Trip to Spain recommendation please
Hello everyone,
I'm thrilled to finally be planning my trip to Spain! I could use some expert advice to make the most of my time there. Here's my itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival in Madrid
Day 2-3: Exploring Madrid
Day 4-5: Seville
Day 6-7: Barcelona
I'm seeking recommendations for:
• Top attractions in Madrid, Seville, and Barcelona
• Authentic local restaurants for traditional Spanish cuisine
• Best mode of transportation between cities
• Suggestions for day trips from these locations
• Tips for solo travelers in Spain
Your insights will be invaluable in shaping my unforgettable journey. Thanks a ton in advance!
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Comments
Hi. You are on a Tauck website and might prefer to put this on something like trip advisor.
Good luck and enjoy a wonderful trip to Spain.
Also you might want to add something regarding your likes when you travel. Do you prefer museums or walks through parks, etc.
Wow, where to start. I assume you are planning a self guided tour not taking a Tauck or any other companies guided tour. As Jowell pointed out, this site is primarily meant to discuss Tauck tours. If you're doing your own I'd recommend going over to the Rick Steves website. There is a section on each country in Europe with the prime areas and top attractions. There is also a travel forum which has a ton of participants that do their own travel planning. Before asking the same question as you've posted here, I'd do some reading of older posts. Their forum is organized by country, topics like packing or transportation, and finally reviews of hotels and restaurants. I'd also recommend his guidebooks which are excellent for those planning self guided tours. The Spain version will be newly updated next month (so wait to buy it) and the Pocket Barcelona which I found very helpful in that city was updated last year. There will be lots of information on sights, dining, hotels (modestly priced) and transportation logistics.
I'd highly recommend adding days to your trip if you can. Madrid and Barcelona have loads to see and 2 days definitely doesn't give you enough time for additional day trips like Toledo or Segovia.
We did Madrid as part of the Douro cruise in 2022 then took the highspeed train to Barcelona for 3 nights. Didn't manage to see everything. I wrote about it in my review of that cruise. The train tickets were very easy to buy online using the Trainline app and are cheaper if you buy ahead of time.
You mention starting your tour in Madrid (the center of the country) then going to the southwest corner of the country then up to the northeast corner. You might find it easier to start in Seville or Barcelona and do Madrid in the middle.
Have fun planning.
My experience with trains in Spain was that most go through Madrid - if you're going some distance. We were in the southeast of Spain and going to Barcelona. About the only routing I could find was through Madrid.
That's like France where all the trains go through Paris.
@jowell Thanks, There are so many things to see and do I'm excited about visiting all the historical sites, but I'm also wondering if I should set aside some time to just relax and enjoy the local culture.
@Claudia Sails Thank you for suggesting Rick Steves' site. I will surely look at the forums and guidebooks there. It is a good idea to add more days, I will try and see if it is possible. Madrid and Barcelona are top choices for me, and I wish to include Toledo or Segovia if it can fit.
Your Douro cruise and fast train journey sound wonderful! I will check Trainline app for tickets. I found this website, https://gowithguide.com/spain when I was looking things up. Have you or someone else used it before? I wonder if it is useful for making plans or should I use more well-known resources. Starting in Seville or Barcelona and then going to Madrid seems better way to travel. Thanks for the advice!
@MikeHenderson Yeah, I've noticed that too. It seems like everything's centralized around Madrid, just like Paris in France. It's a bit inconvenient if you're trying to travel directly between other cities. How was your trip, though? Did you get a chance to explore Madrid while you were there?
@QuantumQuill - We traveled around Spain after a cruise. You can see what we did at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2017FranceSpainPortugal-10.htm
@MikeHenderson Nice! I'll check it out. Thanks for sharing.