I will be visiting in early October for approx. 10 days and am trying to sort out how much territory to cover given the limited time. As I do not wish to run myself rugged my choices are: 1) spend the entire time in Madrid; 2) split my time between Madrid and daytrips to one or more of the following: Alcala de Henares, Aranjuez, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Segovia, Toledo; 3) restrict myself to Madrid and one or more nights in Toledo; 4) some combination thereof.

Any suggestions for this first-time visitor to Spain?

Hola Ron!

Just as a note, you will get as many answers to this question as there are members of this board! Everyone here has their own favorite itinerary or place, so you'll need to take that into account...

Anyway, here's my 2-cents worth...As a first time visitor to Spain on a 10-day trip, I would suggest you venture out a little further and try a 2-3 day trip to Sevilla and/or Granada. (You'd then have about 7 days for Madrid and day-trips from Madrid. I wouldn't do much more packing up and going from hotel to hotel as that gets to be way too exhausting.) Being GranadaGirl, I am always pro-Andalucia, but Sevilla and Granada are both so beautiful and steeped in history, they really shouldn't be missed. Granada could be done probably with 1 overnight to get the flavor of the city and see the ALhambra and the Genralife gardens. Sevilla you could also do 1-2 days. Depending on what you're planning to do transportation-wise, there is a high-speed 1-hour train from Madrid to Sevilla several times/day, the AVE, which can help if you have any time restraints. If you'll be driving you could take 3 days and see both cities. The rest of your trip I would focus on Madrid, and do day trips to Toledo, and you could probably find a day trip which would take you to El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen all in 1 trip.

I would even suggest that you do a few days in Madrid and maybe a day trip then, then break it up and head out to Andalucia, then come back to Madrid and another day trip at the end. That way you may even be able to store some luggage where you're staying in Madrid and do any shopping the second time there (so you don't have to worry about the stuff early on in the trip), especially if you're only going to Andalucia for 1 or 2 nights, you won't need everything you bring!

Sorry this is rambling, but this is how excited we all get when we try to plan out a trip to Spain. October is a great time of year to go to Spain, it's still fairly nice weather, but the heat and humidity of the summer will have subsided.

Buena suerte y buen viaje!

-GG

We were gone 10 days for our first trip and our very enjoyable intinerary is given below--we saw a lot, but also had time to relax and get the flavor of the places we visited.
Arrived on Fri in Madrid--took Madrid Vision bus tour to get oriented to Madrid--very helpful and interesting.
Sat--day trip by bus to Segovia. Sun--spent in Madrid. Mon--AVE train to Seville, leaving at 10:30 am, arriving at 12:30 pm. spent the rest of the day walking around getting oriented (and eating) Tue--in Seville(Christmas day) at the Plaza Espana and Parc Maria Luisa (and eating). Wed: took day trip to Carmona by public bus (1 hr)--very picturesque, just right for a day trip (I wanted to go to Ronda, but that was about 2.5 hrs each way and the family wanted something closer). Thurs: in Seville visiting Alcazar and gardens, cathedral, and Girala. Fri: back to Madrid by AVE, arriving 12:30 pm. Afternoon visited Prado and that area. Sat: we thought about taking a day bus tour to Toledo, but our energy was giving out, so we visited the royal palace, the opera area, Salamanca area, and Plaza Mayor(and eating).
If I was to plan a second trip of similar length, I would likely arrive and leave with a day or so in Madrid, but I'd go to Toledo and Granada and maybe also Ronda and/or Nerja. For more trips and time in Spain, I'd enjoy staying overnite in Segovia and certainly would enjoy going back o Seville--its really beautiful and wonderful in everyway. You definitely shouldn't miss it on your first trip. We were there 4 nites and had 2.5 days--I wouldn't have wanted less time. Of course there's many more cities and places I'd like to see, from what I read. As Granada Girl says, just thinking about planning a Spain trip gets us all worked up!!

Having access to the AVE train makes Sevilla SO quick, easy and painless from Madrid. 2.5 hours each way with only two short stops.

Travel guru Rick Steves even suggests that Sevilla can be done as a very long day-trip from Madrid. He writes that you could leave Madrid early in the morning, spend the day wandering and doing the "tapa-tango" in Sevilla and then climbing aboard the AVE, snoozing, and being back in Madrid by midnight. (Just in time for dinner! LOL)

rainspooner writes: We did that in '95: el viernes de Semana Santa. Caught the 08:30 AVE, arrived Sevilla Santa Justa at 11:00, took the 'Exterior Loop' bus to el Portal de la Macarena and waited for the Procession to come back (It begins around midnight and returns to the Basilica around 11:00 - We were lucky in that it started late because of a rain shower). After the Procession we went downtown - it was very crowded with people, many wearing traditional Andalucian garb. We caught the 20:00 AVE back to Madrid in time for supper.

with the amount of time u are working with i would do madrid, san sebastian, barcelona, granada and then sevilla.

AVE it back to madrid from sevilla.

i really think these are some of the most important and beautiful cities in spain. there are many others but with 10 days these cities will give u a great background. have fun!!!

Ron, It is so exciting to be going on your first trip to Spain! You will love it for sure! I would not recommend so much travelling...try to get to know a place and get a feel for the life there. (Just my opinion!) I think spending one or two nights in Segovia and in Toledo would be wonderful to feel the quaintness and magical nature of these two little cities. Of course Madrid is worth 4-5 days and then going down to Sevilla sounds like a great plan to see a little of Andalucia...and Sevilla is so BEAUTIFUL. So, my idea is Madrid for 3 nites, Segovia ( 2 nites) with a stop over in Avila, Toledo ( 2 nites), Sevilla (2 nites) and back to Madrid for 1 more night...The small cities in Spain are worth getting to know...You can do Barcelona and San Sebastian ( which I ADORE!) on your next trip. I am certain it won't be the last time you go to Spain...it is addicting (as everyone on this board knows!). Buen viaje. esperanza

Ron - are you traveling alone, with spouse - with kids, and if so, what ages? It's all going to affect your decision about how much traveling is reasonable and enjoyable. What are your interests - do you prefer cities or do you want to explore villages as well? Love art or prefer hiking? See what I'm getting at?

Madrid and Sevilla both deserve at least three full days to explore - and I would give Madrid a fourth day if at all possible. For whatever its worth - don't even think about trying to go to Sevilla as a day trip!

Perhaps if you could answer some of my earlier questions - we could give you more informed responses.

Overall, I agree with Puna. Sevilla in a day is pretty drastic. 3-4 would be much better.

However, if you're energetic, adventuresome, travelling solo (or with another adult), like an action packed vacation and don't want to do a lot of hotel changing and luggage lugging, then Sevilla-for-a-day could be exciting and memorable. Kind of like a quick vacation within a vacaction!

You'll definitely want to come back and focus on Sevilla & Andalucia next time!