Madrid Travel Forum

Hello everyone,

My husband and I are planning a trip to Spain end of July. We have 8 days.

First a little background - This is the first time we are going on a real vacation by ourselves without the kids(6 & 3 and my parents are keeping them..!!!)and we want to make the most of it. Neither of us are real beach types nor are we the hardcore partying type. We both love good food and our drinks. We are very much into history but dont want to cram too much of it just for the sake of doing it. We did Italy a long time ago and totally enjoyed getting lost in the place and watching people and just soaking up the culture. My husband insists on doing the Spanish siesta everyday we are there and I'm fine with that, afterall it is a vacation!!!

Now my questions:
1. What places should I visit and what can I skip..? Our trip is July 28th-Aug 4th and we need to fly into Madrid/Barcelona and out of Madrid/Barcelona, our choice(we have to do open-jaw).

2. I was initially thinking fly into Barcelona, stay there a couple of days, fly to Madrid and do day trips to Toledo, Salamanca etc from there by renting a car.Any other suggestions....? And maybe fly back home from Madrid.

3. Is the above itiniery too boring...? Please share your honest thoughts!!!

4. Is it terrible to come to Spain and not do Granada, Sevilla. We love the history of those places but are scared it might be too much for this trip and hoping we can make it someother time:)

5. Please share any other itiniery suggestions you might have.

Thank you so much.

My initial thought is that you should not visit inland Spain in July or August because of the intense heat. I've made that mistake before and I bitterly regret it. Stick to the Barcelona-Valencia coastline. It will be unbearable in the Andalucian towns/cities in august, believe me, it can be 42c-44c in the summer (yes, it happens frequently!), and feel even hotter.

Barcelona should be (or feel) a good 5-10 degrees "fresher" (but will still be hot).

Madrid in the summer is not pleasant either, it's like a bowl, try to fly to Barcelona instead. Spend 2 or 3 days there, take your time, and do have your afternoon siestas, it will be pretty dead between 1PM and 5PM anyway, then take a train to places like Sitges and Tarragona (a lovely historical city), they're both by the sea, it will be far more comfortable than Andalucia.

Granada, Cordoba, Ronda, Sevilla, Cadix, Jerez de la Frontera, etc are a must-visit (even much-maligned Malaga is nice!), but go there in April, May or October, and do them together, 2 weeks if you can.

If you decide to go to Madrid, then visit Toledo, Salamanca and Segovia.

As Ex P said, it will be very warm in Madrid. For me it is very much like being in SoCal. If you do the big 3 museums in Madrid, Prado, Reina Sophia and Thyssen Borenmizma, all close and all air conditioned, you can siesta during the day, drink ice cold sangria and cerveza, than then explore the city for a couple of nights. Then to the coast. Karl

I'd choose only one destination if I had eight days to spend. I like far more Barcelona than Madrid.

If you're going to stay in Madrid you could visit Toledo; Aranjuez (for the palace) and Chinchon; a nice village.

Andalucia; the region with Seville and Granada is far from both Madrid and Barcelona. There are some fast trains from both cities if you like to spend some days there.

Hi. Looks like we are the same "type" of travelers. Last July we drove for 2 weeks all over Spain and Portugal. Looks like you could find some answers to your questions just by looking at my tips and photos.
The way we travel is we make reservations for first and last day - the rest is open. If we get bored with one place we hop in the car and go to another. Sometimes we arrive to a town with a great plan but after one day we decide that we have seen enough and we go some place else. Sometimes we arrive just for one night, but the place is so magical, we decide to stay for longer (Ericeira, Portugal).
I would definitely go to Barcelona, Madrid and one other place (Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla).
Remember that all highways in Spain are in great shape (brand new) and the fact is....you are always only 5-7 hours drive from Madrid airport. Autoeurope.com has great rates on cars (you have to watch prices daily and make your reservation as they will drop one day).
I would fly to Barcelona, then fly or take a train to Madrid. After few days in Madrid I would rent a car for 2-3 days and head for one of the 3 cities I mentioned before.
You can find inexpensive (AC, bathroom) hotels right downtown in all those places when you arrive.
The reason, why I would drive, is because the scenery is incredible, and I believe it helped us to understand and enjoy Spain more than if we were just seen the cities only.
Yes, 8 days is not enough, but if you don't have to stand in line to every museum and every tourist attraction and you travel without making any hotel commitments, you will be able to see 3 very different parts of Spain and still have a time to relax in local corner cerveceria.
Siesta is a must! That is why you go to city center and only then look for a hotel. If you are right in the heart of the town you can hop in and out of your hotel 10 x a day. We go out for breakfast, go back to use the bathroom, go to sight see the "historical" stuff, go back for a siesta, shower, dress up and go out again sniffing for some good food and good wine. We also never eat in one place, we order few small plates, some wine or sangria, and more on.....until we can not eat anymore.
There is so much more to say....look through my tips :-)

By the way, Madrid in July ('05 &'07) was very pleasant.
At night you have to wear some long sleeve. During the day is all right.
It was a big diffence in temperature between July 15-18 and begining of August (2007). August is when all the stores are closed and it is really hot to walk during the day.

Thank you all so much for your great advice. I have to nail down my itiniery for sure in the next couple of days and I'll keep your tips in mind. I think we are going to stick to Barcelona and Madrid for this trip and maybe add a daytrip from Madrid.

Again, thank you all for the tips and please do keep coming up with more of those.

I'm not very agree with the answers above. I'm from Barcelona but if you like historic places I recomend you to go to Madrid, visit the city and do day trips to: Toledo, Salamanca, Segovia and Ávila. Barcelona is very hot too during the summer, after all it is summer! So as you only have 8 days I recomend you to go to Madrid and do day trips to that places I said, around madrid. Or if you want you can do too your first itinerary which was good too; Fly to Barcelona stay there 2 or 3 days, then take a flight to madrid visit the city and do day trips to toledo, segovia and salamca, that will be a very good option too. Since this is your first visit to Spain it would be nice that you visit the 2 big cities in spain, but if you don't have enought time go to madrid.

I see you're from San Jose ... so not visiting Granada and Seville in the summer is a good plan, as it is quite hot there.

Madrid, well, you must visit Madrid, and walking along the trees at the Prado is quite bearable in the summer. To cool off, walk down Recoletos (you will find it off the Cibeles statue), sit in the patio in Cafe Gijon, and order a "Leche Merengada" - a regional delight. It is a light ice milk/cream with cinnamon, but wonderful in a hot Madrid day.

There are a few things to do, and other than Toledo and Segovia (on the first trip I would visit Segovia) - you could also go to Avila, which is higher and hopefully a bit cooler in the summer.

Most Spaniards head north in the Summer. I know I'll get a lot of disagreements, but I would go spend two nights in San Sebastian in beautiful Basque country... see my SS page: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/9e639/3e32f/

Drawbacks of SS: It will cost you a day in a train to return
Pluses: You mention food - this place is full of cooking schools, and the pride in the food is very obvious. Everything is good there. Lots to do, and you can do quite a bit in a full day - or you can take a night train to SS, sleep in the train - will be a good experience!

Barcelona is also beautiful - you could almost do a circle:

Fly into Madrid
Base in Madrid for a couple of days, 2 full days in Madrid, 1 day in Segovia
Take an overnight train to SS, spend a full day there, sleep in SS (make sure to make lunch/dinner reservations)
Go from SS to Barcelona ... fly out of Barcelona.

A little tight, but doable.