I will be in Spain in the first two weeks of November, and it will be my first time there. How would you design an itinerary that begins in Barcelona and ends in Madrid? I am thinking of concentrating on southern Spain plus Madrid and some day trips around Madrid. What do people suggest?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

My advice to all people who say " i am going to spain for this amount of days and i want to see this amount of stuff" is don't try to see to much cause you don't see anything at all! Since you want to go to barcelona madrid and southern spain, spend 5 days in barcelona, 5 days in madrid, and 5 days in your city of choice in the south sevilla, granda.... so forth. if you try to see barcelona, segovia, toledo, madrid, sevilla, cordoba, granada, cadiz, and other small day trips you are not experiencing the culture, you aren't hanging out and relaxing you are on a schedule and you only see the sites, the best thing about spain is the people and hanging out in spain and relaxing and drinking a cana, you know i see so many posts and people e-mailing me about how can i see all this in this amount of time, or i want to see as much as i can in 2 weeks, and i feel so bad cause they aren't giving themselves time to chill out in one spot for like 5 days, it's like 2 days here, one day here, one day here and 2 days here, why not spend all those days in one place and really get to know and understand it and enjoy it. Spain has soooooooooooo much more to offer than sites and tourist attractions. Spain has passion, soul, and life to offer, and that my friends is the reason to go, to live and be a part of the spanish people. Don't try to pack so many sites in a trip, try to pack in as much cana, dancing, conversation, walks, food, laughter, passion in your trip to spain. Becasue there my friends you have truly discovered what that country you went to visit is all about!!!!! ole y que Vive Espana!

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Barcelona-Madrid-Andaulsia is a wide span for 2 weeks. You don't say how you are going from barcelona to Madrid. By car, quite a trip, and you should overnite along the way. Also, as I discovered the HARD way this summer, it isn't the kilometers, it's the terrain. 100 kilometers of mountains/hills is no fun! You should figure on at least 3-4 full days in each Madrid/Barcelona. Maybe grab the AVE train to Sevilla from Madrid and spend 2 days there, too. All depends on what you want to do, but missmadrid is right: don't try to do too much. Better to remember a few places well!

And I agree with everyone in the whole world. hehehehe.. Yeah, 2 weeks to see Barcelona, Madrid, AND Andalucía is TOO much. Sure, you can do it, but what will you really see? Okay, you'll see a lot of stuff, but you probably won't remember any of it because it went by in a blur on the way to the next thing to see.

Like missmadrid98, I hear about wanting to see these three places all the time too. My suggestion is always the same; see Madrid and Andalucía and save Barcelona for the next trip. Sure, Barcelona is GREAT and I've only visited once, but other than JUST Barcelona there isn't all that much around (okay, there's Montserrat, etc.) like there is around Madrid or ALL over Andalucía.

Why not station yourself in Madrid and get to know it very well, but also taking a few daytrips to, say, Toledo, Segovia, or/and maybe Chinchon? And then go on to Sevilla and maybe Granada OR Córdoba. I think that's plenty!

I know how tempting it is to want to see the whole country in 2 weeks, especially if you don't intend to return. But YOU WILL RETURN! You'll surely fall in love with Spain and go back and back and back again like many of us do. We can't get enough of it! Have fun!

Saludos, MadridMan

Have to say ONNNK to Chinchon: if you want quaint, just hop over to Avila instead. The plaza in Chinchon is pretty messed up w/ that metal bullring stuff, and there is NUTTIN to do or see other than the parador, which IS great. But so is the parador in Avila! MM is right. Save Barcelona, or do Barcelona-Madrid, but don't try B-M-+Andalucia. That AVE train only takes 3 hrs to Sevilla from Madrid, and that's a good thing!

WHAT?! ONNNK to Chinchon?? How dare you ONNNK on Chinchon! I love Chinchon! And it IS quaint! And Avila is MUCH farther! I love that little hilly, narrow streeted town of Chinchon. And its odd-shaped, balcony encircled Plaza Mayor is GREAT!! They don't have the metal bullring up all year round. And then there's the church above, looking down over the Plaza Mayor which has the original Goya painting inside (Goya's brother was a priest there). Woo! And what restaurants! Chinchon is THE place where MANY madrileños go for Friday or Saturday night dinner of cochinillo. I've had dinner there a couple of times, both times sitting on one of the 2nd level balconies with a great nighttime plaza view. Mmmm... SO nice.

Dreaming of Spain, MadridMan

rgf,

I just wanted to point out that AVE takes between 2 hours 15 minutes and 2 hours 30 minutes.

However, AVE trains usually arrive earlier than this. They have a punctuality commitment and they will give your money back if they are more than 5 minutes late. In 6 years, they had to return money only once but I can't remember the reason for the delay.

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To everybody,

Remember that you can fly very cheap between Madrid and Barcelona. Check Iberia, Spanair and Air Europa offers.

Regards,

Antonio

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com

[This message has been edited by Antonio (edited 08-24-2000).]

Thanks for the responses. Actually, it so happens that I can't skip Barcelona and I must start my Spain trip there. Perhaps what I may do is visit Barcelona and Andalucia and skip Madrid this time. (I will be taking trains.)

as everyone mentioned DO NOT attempt to bounce here, there and everywhere. one thing that many tourists make is the mistake of the old cliche,"i'll see this, then i'll go here, then i'll go there, etc." that's a ridiculous way of traveling. in the end how much do you actually absorb? the trip ends up being nothing more than you having the ability to say, "oh yeah i've been there." if you end up letting it manifest into that, then you've missed the point. you've completely missed the passion and the soul of spain. most importatnly you've missed just wandering with the people. its those things that make us all so crazy for this country. (course there's a million other reasons as well)
your suggestion of a barcelona-madrid-andalucia itinerary is simply too much. remember, barcelona and madrid are sperated by roughly 400 very rugged kilometers(630 miles). added to that, the closest major city in andalucia (cordoba) to madrid is close to another 420 km(260 mi) away. as everyone has said that's just too much ground to cover. you also have to take into condieration the fact that you're talking about thre very different and distinct regions of the country. something that you'll want to sit back and be coherent of. otherwise it'll all be a blur. and do remember that andalucia is a VAST province. it alone would take a few weeks to scrape the surface of.
my suggestion would be right along with madridman's. a madrid-andalucia itinerary is my best choice. however, if you are determined to visit barcelona, then i would head to madrid rather than attempting to get all the way to the south. course it is possible to travel madrid-sevilla in 2 hrs 20 mins via the AVE, but as mentioned before you'd be too pressed for time. instead head to madrid, spend several days there and venture out to its surrounding cities. you REALLY cannot miss when visiting toledo, segovia, el escorial, avila, chinchon(i'm with you on this madridman), aranjuez. as mm mentioned beyond the city itself, barcelona really has nothing else around it. furthermore its aura is far more reminiscent of france than what you'll most likely think of as spanish.
hope we help. whatever your decision is, just make sure you "feel" spain. the way you do this is just by wandering, hanging out and being with the spanish people. they make the country what it is. don't become wrapped too tightly by isolating yourself as a tourist. otherwise, you're better off being regulated to visitng museums in your hometown.

Well, MM, each to his/her own, but you KNOW i am very familiar w/ many parts of Spain, and I gotta tell you, Chinchon was a MAJOR disappointment. THe metal bullring and the CARS parked in the DIRT plaza made it wholly unappealing. The church? littered w/ beer bottles since it is now the gathing place of the local teens. Yeah, madrilenyos go there to eat (they also go out to carretera restaurants). And it takes a while to wind down those dusty roads to CHinchon. Fine, it;s an OK pueblo, but having come from Almagro, Cuenca, Trujillo etc. I just found CHinchon a disappointment! OK, you want close and quaint? Alcala de Henares then. Cars parked in the plaza, humbug!