11 days in Spain by train, February 2019
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11 days in Spain by train, February 2019
This will likely be our one chance to see Spain. We’re 66-68 years old, up for walking 5+ miles a day. We speak English only. We love history, architecture, art, music, gardens. First thoughts:
1. Off season four star hotels. Trust the concierge to set up guided tours?
2. Don’t want to miss essentials, don’t want to wear ourselves out. By train, Madrid (day trip Toledo), Barcelona for sure. Granada? Valencia?
3. Big morning and afternoon meals, very light at night.
“We have always depended on the kindness of (Fodors) strangers,”
Steve & Judy
1. Off season four star hotels. Trust the concierge to set up guided tours?
2. Don’t want to miss essentials, don’t want to wear ourselves out. By train, Madrid (day trip Toledo), Barcelona for sure. Granada? Valencia?
3. Big morning and afternoon meals, very light at night.
“We have always depended on the kindness of (Fodors) strangers,”
Steve & Judy
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11 nights
Don’t want to miss essentials, don’t want to wear ourselves out. By train, Madrid (day trip Toledo), Barcelona for sure. Granada? Valencia?
Barcelona , Madrid and Granada would be about the max IMO for that number of days (or Valencia instead of Granada) - figure in travel times - take much of a day relocating - Land in Barcelona and fly out of Granada would be logical or v.v. Trains are great and go as astronomical speeds - book tickets way early at Renfe for discounted fares much cheaper than walk up ones www.seat61.com has loads of sage advice doing this yourselves online. General train info - BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.
Don’t want to miss essentials, don’t want to wear ourselves out. By train, Madrid (day trip Toledo), Barcelona for sure. Granada? Valencia?
Barcelona , Madrid and Granada would be about the max IMO for that number of days (or Valencia instead of Granada) - figure in travel times - take much of a day relocating - Land in Barcelona and fly out of Granada would be logical or v.v. Trains are great and go as astronomical speeds - book tickets way early at Renfe for discounted fares much cheaper than walk up ones www.seat61.com has loads of sage advice doing this yourselves online. General train info - BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.
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Spain is delightful!
“This will likely be our one chance to see Spain.”
Well, Spain is enormous and holds a wealth of riches, so you will need to decide on your prioties. I’d recommend that you consult a few good guidebooks.
And you will need to decide on an approach: Faced with the possibility of a single trip, some people try to see a bit of as many places as possible, even though that means a lot of time in transit relative to time on the ground. Others choose to visit a smaller number of places, but to see them in at least a bit of depth. No right or wrong answers on that, but it makes a big difference to how you plan your time.
February can be quite cold in parts of Spain, so be sure to consider climate when you plan your trip. A good source of information is timeanddate.com
1. There’s no reason to take guided tours unless that’s your preference.
2. Your call! Many people visit Toledo as a day trip; I wish I’d had more than 2 full days there. Granada holds the incomparable Alhambra, and for that, you’d likely want at least 2 nights in Granada, and a 3rd if you want to see some of the other treasures of that city. I’m sure I would enjoy Valencia (I haven’t been there yet), but I would not consider it among the most special of Spain’s highlights. You aren’t mentioning Sevilla or Cordoba (along with Granada, highlights of Andalusia) – but you don’t have time for all of that!
3. That shouldn’t be a problem in Spain, where the main meal is typically mid-day.
Hope that helps!
“This will likely be our one chance to see Spain.”
Well, Spain is enormous and holds a wealth of riches, so you will need to decide on your prioties. I’d recommend that you consult a few good guidebooks.
And you will need to decide on an approach: Faced with the possibility of a single trip, some people try to see a bit of as many places as possible, even though that means a lot of time in transit relative to time on the ground. Others choose to visit a smaller number of places, but to see them in at least a bit of depth. No right or wrong answers on that, but it makes a big difference to how you plan your time.
February can be quite cold in parts of Spain, so be sure to consider climate when you plan your trip. A good source of information is timeanddate.com
1. There’s no reason to take guided tours unless that’s your preference.
2. Your call! Many people visit Toledo as a day trip; I wish I’d had more than 2 full days there. Granada holds the incomparable Alhambra, and for that, you’d likely want at least 2 nights in Granada, and a 3rd if you want to see some of the other treasures of that city. I’m sure I would enjoy Valencia (I haven’t been there yet), but I would not consider it among the most special of Spain’s highlights. You aren’t mentioning Sevilla or Cordoba (along with Granada, highlights of Andalusia) – but you don’t have time for all of that!
3. That shouldn’t be a problem in Spain, where the main meal is typically mid-day.
Hope that helps!
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Granada? Valencia?
For first trip I'd stick with Barcelona and Madrid and do day trips from each perhaps. or skip one and do Seville and Granada and Cordoba with one. Going five hours down on train to Granada and seeing only that? Seville and Cordoba are amazing - I'd leave Barcelona (extremely crowded many say now) and perhaps do Madrid-Granada-Seville-Cordoba?
For first trip I'd stick with Barcelona and Madrid and do day trips from each perhaps. or skip one and do Seville and Granada and Cordoba with one. Going five hours down on train to Granada and seeing only that? Seville and Cordoba are amazing - I'd leave Barcelona (extremely crowded many say now) and perhaps do Madrid-Granada-Seville-Cordoba?
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Thanks for all the quick replies! Yes, Spain is huge. We went to Rome, Florence, Venice and missed the rest of Italy; went to Paris and missed the rest of France. It’s a big world, and we have—what? ten years of good health and some wealth left? So, for those of you who have been there, that’s the challenge: eleven days by train to take in the best, coming home tired but not exhausted, feeling like we used the time we had to the very, very best advantage. What say you?
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I think your best choices would be:
- Spend all your time in Andalusia -- Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada (3 nights), and maybe a night or two in Malaga or Ronda. BUT Granada could be cold at that time of year, so be sure it works for you!
- Spend all of your time in central Spain -- Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, maybe Avila or Cuenca. Again, parts of this area will be very cold, so be sure you know whether it works.
- Spend all of your time in Catalunya -- Barcelona, Tarragona, Girona, Figueres, maybe the Costa Brava, etc. -- but (ready for it?) be sure you check climate data first.
- Choose 2 major locations (Madrid, Barcelona, or Andalusia) and pick & choose what you will do from each in the time you have.
#9
For me, the Alhambra is the single best sight in Spain, so I would try to include Granada (and visit the Alhambra at night as well as during the day). I was not wowed by Madrid, and I did give it a second try, so I would prioritize Barcelona over Madrid.
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Looking over all the helpful replies, I realize it’s Old Spain that attracts us most: Toledo; Seville; Granada; Cordoba. We could land in Madrid, spend 2-3 days there, and do that....how, do you think? Is train still the best way to travel?
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Yes for those cities cars are a liability and trains great. Hard to do all in 7-8 days - figure in travel between -
1, 2 , 3 Madrid
4- Toledo day trip from Madrid
5, 6 Travel to Granada and Granada
7, 8 Bus or train to Cordoba
9, 10, 11 Seville
All by train!
12 fly out of Seville.
1, 2 , 3 Madrid
4- Toledo day trip from Madrid
5, 6 Travel to Granada and Granada
7, 8 Bus or train to Cordoba
9, 10, 11 Seville
All by train!
12 fly out of Seville.
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Having been to various locations in Spain during 3 visits, I think you must listen to those above who are experts. After our 3 visits, we realize we must stay local to get a full experience. Trust a drifter, you cannot see it all in a few days, or maybe months. Btw, we loved Cordoba. Granada was more grand, but extremely crowded when we went in Feb. Both towns were cold, so pack accordingly. It would be hard to stay in Madrid and Barcelona for more than a day, and still see the smaller towns. Again, listen to the experts who have posted their recommendations. Based upon my limited experience, I still want their input for my forth visit.
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Hi Jet,
I posted so I could listen to experts; very appreciative of all the good advice. The itinerary suggested by PalenQ looks good except for “Granada and Granada.” Did you mean “Granada and Alhambra”?
I posted so I could listen to experts; very appreciative of all the good advice. The itinerary suggested by PalenQ looks good except for “Granada and Granada.” Did you mean “Granada and Alhambra”?
#14
If you like art then I think you need to include the Prado in Madrid for Goya and Velasquez which is really just the start of what should be a two-day visit minimum.
The Alhambra of course and the rest of Andalucia.
We flew into Madrid, had a few nights there, then for two weeks rented a car and drove out up to Avila, Salamanca and down thru Extremadura and Andalucia and back up through Toledo to Madrid. I think with only 11 days (and shorter, colder ones) you'd want to just do Madrid, Anadalucia and perhaps Barcelona. I like the Mezquita in Cordoba and Alcazar in Seville as much as the more famous Alhambra in Granada.
The fast train between Barcelona and Madrid is easier than flying now.
The Alhambra of course and the rest of Andalucia.
We flew into Madrid, had a few nights there, then for two weeks rented a car and drove out up to Avila, Salamanca and down thru Extremadura and Andalucia and back up through Toledo to Madrid. I think with only 11 days (and shorter, colder ones) you'd want to just do Madrid, Anadalucia and perhaps Barcelona. I like the Mezquita in Cordoba and Alcazar in Seville as much as the more famous Alhambra in Granada.
The fast train between Barcelona and Madrid is easier than flying now.
Last edited by mlgb; Aug 20th, 2018 at 04:50 PM.
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Again, it depends on what you want to see and experience, but yes, you can probably fit Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba into the same 11-day trip. I’ll admit, though, that PalenQ’s proposed itinerary would be far too rushed for me. I wanted 2 full days in Toledo, 3 in Granada, 2 in Cordoba, and 4 in Sevilla – not to mention 4 in Madrid. And I felt like I was moving as fast as I could and packing every moment as fully as possible!
I’d encourage you to plot your trip on a calendar, paying careful attention to the opening hours of any place that matters to you. Note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.
And reserve your tickets for the Alhambra (both a day visit and an evening visit) as soon as you can.
I’d encourage you to plot your trip on a calendar, paying careful attention to the opening hours of any place that matters to you. Note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.
And reserve your tickets for the Alhambra (both a day visit and an evening visit) as soon as you can.
#16
So glad you added Seville. We were charmed by the city.
We are slower travelers, and enjoyed our 5 night stay in Seville. Just wandering around the streets and finding amazing food and sights kept us entertained there, as opposed to day-tripping elsewhere. On a second visit, we would venture further. The Flamenco museum has a great dance exhibition, which requires reservations for that tiny venue.
Here's my long thread planning our trip to Seville, including some restaurants recommended at the end: First time to Spain: Seville & Madrid
If you're looking for lodging, note the awesome apartment we had there.
And, the train to/from Madrid to Seville is great.
Check on flights from Seville. We didn't have many options from there, and chose to travel to Madrid for three nights to fly home from there.
We are slower travelers, and enjoyed our 5 night stay in Seville. Just wandering around the streets and finding amazing food and sights kept us entertained there, as opposed to day-tripping elsewhere. On a second visit, we would venture further. The Flamenco museum has a great dance exhibition, which requires reservations for that tiny venue.
Here's my long thread planning our trip to Seville, including some restaurants recommended at the end: First time to Spain: Seville & Madrid
If you're looking for lodging, note the awesome apartment we had there.
And, the train to/from Madrid to Seville is great.
Check on flights from Seville. We didn't have many options from there, and chose to travel to Madrid for three nights to fly home from there.
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Again, it depends on what you want to see and experience, but yes, you can probably fit Toledo, Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba into the same 11-day trip. I’ll admit, though, that PalenQ’s proposed itinerary would be far too rushed for me>
Yes but given time constraints just presenting what is possible if they want to see all those places.
Yes but given time constraints just presenting what is possible if they want to see all those places.