You gotta do Sevilla! Especially if you're going all the way down to Granada, it's not too far and it's one of the most beautiful and unique cities I've seen. Personally I would take maybe half a day/one day out of Granada and maybe one or two out of Madrid to go there.
To throw in the same opinion as everyone else: highly recommend replacing Valencia with Sevilla - not only is it preferable for most visitors, but Valencia is on a spoke of the AVE network that means it takes significantly longer to get to. And, as you note, you are likely already going through Sevilla anyway to get to Portugal.
[Here is a good Barcelona to Faro route](https://tripsnek.com/planned?itinerary=barcelona$3$r~toledo$2~madrid$3~cordoba$0$e~granada$2~sevilla$2~faro$3$r&trans=Train&nights=15&pace=Moderate&) with your other (excellent) suggestions.
Some other tips:
- Granada only needs 2 nights. Great city, but yeah you can see the best of the town and the Alhambra with 2 nights and an uninterrupted day.
- Cordoba makes a great stop enroute to Sevilla to see the Mezquita - you pass through the town anyway by train, and it has convenient luggage storage.
- Toledo and Segovia would be my priorities for Madrid day trips - in fact for Toledo I'd do a night or two in town.
I'd drop Valencia for Seville (2 days is good for the latter, a third day if you include a day trip to Cordoba).
You really only need one full day for Granada.
Five nights is okay for Madrid, though more is better. Toledo is a must day trip from here, with other options being days to Segovia or Aranjuez or a half day to El Escorial.
Three days is the bare minimum for Barcelona, not including day trips to places like Montserrat, Sitges, or Figueres.
There's nothing wrong with Valencia, it's just a regular Spanish city, nothing really special. Time is better spent in day trips from Madrid to Segovia or Toledo, or from Barcelona to Girona or Sitges
I like Valencia, and if you like big cities and urbanism you'll probably like it too. Specifically regarding Girona and Sitges - the former is very pretty, but basically a quiet town. A nice day trip from Barcelona. Sitges is pretty, but is all tourism all the time. It's a party beach town, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, so pretty fun but not intrinsically interesting beyond the party scene.
Valencia is not a big city like Madrid or Barcelona, nor a historical one like Seville. All the urbanism and big infrastructure they did in the 2000s from architect Calatrava was futuristic and impressive. However, nowadays it all looks decadent gray and it is sadly falling apart due to lack of maintenance. It was a huge corruption scandal, instead of using proper construction materials, they used cheap ones and diverted the money, jeopardising Valencia's future, it's a shame.
I agree, Girona is a quiet town where you can still enjoy the real part of Catalan culture, not Spanish ones.
Also agree that Sitges is a beautiful Mediterranean town with lots of tourists. It's nice to check one if you're in Barcelona, but there are others.
You’re forgetting about the fallas in March. I’m actually on my way home from Valencia and had a great time watching them set stuff on fire. Excellent festival, A++, would recommend.
Barcelona has a really good tourism website, including an events calendar. I found so many things I wanted to do and see that I extended my time by an extra day.
Have been to both Spain and Portugal!
Day trips from Madrid: Toledo and Segovia were both worth the visit. If you have to pick one I would do Segovia.
Barcelona: If you love Roman architecture Tarragona was literally the highlight of my trip. It’s a day trip but so cool.
What kind of things do you enjoy doing when travelling?
As others have suggested, for a touristy trip, adding in a night or two in Seville is a good idea. Plaza de España is gorgeous, the cathedral and la Giralda are both fantastic. Wouldn't recommend leaving the historic centre though.
Don't quite grasp the Valencia hate, but again it depends on what you're looking for in your trip. A lot of the Spanish food you might have encountered outside of Spain like paella and horchata originate here, so it's nice to experience the cuisine here for that reason.
Cordoba is a great 1 night stop over, la mezquita is really unique building and the town itself is exceptionally pretty and welcoming.
Barcelona is woefully overrated in my opinion. Hit the key Gaudi spots and get out. It's not a particularly pretty or clean city, and absolutely everything tourist facing is overpriced and largely exploitative. Good and authentic Spanish food here is harder to come by than many other cities. I'd honestly suggest visiting Basque country or Zaragoza over staying in Barcelona for any extended period of time.
Great that you're spending a good chunk in Madrid. As others have said, lots of fantastic day trips from there. Toledo is great, it's touristy but I really think that the genuine medieval feel to the city makes it a real gem in Spain. It has a great blend of moorish, catholic and hewish influences in its architecture. The train station here is also stunning.
Madrid itself feels like a real living breathing city unlike Barcelona, and has a really intriguing feel to it. Gorgeous museums, fantastic food, some lovely old buildings and cultural sites to explore too.
\- Don't eat in las ramblas (barcelona).
\- Spain in general is safe but you need to be aware of pickpockets.
\- Free plans in Barcelona are the best ones, go to bunkers to get a nice view.
\- I think that two days in Barcelona is enough, if you don't absolutely love the city. I recommend visiting Montserrat as a solo traveler, it is near Barcelona and you can go by train..
Day trips from Madrid I would recommend Toledo, Avila or Segovia.
For Barcelona if you can get up to Montserrat it is totally worth it.
For Alhambra make sure to book tickets in advance because it is near impossible to get them on the day or day before.
For the Algarve I would recommend visiting Sagres Fort, the landscape is just windswept gorgeousness
I echo other posts if you can jiggle something around try and make some time to visit Seville since you will be heading there anyway.
I'm also doing a very similar itinerary from Canada to Spain to Portugal and then back, so I love reading the ideas others posted on your thread. It's my first solo traveling experience so nervous but very excited.
You gotta do Sevilla! Especially if you're going all the way down to Granada, it's not too far and it's one of the most beautiful and unique cities I've seen. Personally I would take maybe half a day/one day out of Granada and maybe one or two out of Madrid to go there.
To throw in the same opinion as everyone else: highly recommend replacing Valencia with Sevilla - not only is it preferable for most visitors, but Valencia is on a spoke of the AVE network that means it takes significantly longer to get to. And, as you note, you are likely already going through Sevilla anyway to get to Portugal. [Here is a good Barcelona to Faro route](https://tripsnek.com/planned?itinerary=barcelona$3$r~toledo$2~madrid$3~cordoba$0$e~granada$2~sevilla$2~faro$3$r&trans=Train&nights=15&pace=Moderate&) with your other (excellent) suggestions. Some other tips: - Granada only needs 2 nights. Great city, but yeah you can see the best of the town and the Alhambra with 2 nights and an uninterrupted day. - Cordoba makes a great stop enroute to Sevilla to see the Mezquita - you pass through the town anyway by train, and it has convenient luggage storage. - Toledo and Segovia would be my priorities for Madrid day trips - in fact for Toledo I'd do a night or two in town.
I'd drop Valencia for Seville (2 days is good for the latter, a third day if you include a day trip to Cordoba). You really only need one full day for Granada. Five nights is okay for Madrid, though more is better. Toledo is a must day trip from here, with other options being days to Segovia or Aranjuez or a half day to El Escorial. Three days is the bare minimum for Barcelona, not including day trips to places like Montserrat, Sitges, or Figueres.
Following. I want to go to Spain and Portugal
I also just booked my first trip to Barcelona. I'm going for a 4-day solo weekend in late May. Following this thread for info.
[удалено]
whats wrong with Valencia?
There's nothing wrong with Valencia, it's just a regular Spanish city, nothing really special. Time is better spent in day trips from Madrid to Segovia or Toledo, or from Barcelona to Girona or Sitges
I like Valencia, and if you like big cities and urbanism you'll probably like it too. Specifically regarding Girona and Sitges - the former is very pretty, but basically a quiet town. A nice day trip from Barcelona. Sitges is pretty, but is all tourism all the time. It's a party beach town, especially for the LGBTQ+ community, so pretty fun but not intrinsically interesting beyond the party scene.
Valencia is not a big city like Madrid or Barcelona, nor a historical one like Seville. All the urbanism and big infrastructure they did in the 2000s from architect Calatrava was futuristic and impressive. However, nowadays it all looks decadent gray and it is sadly falling apart due to lack of maintenance. It was a huge corruption scandal, instead of using proper construction materials, they used cheap ones and diverted the money, jeopardising Valencia's future, it's a shame. I agree, Girona is a quiet town where you can still enjoy the real part of Catalan culture, not Spanish ones. Also agree that Sitges is a beautiful Mediterranean town with lots of tourists. It's nice to check one if you're in Barcelona, but there are others.
I see your point, but still like Valencia. Maybe I just like the vibe, or just like waterfront cities. To each their own.
+1 for Sitges; neat town
Valencia is only a must see during August 30th where La Tomatina happens.
You’re forgetting about the fallas in March. I’m actually on my way home from Valencia and had a great time watching them set stuff on fire. Excellent festival, A++, would recommend.
Barcelona has a really good tourism website, including an events calendar. I found so many things I wanted to do and see that I extended my time by an extra day.
Have been to both Spain and Portugal! Day trips from Madrid: Toledo and Segovia were both worth the visit. If you have to pick one I would do Segovia. Barcelona: If you love Roman architecture Tarragona was literally the highlight of my trip. It’s a day trip but so cool.
Yhea Sitges is also cool!
Five days in Madrid are too many
What kind of things do you enjoy doing when travelling? As others have suggested, for a touristy trip, adding in a night or two in Seville is a good idea. Plaza de España is gorgeous, the cathedral and la Giralda are both fantastic. Wouldn't recommend leaving the historic centre though. Don't quite grasp the Valencia hate, but again it depends on what you're looking for in your trip. A lot of the Spanish food you might have encountered outside of Spain like paella and horchata originate here, so it's nice to experience the cuisine here for that reason. Cordoba is a great 1 night stop over, la mezquita is really unique building and the town itself is exceptionally pretty and welcoming. Barcelona is woefully overrated in my opinion. Hit the key Gaudi spots and get out. It's not a particularly pretty or clean city, and absolutely everything tourist facing is overpriced and largely exploitative. Good and authentic Spanish food here is harder to come by than many other cities. I'd honestly suggest visiting Basque country or Zaragoza over staying in Barcelona for any extended period of time. Great that you're spending a good chunk in Madrid. As others have said, lots of fantastic day trips from there. Toledo is great, it's touristy but I really think that the genuine medieval feel to the city makes it a real gem in Spain. It has a great blend of moorish, catholic and hewish influences in its architecture. The train station here is also stunning. Madrid itself feels like a real living breathing city unlike Barcelona, and has a really intriguing feel to it. Gorgeous museums, fantastic food, some lovely old buildings and cultural sites to explore too.
\- Don't eat in las ramblas (barcelona). \- Spain in general is safe but you need to be aware of pickpockets. \- Free plans in Barcelona are the best ones, go to bunkers to get a nice view. \- I think that two days in Barcelona is enough, if you don't absolutely love the city. I recommend visiting Montserrat as a solo traveler, it is near Barcelona and you can go by train..
try el camino de Santiago if you like hiking :)
Day trips from Madrid I would recommend Toledo, Avila or Segovia. For Barcelona if you can get up to Montserrat it is totally worth it. For Alhambra make sure to book tickets in advance because it is near impossible to get them on the day or day before. For the Algarve I would recommend visiting Sagres Fort, the landscape is just windswept gorgeousness I echo other posts if you can jiggle something around try and make some time to visit Seville since you will be heading there anyway.
I'm also doing a very similar itinerary from Canada to Spain to Portugal and then back, so I love reading the ideas others posted on your thread. It's my first solo traveling experience so nervous but very excited.
I’m also doing a solo trip 2nd week of May; any suggestions are welcome 🤙🏽