hotel and check in. All in all it's the best part of a day and if you want four bases that's three changes. The same is true if you travel by air from Madrid to Malaga.

Stay in Madrid, day trip to Toledo. Stray in Malaga and day trip to Granada and Cordoba. That should fill up your time nicely. Otherwise have you considered Barcelona or have you been there? If not stay in Barcelona, day trip to Montserrat for the monastery and San Sadurni d'Anoia for Cava then on to wherever you want next.

Easter the next two years is early but with Seville I'd still check the dates for the festival in April. IIRC there is major festival late in the month

Other than that April or even May shouldn't be that hot. It won't be cold but it's not full on summer yet.

Barcelona is older than the other cities on your list. If you look closely you'll see Roman bits. I'll point out the coldest trip I ever had was late May in Barcelona. I ended up needing to buy a sweatshirt. Barcelona has a festival in September. La Merce

I wouldn't put Valencia ahead of Barcelona even if I like Valencia.

Remember Spain is very regional. Food and not just. Flamenco may be all over but it's a regional thing.

If Granada is a must, add Sevilla and Cordoba, all in the same area and all reachable from Madrid by high speed trains.
Note that there are direct flights from Newark and Montreal to Malaga

You are probably listening to too many voices..... You will need to gauge for yourself just how much dry heat can affect you. It does affect the people who live there, hence siestas. Both Seville and Cordoba are inland and in the lowlands. When it's hot, it's like walking on the sun. I stayed in Cordoba in August, and the shops and most other things shut down midday and open back up later. Still, I would not have traded it for anything in the world. The Mezquita in Cordoba is one of those few places that pictures are a very poor substitute. It is jaw-dropping. But only you can decide for yourself. All of the places you are considering are amazing.

I will say that. if you are drawn to smaller cities, then perhaps Madrid is not essential for you.

I ditto Rubicund's suggestion to make Toledo a day trip from Madrid. I wished for 5 days in Madrid:
Madrid and London

Looking forward to reading about your trip!

I spent 4 nights in Toledo and, actually, could have used another night! I did use 1 day to go to Consuegra.

I know many people go as a day trip from Madrid but I don’t think that gives you nearly enough time in Toledo.

@ EUTravel2023: Sorry I missed your reply to my post! (Your response to my post # 2 is now post #3.) Now that I see it:

I’ve never been one to identify “favorites.” Instead, I listed cities in alphabetical order. Each of the cities you are contemplating is, IMO, magnificent and each is unique. I won’t try to put them in rank order; I can’t. They are different. And they merit different amounts of time.

I would say that Andalusia holds a special place in my heart and the number of days you have is well suited to it, particularly if you travel in May. For me, seeing the three gems of Andalusia in the same trip allowed a deep appreciation of their differences and the things that makes each unique, while also allowing me to build on the knowledge I gained of region-specific features (e.g., Moorish architecture) as I moved from place to place. YMMV .

I, too, enjoy trains! But even if you stay in Andalusia, you will have several train rides of 2 or 3+ hours in a section of the country that is, to my eye, quite scenic.

Good luck with your research! BTW, the Michelin Green and Rough Guide are both excellent resources for planning time in Spain, IMO.

I agree with the people who recommend staying in one region, not only for logistical purposes but to also get a better feel for the history of the region, especially in Andalucia. I agree with KJA that Seville, Cordoba, and Granada are all very different from each other, visually and architecturally. I advocate for staying in Andalusia and adding Madrid and Toledo. That is what we did. The only drawback is that it will be hot in Andalusia in September. It was in the 80’s in most places, which is fine with us, but it was in the 90’s in Seville at the end of September. I suggest going the last 2 weeks of September but I think October would be better regarding temperature if you can go then.

Regarding weather, I understand that because of climate change, Andalusia is hotter than it was when we were there in 2017.

In case it helps you, our itinerary was the following:

Madrid - 4 nights
Toledo - 1 night
Cordoba - 2 nights
Granada - 2 nights
Malaga - 2 nights
Seville - 4 nights

If 6 destinations are too much for you, you could add an extra night to Madrid and visit Toledo as a daytrip. I would not visit Cordoba as a daytrip from Seville. We much preferred Cordoba over Toledo. I know not everyone will agree with me on this. So it’s also important that you do the research, including looking at photos, to see what appeals most to you.