As I recall from my reading, there are some nice little B&Bs in/near Carmona. What do you think of this idea? Basing ourselves in/near Carmona, then taking the train to Cordoba for the day and "commuting" to Sevilla for two days. We could then pick up a rental car (Auto Europe has a location there) as we leave Sevilla and continue on our trip through the pueblos blancos, Granada, etc.? Would we be missing too much by not spending the night(s) in Sevilla? Is Carmona on the train route between the two cities? And, if so, do the trains run "late?"

Option 2 would be to spend two nights in Carmona (visiting Cordoba) then moving on to Sevilla where we could spend two nights. I'm more inclined to "base ourselves" somewhere for several nights although I don't want to forgo the nightlife in Sevilla!! The last time we were there was in 1980 with our 16 month old son and my mother!!

Carmona is on a bus route (every hr or smtg like that) to Sevilla. Carmona is lovely, but not much doing in that town. I definitely recommend staying in Sevilla. Nights are cooler, lovely, and you don't want to miss tapas in the eve.

Carmona makes a great day trip.

I have to preface this comment by letting you know that I've never been to Carmona, so I don't know anything aobut the town. Having said that, I'd definately recommend staying in Sevilla. Like most places in Spain (in my limited experience) things get started pretty late. If you have to catch a train out of town, you're really limiting yourself. My wife and I were in Sevilla two nights and never got back to our hostal before midnight. We saw a Flamenco show (yes, I know, very touristy, but fun nonetheless) one night, and spent the second night, after seeing a bullfight, wandering around the Santa Cruz area hitting tapas places. Why not spend a night or two in Cordoba, then take the AVE to Sevilla. When we took the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla recently, we stopped in Cordoba. The ride from Cordoba to Sevilla was less than an hour, as I recall. When it was time for us to leave Sevilla for Granada, we picked up our car at the train station and within five or ten minutes we were on the freeway to Granada -- easy as pie.

Thanks, folks. So the AVE runs through Cordoba en route to Sevilla. That's a helpful bit of information. And you're right, it would be a nuisance to try to get back to Carmona late at night (unless we had a car and parked it at the Sevilla train station) and miss the spectacular nightlife in Sevilla. I'm trying to fit in the "castle" part of our stay and thought that maybe the parador in Carmona would fit the bill. Also, I like to limit the "moving around part" but, truthfully, we can't afford four nights at the parador anyway.

So maybe two nights in Cordoba (with side trip to Carmona, if desired) and two nights in Sevilla? I guess we could get the car upon arrival and hit the castle in Alarcon (first night) en route to Granada then do the pueblos blancos then Cordoba then Sevilla, etc.?

Look at the 5 night card for paradores. They really are a bargain!

None of the discounts apply to the parador in Carmona. (So it must be spectacular?) Since I have already chosen lodging in almost all of the other areas, based on having stayed there last fall, I need to continue examining options for Sevilla and Granada. Perhaps just a night or two in Carmona will suffice (visiting Cordoba from there) then we will check into a hotel in Sevilla.

Carole - I have to agree with rgf - Carmona is a lovely visit - but not where you want to base yourself for any lenght of time. Have seen the parador - not stayed there - and it is lovely. Your first sight of Carmona is breathtaking - sort of rises up from flat plain out of nowhere. A few years ago we wandered around Carmona for hours - some great photo ops if you're willing to poke and explore a bit off the beaten track. Carmona is really a day trip or a one nighter - then on to Cordoba or Sevilla.

I like those "sleepy little towns" as a base. As long as there are a few bars and restaurants, we're set.

There's even a lovely country "hotel" (El Triguero) outside of Carmona that would work out well. We don't mind driving a little. Often parking at the train station or on the "outskirts" or town or by some famous monument works out well.

When we visited Segovia, we chose to stay in a sleepy little town, Turégano. Big plaza, small town, few people but a great little hotel with a wonderful restaurant(El Zaguán) and view of an old castle from our room. It was easy to drive into Segovia, even for the evening. And we had easy access to the surrounding castles, i.e. Coca and towns, i.e. Pedraza, etc. I guess Turégano gets "busy" during the weekend, with folks from Madrid who own places there. We were there during the week, a four night stay. We probably made the Guinness Book of World Records!!