Spain: Madrid and Barcelona in Particular

[raangoli]

I'm dreaming of a trip to Spain later this year. First I thought of going to Barcelona and then over to Majorca (Mallorca) but now I am wondering if Madrid/Barcelona is better.

Would 10 days split between the two be enough to get a good sense of each? 

What are some of the must see/do/eat? (Maybe more interested in the eat since that is what I live for on vacation.)

I'd also be interested in hotel recommendations for both cities. I think in Madrid we'd want to stay around the Plaza Santa Ana and for Barcelona we'd go for Barri Gotico.

(Yes, I know we have a travel board, but it's slow here, so why not?)

[buckeyegirl]

We did three full days in Barcelona at the end of a cruise last summer and I loved it. I fell in love with the city. There are lots of good places to eat and sangrias to try. I thought there was a lot to see and do. I haven't been anywhere else in Spain so I can't compare. However I think 3-5 days in Barcelona would give you a nice overview of they city.

[mskitkat]

I have nothing on Madrid and Barcelona, but we spent a week in Marbella on the Costa del Sol. That was so lovely. We drank sangria and ate a lot of paella.

[raangoli]

May 21, 2015 14:08:55 GMT -5 mskitkat said:

I have nothing on Madrid and Barcelona, but we spent a week in Marbella on the Costa del Sol. That was so lovely. We drank sangria and ate a lot of paella.

This sounds like a lovely dream! 

[sparkythelawyer]

I LOVED Barcelona, and I think 5 days would be a good taste of the city.

[thebulldog]

We did a trip in 2011 to Barcelona, San Sebastian and Pamplona for San Fermin (we did not run with the bulls but we watched two runs).

Barcelona is very beautiful. All the Gaudi tourist spots are worth it as is the giant market off of Las Ramblas (Ramblas itself is very touristy). Very easy to get around via subway or walking. We wandered through the gothic part and did the beach one day too. The food is awesome...we did cook and taste cooking class where we made paella and got very drunk on red wine.

We did not go to Madrid so no help there but San Sebastian has a beach and all the tapas you need to eat. We would have stayed there a month if made of money.

Sent from my SM-G900P using proboards

[v]

We did Madrid and southern Spain last year. We spent Friday through Tuesday (3.5 days, 4 nights) in Madrid including a day trip to Toledo and I thought that was the perfect amount of time to spend there.

One thing we really enjoyed was the Bravo bike tour of the city.  Must dos: the museums (most notably El Prado), El Retiro, the Palacio Real, Mercado San Miguel... just walking around and taking it in.

We stayed at the Hotel Villa Real, which had a fantastic location. And free gummy candy in the lobby!

Re: Majorca -- I have not been there but if you're thinking about it you may want to read this recent T&L article about it: www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/exploring-mallorca-spain

[orval]

We are going to Spain this summer. Madrid for 4 days, Costa del Sol (Marbella) for a week with side trips to
Granada, Tangiers, Gibraltar, Ronda, and Seville for 2 days. Can't wait!!

[Saudade]

It depends on when you go. Madrid in the summer is awful. Barcelona is wonderful. But that said, there are 100 other places in Spain I'd rather go than Madrid.

[raangoli]

May 21, 2015 14:55:25 GMT -5 Saudade said:

It depends on when you go. Madrid in the summer is awful. Barcelona is wonderful. But that said, there are 100 other places in Spain I'd rather go than Madrid.

It's after summer - sort of. Maybe September or October. Is Madrid that much of a pass through or you're just interested in the others cities more?

[majesty318]

I studied abroad in Spain and it's basically my favorite place. I think 10 days is good for Madrid/ Barcelona. I suggest flying between the 2 cities as it's often cheaper than the high-speed train. Vueling is a low-cost Spanish airline but it is nicer than say, Ryan Air.

I like doing the Hop On/ Hop Off bus tour in both cities. It gives you a nice sense of where things are, you get to take in the scenery, and (obviously) you can get on and off wherever.

From Madrid, do a day trip to Toledo. Other day trips if you want more: El Escorial, Segovia, Salamanca (that's where I studied).

From Barcelona, try to do a cava or winery tour. You could also do Montserrat and/ or Tarragona from there. Also Sitges, a cute beach town.

In Madrid I have almost always stayed near Sol or Opera but the last time I was there stayed in Callao at Hotel Atlantico, which I liked. The rooms were gigantic for Europe. In Barcelona, I always stay along Las Ramblas. The place I stayed last time I was there is more of a budget option, so it was fine but would not be my first choice.

In both cities, go to the main markets - Boqueria in Barcelona and San Miguel in Madrid - and eat your way through.

Calle Cava Baja in Madrid is good for tapas crawling.

We ate at Botin in Madrid (supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world). We liked it but didn't LOVE it.

Tapas in Barcelona at Ciudad Comtal. I loved that place.

Chocolateria San Gines & La Mallorquina pastries in Madrid.

[Saudade]

May 21, 2015 14:59:38 GMT -5 raangoli said:

May 21, 2015 14:55:25 GMT -5 Saudade said:

It depends on when you go. Madrid in the summer is awful. Barcelona is wonderful. But that said, there are 100 other places in Spain I'd rather go than Madrid.

It's after summer - sort of. Maybe September or October. Is Madrid that much of a pass through or you're just interested in the others cities more?

I just love the rest of Spain more. I feel like Madrid is unfriendly and unwelcoming. It's big and touristy. Note: I've never been to Costa del Sol. I've had more $$ stolen in Madrid than anywhere else I've traveled. You can go to museums if you fancy but if you go elsewhere, you really get to experience Spanish culture/food/people.

I also have a very big bias to west coast Spain. 

[raangoli]

majesty318 - Wow thanks for all the info! I always feel like the hop on/hop off tours are cheesey, but you're right that they do give you a good idea of the city etc.

[v]

May 21, 2015 17:48:31 GMT -5 incogneato said:

I haven't been to Barcelona but loooooooved Seville and Granada (the Alhambra is amazing!)

Spain is lovely!

Of the cities we visited on our trip (Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville, Córdoba), Granada was by far my favorite.

[daisypaloma]

Ditto on Montserrat.  It's one of the highlights of our Barcelona trip. 

We stayed at Renaissance in Pau Claris, which is just around the corner from Passeig De Gracia; it's accessible enough for the subways as well as it's pretty quiet; and the shopping and dining selections are great.  And a Gaudi building is just a block or two.

Ibiza is also an option instead of Majorca, but it's a sleepier island so I don't think there's enough to dedicate all 5 days there.

I love Vueling.  It's 34 euros OW but sometimes they have 24 euro sales.  It's based out of BCN I believe, so you can easily fly in many places for an hour or so. 

We ate a lot of bocadillas, wine, cheese and meats when we're out and about, so I have no real recommendations for food.

I've never been but what about Porto (Portugal) instead of Madrid?

[MrsE]

I love Barcelona. I spent a few days there in August and loved every second.

[raangoli]

daisypaloma - I thought of Portugal instead of Madrid, but I think that I'd want to do that on it's own trip since there are so many things to see/do/eat

I was looking at Vueling yesterday since I keep coming back to the idea of Majorca instead of Madrid. I have to figure out how to do it - in the middle of the trip or at the end. But the fares were definitely reasonable and under an hour.

[dreamcrisp1]

I absolutely love spain! I've been to Madrid and Barcelona but I have dreams about Mallorca, Granada, Valencia, Malaga, and Sevilla! I have heard so many amazing things about all of them!

I loved Madrid though and Barcelona was stunning.

Take me?!

Eta: I stayed in apartments in both cities and I loved it. I went 3 years ago.

[genet313]

Please, please, please consider going to Seville or somewhere in the south (Andalucia).  It's a totally different side of Spain - more relaxed, more laid back, more "Spanish" and less "European".   And beautiful and the food is amazing - it has a great Moroccan influence in many ways too, which is really neat.

[compassrose]

Just putting in a plug for Granada. It's so beautiful....and they just bring you a tapa when you order wine. Two glasses of wine = enough food for a meal Plus, the Alhambra, which is gorgeous.


Definitely go there.
Then head further south and go to the beach here:

www.facebook.com/pages/Estepona-Port/161694463849973?pnref=story

Go to Barcelona, of course; the architecture and food are very memorable.  But I'd spend less time in Madrid to go south.

[anna7602]

May 21, 2015 15:03:19 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

I studied abroad in Spain and it's basically my favorite place. I think 10 days is good for Madrid/ Barcelona. I suggest flying between the 2 cities as it's often cheaper than the high-speed train. Vueling is a low-cost Spanish airline but it is nicer than say, Ryan Air.

Vueling is a thousand times better than Ryan Air. It's actually part of Iberia and many of the flights code-share with regular Iberia flights, so the planes end up being quite nice and they don't have all the ridiculous limits on baggage that Ryan Air does. I feel quite passionately about this! When Vueling goes somewhere I want to go (they fly all over Europe), I will choose that above Easy Jet (which is not terrible, but not as good as Vueling) and try to never, ever, ever fly Ryan Air. 

Re: Spain reco's, all of the above are solid. I've never met a Spanish city/town I didn't like and love all Spanish food. I would focus on one or two regions so you have time to just relax and enjoy instead of being on the go all the time. Part of the charm of Spain is lingering over your food or sitting in a plaza on a sunny day and people watching while you have your tapas and wine. Build in time to sleep off your outings of the previous night, too.

And if you're an adventurous eater, try the "arroz negro" at a reputable place. It's made with squid ink and is apparently hard to replicate based on the so-so arroz negro dishes I've tried outside of Spain.  

[gt7301b]

I'd do Barcelona or Madrid and then a couple smaller cities. I've been to Seville, Granada, and Malaga and they were all lovely. One of the best meals I have ever had was in a small tapas place in Malaga and was ~$50 for the two of us with wine and dessert.

If you do go to Barcelona get tickets for the Sagrada Familia online. The first time I was in Barcelona we skipped it cause we didn't want to wait in the long ass line to get in. The second time I was there we pre-booked tickets and just walked right in.

[raangoli]

Thanks for the additional recommendations! Now I'm thinking that since we're going that far, I should totally add on Granada to see the Alhambra.

I'm going to research some more and see what I come up with. You guys are awesome!

[anna7602]

May 23, 2015 17:04:53 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Thanks for the additional recommendations! Now I'm thinking that since we're going that far, I should totally add on Granada to see the Alhambra.

I'm going to research some more and see what I come up with. You guys are awesome!

The Alhambra is really stunning. And Granada itself is an interesting town. A little grittier than Barcelona, but fantastic food and above all, authentic flamenco if you can avoid the tourist traps. The area around there is lovely, too. I once stayed at a B & B in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada called "Las Chimeneas" that was one of my favorite places to stay, ever.

[konapoppy]

Definitely go to the Picasso museum in Barcelona.

And I agree with others to make the time for Granada. The Alhambra is spectacular.

[raangoli]

The Alhambra is on the must do list. I showed MH and he's all about it, too!

Thanks for the B&B rec anna7602!

[anna7602]

Here's a link. It looks like they may have expanded since I was there? 

laschimeneas.com/index.php?page=home

[gt7301b]

May 23, 2015 17:04:53 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Thanks for the additional recommendations! Now I'm thinking that since we're going that far, I should totally add on Granada to see the Alhambra.

I'm going to research some more and see what I come up with. You guys are awesome!

Rick Steves is my go to for European travel.  His books are great.

[raangoli]

May 23, 2015 20:34:23 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

May 23, 2015 17:04:53 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Thanks for the additional recommendations! Now I'm thinking that since we're going that far, I should totally add on Granada to see the Alhambra.

I'm going to research some more and see what I come up with. You guys are awesome!

Rick Steves is my go to for European travel.  His books are great.

Yes! I got great recommendations for our trip to Paris a few years ago and I've looked at his Spain suggestions, too

[v]

Adding Granada is a great idea. I liked madrid, but it could have been a city in any European country. Granada has a very different feel -- you feel the moorish influences and there is something kind of otherworldly about it.

The Alhambra is amazing and a must, but I'd also recommend climbing up through El Albaicin to reach Plaza St. Nicholas. That area is really neat, and the view from the top is beautiful.