Espanaingrid

Hello, looking for suggestions for my October trip to Spain.
Flying into Madrid (3 nights)
Seville for 2 nights
Barcelona for 5 nights
thank you in advance for all recommendations

danon

what are you interested in?

museums, side trips, food, night life,
guided tours, churches, architecture,
parks, monuments, galleries ......???

kimhe

I would have spent more time in Sevilla. Here you can get lost in history, culture, architecture, nightlife and food for ages (well, you definitely could in both Madrid and Barcelona as well, but to me Sevilla has got that undefinable extra that makes it one of the cities who really gets under your skin). Just be sure to explore other parts than the touristy Santa Cruz district. It's beautiful, but the city has so much more to offer. I recommend the bustling Arenal area, the San Lorenzo/Alameda/Macarena North of Santa Cruz and last, but not last, the Triana district across the river Guadalquivir. Start the night at one of the many tapas bars/terraces along the river, and from there anything can happen. This site is good on Sevilla: http://www.exploreseville.com/
Very well informed suggestions on tapas bars/restaurants by district in Sevilla: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/

Here are some suggestions I've previously posted for Madrid:

Have breakfast or lunch at Café del Círculo de Bellas Artes in down town Calle Alcalá, 42. One of the city's most emblematic cafés. Grab a window table and watch Madrid life on bustling Calle Alcalá. Take the lift up to the roof topp terrace (the azotea) for the most spectacular views of the city. http://www.esmadrid.com/en/cargarApl...ntificador=179

Watch the sunset over the Guadarrama mountains from the terrace at El Ventorrillo in the Vistillas park. Great pollo al ajillo, some say the best in town. Map, video and some pictures: http://11870.com/pro/restaurante-ventorrillo

Have lunch or some tapas at Casa Granada, on the 6th floor of an apartment building just off Plaza Tirso de Molina. Hard to find and a great terrace. http://www.tripfilms.com/Travel_Vide...ada-Video.html

Café Central, just off bustling Plaza Santa Ana, is a fabulous jazz venue with live performances from the best artists every night at 10. Entrance 11€. Good food also. Populart, a little further down the street, is also a great place.

Experience world class flamenco at one of the best tablaos. Madrid is arguably the flamenco capital of the world. Although the art form comes from the South (Andalucía), everybody has to conquer Madrid to get to the top. On their way there, or as an opportunity to try out new things and get an up close audience, many of them work the top tablaos. I recommend Casa Patas and Cardamomo, both close to Plaza Santa Ana.
http://www.casapatas.com/
http://www.cardamomo.es/

Medina Mayrit, an Arab bath-house just off Plaza Mayor in Calle Atotcha, 14. (Mayrit is the old Arab name (from the 9th century) of Madrid, meaning running water and referring to the water sources beneath the city). http://www.medinamayrit.com/

A stroll in the beautiful Retiro Park. http://www.aviewoncities.com/madrid/parquedelretiro.htm

Asturian Casa Mingo for the best grilled chicken and cider: http://www.casamingo.es/
Watch the video, and you're sold:
http://11870.com/pro/casa-mingo/videos/bc313f19

Txirimiri in Calle del Humilladero, 6 gives you an idea of why the Basque kitchen is considered among the best in the world. In the midst of one of the best tapas/restaurant districts in town, in and around Calle Cava Baja in La Latina.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...ri-Madrid.html

I never leave Madrid without having had the squid in its own ink and the famous cod at Casa Revuelta, also in the same district.
http://11870.com/pro/casa-revuelta

You should also try the excellent salmorejo, a somewhat thicker variant of the tomato/vegetable soup gazpacho, in Según Emma just behind the newly reopened gourmet-oriented San Miguel food market. http://11870.com/pro/segun-emma
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ma-Madrid.html

First class dining at El Mentidero de la Villa:
http://www.mentiderodelavilla.es/
http://11870.com/pro/el-mentidero-la-villa

The Reina Sofia contemporary art museum. The second floor with Picasso, Dalí, lots of other painitings, posters, films, photos etc., dealing with a couple of the greatest civilizational breakdowns of the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War and WWII, completely blew my mind off a couple of years ago.

The Rastro flea market on Sunday, just as much about having some tapas and a vermut as about shopping: http://www.madrid-guide-spain.com/el-rastro.html

The Chueca and Malasaña area, north of Gran Vía, is Madrid's most lively shopping district that "combine both originality and the avant-garde. Specifically, the section made up of little streets perpendicular to Fuencarral and Hortaleza streets is a shoppers’ paradise".
http://www.softguides.com/madrid_gui...ne.html#chueca

This site is great about Madrid. http://www.esmadrid.com/en/portal.do

Espanaingrid

thank you for the suggestions. Will definitely hit some of those. I am interested in a variety of things. Not a big museum person but love markets / culture / food and wine/ side trips / guided tours.

annhig

ingrid,

personally, I would concentrate on madrid and andalucia this time - 3 nights Madrid, 2 nights Granada, 5 nights Seville.

kimhe is right about how much there is to see and do in Seville.

you could add a night to Madrid and do a day-trip to Toledo.

danon

We stayed in Seville 5 days this spring...too long for me.

It is all personal taste, Barcelona is very different and the most exciting city IMO.

chapla

I think 2 nights in Sevilla is enough!!!!!!

oopsy

There is such variety in people's Spain preferences. So many adore Seville. We enjoyed it, a lot, but our 3 nights there were...enough. Meanwhile, I've now spent 22 days in Barcelona and am anxiously awaiting my 3rd trip later this year. I returned from our Andalusia trip telling people that, yes, we enjoyed it quite a bit. I returned from my first Barcelona trip near obsessed with learning more about Spain and Catalonia, and returning as soon as possible.

That said, I think there is so much to absorb in any place, I'm not sure I would do three cities in 10 days. Once upon a time I would have, but now I enjoy slowing down a bit, going beyond seeing the sites to actually absorbing a bit of the city. I suggest choosing two of the three cities you have here. I would most certainly put Barcelona as one of those two cities, but you of course should choose based on what interests you. Just slow down and be there. The experiencing seems so much more important than the seeing sites in Spain.

danon

Oopsy,
Interesting...I feel the same way about Seville and Barcelona.
Visiting Seville was fine, but I have no desire to go back.

Going to Barcelona in Oct. for the sixth time.

CathyM

I also agree that 10 days is too little for these 3 cities. I'd drop one - which one is up to you and your interests.

Kwoo

I also agree that 3 cities is too much for 10 days. We prefer to take things a little bit slower too. Last October we were in Spain for 9 days (excluding traveling to/from Spain): we spent 5 days in Barcelona, then rented a car & went on a roadtrip for 3 nights/4days along the Costa Brava, Girona & Pyrenees. If we didn't want to do the roadtrip, we probably would have flown to only one other city. You need to factor in traveling time from place to place, checking into hotels, etc.

I haven't been to Madrid or Seville yet, so I can't comment on those cities, but I feel you do really need 4/5 days in Barcelona; and we still didn't see everything.

Egbert

10 days is not enough for all three and they are far apart you'll spend 2 days traveling out of your ten. If you're not a museum person I would visit Seville for 2 nights, granad afor one and end in Barcelona. If you like art museums sub Madrid for Barcelona.

Espanaingrid

The itinerary is booked. No changes.
Flying into Madrid (3 nights)
Seville for 2 nights
Barcelona for 5 nights

Traveling between does not seem bad. We are flying into Madrid, train to Seville and then train to Barcelona, flying out of Barcelona.

Love all the information keep it coming

kimhe

Sevilla is so full of architectural joys and historical places that I don't know where to begin. Here is a list of "sights and monuments", don't miss the Reales Alcazares: http://www.exploreseville.com/sites.htm

Most of the Alcázar was constructed in Arab style by Christian rulers in the 14th Century (Sevilla fell to the Christians in 1248 but there was apparantly no question about architectural ideals), and the Real Alcázar thus stands as one of the best examples of mudejar architecture in all of Spain. Visited last fall. Stunningly beautiful. You could easily spend several hours here, and you could completely loose yourself in the gardens. It's now the residence of the king and queen when in Sevilla.
http://www.patronato-alcazarsevilla.es/

If you want to mix art and history/culture, my suggestion would be to see the Hospial de la Caridad (charity hospital). As Sevillian as it gets. If you are into chilling paintings and Sevilla golden-age history, go and see this. The 17th century repenting founder of the charity hospital Miguel Mañara was - according to himself - "the most evil man that ever lived". All the paintings he commisioned from some of the most famous golden-age arists in Spain for the hospital and it's adjoining church dealt with the theme of death and redemption. The hospital, the church, the paintings and Mañara's grave are all in Calle Temprado, 3.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/seville/sights/411842

After midnight, go to Casa Anselma in the Triana district across the river to join into the sevillana/flamenco pulse of the city. http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/gui...fe-detail.html

Anselma herself, singing one of my favourites (from 5 mins, she eventuallly brings everybody to still): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw1atBQq_u0

Real deal flamenco at intimate Casa de la Memória. Popular with tourists, but some of the greatest flamenco artists in the world perform here on a regular basis. Pastora Galván was recently voted best female flamenco dancer in 2010 by Spanish critics, and she used to dance here almost once a week until quite recently. Watch also out for Rafael Campallo, Adela Campallo, Leonor Leal, La Choni etc. Also many up and coming talents. Would at least give you a hint of how wonderful the art of flamenco can be:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Andalusia.html

As previously noted, Azahar has got excellent tapas/restaurant suggestions for Sevilla. I would especially point to her recommedations of Eslava and Enrique Becerra. Bodega Diaz Salazar in C/García de Vinuesa, 20 (in the atmospheric Arenal area) is one of my favourites in town.
http://www.minube.com/fotos/rincon/1...slideshow-mode

annhig

What Kimhe said.

Definitely see the alcazar, and whatever else you have time/energy for after you have spent all night at the casa de la memoria!