Barcelona/Madrid help

[mrsd2006]

We are looking at a trip flying in to Barcelona and out of Madrid. This would be our first trip. Looking at 7 nights- how would you split it up? 3 and 4 or 4 and 3?  Not sure which area has the most to see and do. 

Any other suggestions? We love architecture, sightseeing, history and eating and drinking! 

TIA 

[ESF]

I've not been to Madrid, but I found Barcelona to be a uniquely challenging city as a traveler.  It's hard to say what's enough time without knowing your travel dates and what you want to see, but in general, there's a limited number of attractions that all require very-far-in-advance ticketing, and most are closed at least one day a week. So you could spend 4 days there and see practically nothing, or you could spend 3 days there and get in everything you want to see because the ticketing gods work in your favor.

For us, even though we planned three or four months in advance, we found ticketing options extremely limited. We would up having to take what we could get for Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, and the Gaudi apartments, which resulted in a mess of an itinerary because they weren't at ideal times on ideal days, and involved a lot of backtracking and multiple cross-town trips in a day. And if you don't get tickets, good luck. As an example, the wait for the Miro musuem was two hours long, so so much for that.  Since we didn't get advance tickets, we were shit out of luck.

To make matters worse, I spent my first three days looking forward to the Sagrada Familia and one of the Gaudi apartments on my last day, when a strike hit, and they closed for the day. So basically I spent months and months planning, and saw Park Guell.

So anyway, my point here is to think about what you want to see, and find out what time slots are available for those attractions, and go from there.  Also the one thing I loved in Barcelona was our day trip to Girona. Short train ride, and it's a really fascinating city.

Or just skip Barcelona and go to San Sebastian and Basque country, which has better food, fewer crowds, more stunning scenery, some really cool tourist attractions, and interesting culture.

[achi]

I haven't been to Madrid but I've done Barcelona.. it was not my favourite. I had similar issues with ticketing to ESF (minus the strike) and we ended up rearranging our planned itinerary a couple times. We were lucky that we were still able to see most of what we wanted to, but missed out on a couple of things. I don't know when you're planning to go, but we were there for 3 nights in mid-late May. The weather was nice, and the city was not insanely busy with tourists yet.

Communication was an issue for me. I speak a couple different languages well enough to navigate/order food, but Spanish is not one of them and I found people to be pretty rude about it. For those who did speak English, it was not something they readily volunteered to do. Our hotel reservation was a disaster despite booking months in advance. They insisted on keeping our passports while we were there, which we of course objected to and they very nearly did not let us check in. It was a pretty difficult challenge. Looking back I suspect that keeping the passports had something to do with how they billed people because when we checked out they did not charge us and still to this day (a couple years later) we have received no correspondence from them saying we still owe them anything.

[orval]

I have been to Madrid and southern Spain. One of the best things we did in Madrid was a food tour. I believe I recommended this to someone else here too - and they enjoyed it.
spanishtapasmadrid.com/tours/gastronomic-tours/madrid-tapas-tour/
We also visited The Prado, Real Madrid Stadium, Retiro Park, the Palace - couldn't go in as the King was hosting something that day.
I think we were there for 4 nights. I could have stayed longer.

[majesty318]

I go to Madrid almost every year; it is my favorite city. I have been to Barcelona but not for a while. I find Madrid very easy - it's very much a walking city. Here is a list of suggestions I had sent to a friend of a friend.

If you take the train between cities, tickets get increasingly expensive as the date gets closer. I always book directly with Renfe (the Spanish rail company) and always with Paypal - the website seems to not take American credit cards. Renfe is infamous for putting tickets for sale very late, so if you don't see them yet for your dates, just keep looking. You can also book on the website Loco2 which has the same prices as Renfe.


Barcelona

I normally stay near Plaza Cataluña which is near Las Ramblas (famous street). Definitely go to Boqueria market on Las Ramblas. Tapas at Ciutat Comtal - we had a really good & cheap meal (though you will probably have to wait on line). All the Gaudi stuff (Parc Guell, La Pedrera, etc). If you want to do any day trips, Sitges is a cute beach town, or you can do a tour to a cava vineyard.


Madrid
stay in the center - La Latina, Plaza Santa Ana, Huertas - I usually stay near the Opera metro stop.

Do a food tour with Devour Tours. I have used this company in 4 cities and one more coming up.

Calle Cava Baja & Calle Cuchilleros (both very central near the Plaza Mayor) are cute streets to eat/ drink - lots of options there. I particularly like La Perejila & Posada del Dragon. Botin (supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world) is there. I went once, it was good but not the best meal I've ever had. Don't eat anywhere in Plaza Mayor (touristy & overpriced) but in the alleyways around Plaza Mayor, there is good stuff. Most restaurants (this goes for all cities) will have a menu del dia at lunchtime that is a fixed price for appetizer, entree, dessert, & drink. These are always a good deal. Some other authentic restaurants -

Restaurante La Sanabresa, C/ Amor de Dios, 12 (I had my absolute favorite dining experience in Madrid here)
Restaurante Badila, C/ La Cabeza, 6
Casa Perico, C/ de la Ballesta, 18


And for tapas:
Bodega La Ardosa
Casa Labra


This place has really good enormous tortillas:

www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d3320575-Reviews-Taberna_El_Buo_La_Latina-Madrid.html

Lots of good rooftop bars in Madrid - the newest is the Riu Hotel on Gran Via which has basically a glass floor. Also top of the Circulo de Bellas Artes, top of Palacio Cibeles, ME Hotel in Plaza Santa Ana.


Chocolate & churros at San Gines (open 24 hours) - this is unfortunately getting very touristy so there is sometimes a line

Pastries at La Mallorquina (in Sol)


If you are in Madrid on a Sunday, check out the Rastro flea market. It's always crowded but you can find some cool things There is also a street market called Mercado de la Rana, I believe it is the first Saturday of the month - it's in the literary quarter which is a very cute area.


I really liked this tour of Anden 0 (old subway station) but I think the tours are only in Spanish: www.esmadrid.com/informacion-turistica/anden-0-estacion-de-chamberi

Parque El Retiro - nice to stroll around

Parque del Capricho - Only open on weekends and kind of far away but it's a beautiful park and great for pictures.

Templo Debod

Museo Cerralbo - a smaller, less crowded museum in an old palace

Palacio Real (this is one of the only things to book ahead in Madrid)

Tour of Bernabéu stadium (I did not do the audio guide and was totally fine without it)


Not sure if you speak Spanish, but they definitely speak less English in Spain than in a lot of other places in Europe. In your hotel/ very touristy places, someone always will though.


If you do any day trips from Madrid, my favorite is Avila. Other good options are Segovia & Toledo.


No need for tipping basically ever.

Tap water is safe but they never really give it to you without asking. Ask for "un vaso de agua" if you want it.

[dutchgirl678]

I haven't been to Madrid but I've been to Barcelona. I loved it. We only had advance tickets to the Sagrada Familia as that was absolutely on our list. We didn't visit Park Guell but we did go to the Gaudi apartments. We were there in September and it wasn't particularly busy. We spent a lot of time just wandering around. I was there for a work trip before I spent the weekend there with my DH. Through work we did a guided walking tour and a catamaran boat trip. For our business trip, we stayed at a hotel on the beach, north of town. But for the weekend, we booked a hotel using Booking.com (hotel Villa Emilia). It was not close to downtown but an easy walk to the metro. Lots of cool restaurants near the hotel, modern rooms and amenities and a nice rooftop bar.

One of our favorite places for breakfast was Tarannà cafe. The menu was in Catalan/Spanish and there were mostly locals, but we had no problem communicating in English.

[RockNVoll]

I suggest doing some research on the things you want to see/do in each city and use that to decide how to split the time. Everyone has their own preferences.

I'm surprised to see all the negative Barcelona experiences (the strike bit totally sucks). I've been twice and love visiting there (have not been to Madrid so I can't compare). I think I bought both the Sagrada Familia and Batalo tickets in advance. SF and Parc Guell are probably my favorite sites. For food, I could eat my weight in paella and jamon iberico.

[dreamcrisp1]

I’ve been to both but Madrid is one of my most favourite cities. I’ve been 2 times and can’t wait to go back and we rarely re-do cities. The food is phenomenal and sangria. I’ll be back to post more.

[ESF]

Aug 28, 2019 14:28:45 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

I suggest doing some research on the things you want to see/do in each city and use that to decide how to split the time. Everyone has their own preferences.

I'm surprised to see all the negative Barcelona experiences (the strike bit totally sucks). I've been twice and love visiting there (have not been to Madrid so I can't compare). I think I bought both the Sagrada Familia and Batalo tickets in advance. SF and Parc Guell are probably my favorite sites. For food, I could eat my weight in paella and jamon iberico.

Yeah I wish I had a better experience because I had been looking forward to visiting Barcelona for as long as I can remember.

Also on the first day there, I slipped in the poorly designed tub, sprained several toes, and gave myself the most severe bruises all over my legs that I've ever had.  The hotel didn't care, and I spent my entire time there in the worst pain I've ever been in. We had to take cabs everywhere just so I could save my energy to stand and walk for the sights that we didn't ultimately get to see.

After Barcelona, H and I went to spend one night in Zaragosa on the way to San Sebastian. I really wanted to see the Aljaferia. Since we didnt' have time to go to Seville, etc, I thought this would be a nice way to at least get a taste of the Moorish history.   So I leave Barcelona in a fucking mood, get to Zaragosa, and find out that - surprise - the palace was closed for that day only for a special event that they didn't bother to put on their website.

I did not have a nice five first days in Spain!

Fortunately the Basque country more than made up for it. I could eat in San Sebastian every day for the rest of my life.

[RockNVoll]

OMG, ESF, that's horrible! I'm sad you had such a rough trip. No one should have so many things go wrong on one vacation! Glad the tail end made up for it (I really want to check out San Sebastian), though I do hope you get to see Sagrada Familia eventually. It's worth going back for.

[erbear]

I love Barcelona, kind of hate Madrid so I'd do 5 and 2 for days

I don't even remember what we saw but the food in Barcelona was so.good. No real issues with language though definitely found that people spoke less English. NBD since I speak some Spanish and the Spanish in Barcelona was closer to French, really, and I am fluent.

I think the passport thing in hotels is pretty standard in Spain.

[ribollita]

Get outside of the city, even for a night. Girona, San Sebastián, Parador de Cordona.

[goldengirlz]

I’ve been to both cities and loved them both for different reasons. (It didn’t hurt that this was my first trip to Europe with my now-H so we could have gone anywhere and it would have been amazing to me.)

Barcelona is visually a more interesting city because of the Gaudi architecture and proximity to the beach. Madrid feels more like Any European City but of course the food and art scene are amazing.

So it really depends on what you want. I agree with sketching out a loose itinerary and then deciding. Personally, I’d take the extra day in Barcelona, especially since jet lag is annoying and I like to build some buffer into the earlier part of the trip. But you can’t go wrong either way.

Side note: Are you flying or taking the train between cities? Because we had an awful experience on Vueling.

[lolo]

I'm surprised to hear the Barcelona hate! It's probably my favorite European city to visit, and I've been half a dozen times, including once for about a month (research grant). I've had zero issues getting into any attractions, but tbf, I haven't been since they started ticketing at Parc Guell.

For me, Barcelona is brilliant for wandering and people watching and eating, all of which I love. We would visit the market and walk the Ramblas, eat lunch by the Mediterranean, get lost in the Barri Gotic. Grab wine while pondering history outside of Maria del Mar cathedral. Enjoy gelato. Of course the architecture is incredible and the Sagrada familia is like visiting heaven and the art!

I also like to take the teleferic to Montjuic, enjoy the panoramic views, ruminate the horrors of Franco, lose myself in the Fundacio de Miro, and wander my way down the mountain by the magic fountain, which is of course spectacular.

Regardless, because of jet lag, I highly recommend that you take the extra day in your first city, Barcelona.

Do set aside time to see La Reine Sofia in Madrid, if you like modern art at all.

[mrsd2006]

Aug 30, 2019 9:27:40 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

I’ve been to both cities and loved them both for different reasons. (It didn’t hurt that this was my first trip to Europe with my now-H so we could have gone anywhere and it would have been amazing to me.)

Barcelona is visually a more interesting city because of the Gaudi architecture and proximity to the beach. Madrid feels more like Any European City but of course the food and art scene are amazing.

So it really depends on what you want. I agree with sketching out a loose itinerary and then deciding. Personally, I’d take the extra day in Barcelona, especially since jet lag is annoying and I like to build some buffer into the earlier part of the trip. But you can’t go wrong either way.

Side note: Are you flying or taking the train between cities? Because we had an awful experience on Vueling.

We'll take the train

[badgergrl]

www.disfrutarbarcelona.com/

This place was Amazing. Probably best I have ever had (and we have flown all over eating at 3 star Michelin restaurants)

[Whitecaps]

Aug 28, 2019 14:47:48 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I’ve been to both but Madrid is one of my most favourite cities. I’ve been 2 times and can’t wait to go back and we rarely re-do cities. The food is phenomenal and sangria. I’ll be back to post more.

Bumping this post to ask if you'd mind sharing the things you love about/recommend in Madrid? We're going in early February and are just starting to plan. 

[doctoranda]

We went to Barcelona once and loved it. We did not have advance tickets but went inline for Sagrada Familia tickets right when the booth opened (our hotel was right next to it) and got tickets for a time slot that worked well. We also went to Park Guell and stood inline for just a little bit but nbd. Same for the Picasso museum. Besides that we just wandered around, hit up many beautiful sites, and drank & ate our hearts out at different little tapas places/wine bars. Also, had an incredibly good Japanese meal. I would recommend getting tickets online because you can and then you don't waste any time once you are there.

We were there for Easter a few years ago, for 4 days.

[mrsd2006]

Jan 7, 2020 20:07:43 GMT -5 Whitecaps said:

Aug 28, 2019 14:47:48 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I’ve been to both but Madrid is one of my most favourite cities. I’ve been 2 times and can’t wait to go back and we rarely re-do cities. The food is phenomenal and sangria. I’ll be back to post more.

Bumping this post to ask if you'd mind sharing the things you love about/recommend in Madrid? We're going in early February and are just starting to plan. 

We downloaded the Rick Steves app and did his walking tour. It was really interesting, and FREE

[mrsd2006]

Aug 28, 2019 9:31:14 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

I go to Madrid almost every year; it is my favorite city. I have been to Barcelona but not for a while. I find Madrid very easy - it's very much a walking city. Here is a list of suggestions I had sent to a friend of a friend.

If you take the train between cities, tickets get increasingly expensive as the date gets closer. I always book directly with Renfe (the Spanish rail company) and always with Paypal - the website seems to not take American credit cards. Renfe is infamous for putting tickets for sale very late, so if you don't see them yet for your dates, just keep looking. You can also book on the website Loco2 which has the same prices as Renfe.


Barcelona

I normally stay near Plaza Cataluña which is near Las Ramblas (famous street). Definitely go to Boqueria market on Las Ramblas. Tapas at Ciutat Comtal - we had a really good & cheap meal (though you will probably have to wait on line). All the Gaudi stuff (Parc Guell, La Pedrera, etc). If you want to do any day trips, Sitges is a cute beach town, or you can do a tour to a cava vineyard.


Madrid
stay in the center - La Latina, Plaza Santa Ana, Huertas - I usually stay near the Opera metro stop.

Do a food tour with Devour Tours. I have used this company in 4 cities and one more coming up.

Calle Cava Baja & Calle Cuchilleros (both very central near the Plaza Mayor) are cute streets to eat/ drink - lots of options there. I particularly like La Perejila & Posada del Dragon. Botin (supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world) is there. I went once, it was good but not the best meal I've ever had. Don't eat anywhere in Plaza Mayor (touristy & overpriced) but in the alleyways around Plaza Mayor, there is good stuff. Most restaurants (this goes for all cities) will have a menu del dia at lunchtime that is a fixed price for appetizer, entree, dessert, & drink. These are always a good deal. Some other authentic restaurants -

Restaurante La Sanabresa, C/ Amor de Dios, 12 (I had my absolute favorite dining experience in Madrid here)
Restaurante Badila, C/ La Cabeza, 6
Casa Perico, C/ de la Ballesta, 18


And for tapas:
Bodega La Ardosa
Casa Labra


This place has really good enormous tortillas:

www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187514-d3320575-Reviews-Taberna_El_Buo_La_Latina-Madrid.html

Lots of good rooftop bars in Madrid - the newest is the Riu Hotel on Gran Via which has basically a glass floor. Also top of the Circulo de Bellas Artes, top of Palacio Cibeles, ME Hotel in Plaza Santa Ana.


Chocolate & churros at San Gines (open 24 hours) - this is unfortunately getting very touristy so there is sometimes a line

Pastries at La Mallorquina (in Sol)


If you are in Madrid on a Sunday, check out the Rastro flea market. It's always crowded but you can find some cool things There is also a street market called Mercado de la Rana, I believe it is the first Saturday of the month - it's in the literary quarter which is a very cute area.


I really liked this tour of Anden 0 (old subway station) but I think the tours are only in Spanish: www.esmadrid.com/informacion-turistica/anden-0-estacion-de-chamberi

Parque El Retiro - nice to stroll around

Parque del Capricho - Only open on weekends and kind of far away but it's a beautiful park and great for pictures.

Templo Debod

Museo Cerralbo - a smaller, less crowded museum in an old palace

Palacio Real (this is one of the only things to book ahead in Madrid)

Tour of Bernabéu stadium (I did not do the audio guide and was totally fine without it)


Not sure if you speak Spanish, but they definitely speak less English in Spain than in a lot of other places in Europe. In your hotel/ very touristy places, someone always will though.


If you do any day trips from Madrid, my favorite is Avila. Other good options are Segovia & Toledo.


No need for tipping basically ever.

Tap water is safe but they never really give it to you without asking. Ask for "un vaso de agua" if you want it.

We did  end up eating here- the hotel recommended it was well, it was great!! The favorite place we ate in Barcelona, too bad we didn't go there until the last night before we left for Madrid. 

[dreamcrisp1]

Jan 7, 2020 20:07:43 GMT -5 Whitecaps said:

Aug 28, 2019 14:47:48 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I’ve been to both but Madrid is one of my most favourite cities. I’ve been 2 times and can’t wait to go back and we rarely re-do cities. The food is phenomenal and sangria. I’ll be back to post more.

Bumping this post to ask if you'd mind sharing the things you love about/recommend in Madrid? We're going in early February and are just starting to plan. 

Yes! Will post more in the AM.

[sarahsays]

Can I piggy back off of this thread?

I'm going to Barcelona and Madrid at the end of May and I'm trying to decide whether to add on Seville or Lisbon. If I do Seville it would be 4 in Barcelona/ 4 in Madrid/ 2 in Seville if I do Lisbon we would probably add a day and do 4 Barcelona/ 4 Madrid/ 3 Lisbon.

[majesty318]

Jan 13, 2020 16:00:27 GMT -5 sarahsays said:

Can I piggy back off of this thread?

I'm going to Barcelona and Madrid at the end of May and I'm trying to decide whether to add on Seville or Lisbon. If I do Seville it would be 4 in Barcelona/ 4 in Madrid/ 2 in Seville if I do Lisbon we would probably add a day and do 4 Barcelona/ 4 Madrid/ 3 Lisbon.

How many full days will you have? Personally I would probably just leave it as Madrid & Barcelona with daytrips

[sarahsays]

Jan 14, 2020 13:42:39 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

Jan 13, 2020 16:00:27 GMT -5 sarahsays said:

Can I piggy back off of this thread?

I'm going to Barcelona and Madrid at the end of May and I'm trying to decide whether to add on Seville or Lisbon. If I do Seville it would be 4 in Barcelona/ 4 in Madrid/ 2 in Seville if I do Lisbon we would probably add a day and do 4 Barcelona/ 4 Madrid/ 3 Lisbon.

How many full days will you have? Personally I would probably just leave it as Madrid & Barcelona with daytrips

10-12 full days dependent on the plans.

I actually hadn't really considered just Madrid and Barcelona with day trips, but I will.

[majesty318]

Jan 14, 2020 17:28:54 GMT -5 sarahsays said:

Jan 14, 2020 13:42:39 GMT -5 majesty318 said:

How many full days will you have? Personally I would probably just leave it as Madrid & Barcelona with daytrips

10-12 full days dependent on the plans.

I actually hadn't really considered just Madrid and Barcelona with day trips, but I will.

If you have 10-12, you would be OK adding another city, and I would say Sevilla for ease of transport (high-speed train rather than flight). But there are so many day trips from Madrid & Barcelona that I still think that would be a great option.