Spain (I think) with a teenager

[marytini]

Hi. Hubs and I are taking our nephew on a graduation trip next spring. It will be during Spring break and we are letting him pick the destination. He is interested in Spain, mainly because he would like to see a soccer game. Either Real Madrid or the Barcelona team.

Anyhoo, I am here to ask about itinerary ideas that will interest an 18 year old boy. He isn't going to be interested in a lot of museums or art or churches.

So far I've thought about splitting our time between Madrid and Barcelona, but then I also like the idea of getting out of the cities too, preferable for a few nights.  Would it be terrible to only spend 2 nights in each city and then move on? Trip will be 7-8 nights.

For Barcelona, I thought maybe a walking tour (self guided) of the Gaudi sites...and then what?

For Madrid, I've found a Rooftop walking tour, or thought about a Tapas tour. In one of those cities we'll go to the soccer game. Other than that, I don't know that we'll be spending much time in the city.

Ideas, for things to do in BCN or MAD, and somewhere else? Granada or Seville interest me, but I also have to step back and think like an 18yr old. As for the hubs and I, we like cool architecture, I like scenic sites and views to take photos. Not big on art. Hubs likes all things transportation.

Depending on the itinerary would rent a car, or just take a train. Everything is pretty wide open at this point.

Thanks for brainstorming with me.

[v]

I actually think Granada would be cool for a teenager. The Alhambra is unbelievable, and Granada has a cool, hippie, very university-oriented feel.

I haven't been to Barcelona, but I think 2 nights in Madrid is fine. We spent 3 nights, and took a day trip to Toledo during that time, and felt we got to see everything we wanted to in Madrid.

[frlcb]

Make sure you do a tour of the Real Madrid stadium

[anna7602]

How old are we talking, 18? I remember being pretty enthralled with Spanish nightlife around that age. I was 19 when I was hitting all the dance clubs in Madrid. You are guaranteed good night life in any Spanish city, whether it be Barcelona or Seville or wherever, really. 

Are you or your nephew interested in bull-fighting at all? The rings in Madrid and Seville bring spectacular bullfighters. 

And I agree with v that the Alhambra is stunning. If you go to Granada, there are a lot of really nice small towns in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. 

[marytini]

Okay, so this is all reassuring. Oh my, if he wants to go out to a club....so not my scene! And I'm not sure he'd want us to go with him!
He is 18. And yes, a tour of the Real Madrid stadium is on the list too.
Thanks for the help so far. I'm trying to think of experiences rather sites to tick off a list. Some of my favorite things while traveling(as an adult) were cooking classes, food tours, bike tours etc.

[neonpink]

I love Spain and as an 18 year old just being there would have been amazing. Barcelona would be the party place to be at night las ramblas is hopping. The Spanish don't even eat dinner until 10ish earlier in the evening the only people in restaurants are tourists.

If you go to Madrid, I would take an afternoon to see Toldedo. It's one of the prettiest places. It's stunning. If you could time it so you catch a game in one city but go hang out in a pub for say an FCB game in Barcelona it would be awesome. There is nothing like watching a football game with the local crowd.

[marytini]

What is driving like in Spain? Or rather, parking. I could see us getting a car and tooling around visiting smaller towns, kind of like we did in Tuscany. Is parking in Spain better or worse than the hill towns of Italy?
If we have to stick to trains we will, and obviously we wouldn't have a car while in the BCN or MAD.

[neonpink]

I've driven all over Spain. The roads are easy to navigate and nice. You will get hit by quite a few tolls if you choose to go on their freeways that will get you to your destination faster. The smaller more picturesque roads take a little longer but are free. You can use google maps and it will show you if there is a toll road. We got hit hard going up the coast from Valencia to Barcelona. We took a smaller roads through olive groves from Madrid to Granada. It was one of the prettiest drives I've ever made.

While I was there I had a small Mini Cooper one. It was easy to drive and park. We fit 3 people and our luggage in it.

I will have to say use the car to get from point A to point B and maybe tool around in it for a few days. Parking can get very expensive. In Barcelona we had a car for a week and paid around 38 euros for parking per day. It was insane. I wish we had returned the car in Barcelona instead of paying to park it.

Before we got the car we were in Madrid for a few days. We hoped the train to El Escorial and Avila for day trips. It was very easy and efficient.

[pittpurple]

I would imagine an 18 year old would be out on his own at night right? Then personally I'd split the time in Granada and Barcelona. I wouldn't want to move around more than that but that's a personal choice. I know the nightlife in Barcelona is meant to be fantastic. I really loved Granada and it was fun at night.

[marytini]

I'm not sure we'd let him go out alone. He doesn't speak Spanish, has never been overseas, never been anywhere alone (like another city) and he's not our kid, so we'd probably lean toward being overprotective of him. Have to bring him home in one piece after all. And I honestly don't know if he would want to go out alone, but we'll see and we can play it by ear. He doesn't do anything like that around here, so don't know if he'd have the interest on vacation, ya know? I wouldn't be opposed to going out to a bar or something with him, but sending him off to a nightclub or something, not so much.