My Spain

[jennifer]

So here it goes My friend and I have finally decided on what we are doing. Next May, we will head out for 3 weeks to beautiful Spain.

Travel - 1 day
Barcelona - 6 days
Granada - 2 days
Gibraltar (see notes below) - 2 days
Cordoba - 2 days
Madrid - 6 days
Travel - 1 day

We want to really get a feel of the places we are in so we are giving more time to the two main cities, but it means that we will plan a daytrip or two around that place.

In Madrid, we plan to go to Toledo and El Escorial, at least.

As for the Gibraltar part, we aren't sure about that yet. I'd love to go, as it's an unusual part of the world, but it seems expensive and hard to navigate around for hostels and stuff. What do you guys think? If not, we were think Seville, but aren't to keen...

Any suggestions about stuff not to miss?
xoxo

[pointofnoreturn]

Man, I would love to go to Gibraltar just to see the monkeys!

I have no knowledge whatsoever with Spain but I envy you so much! I'm already planning another trip myself, this time to the UK and Scotland I know, I can't help going back there all the time! Another trip in the works is Lesvos/Samos/Rhodes!

Can't wait to read herrbert's reply to this post!

[jennifer]

Monkeys?

[me]

yes, there are monkeys in UK's colony. not sure if they are wild monkeys, or feral monkeys. i just don't remember. see:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar_Barbary_Macaques

from my 2 trips to Spain, i would strongly suggest Seville. i found this provincial capitol to be even more interesting than Madrid.

perhaps you could split the time in Madrid; with the AVE train, it doesn't take that much time between the two.

- d

[herrbert]

Can't wait to read herrbert's reply to this post!

OK here we go ...

Gibraltar is a special part of the world, like you say. But it's really not a lot more that Main street (shops, shops and shops), and the rock, and the monkeys. (Keep you bags closed at all times, as they are well trained pickpockets )

Personaly I would choose Sevilla. I don't know why you aren't keen to go there, because it is a nice place. I can understand it that if you want to add some smaller places if you are already spending a lot of days in Barcelona and Madrid, but there are some sights in Sevilla that are really worth seeing: The Cathedral and it's tower. The Cathedral is one of the biggest in Europe, and has some beautiful features, the climb to the top of the tower will give you a nice view of Sevilla. Just across the street you will find the Alcazar (or Palacios Reales) with the beautiful gardens. In some ways you can say it's the Alhambra of Sevilla. The surrounding Jewish Quarter is good to go for some food, and for an evening performance of some genuine Flamenco. (try to avoid the touristic evenings).

One other thing not to be missed in Sevilla would be the church (basalique) of the Maccarena.

You could even see Cordoba's Mezquita as a daytrip from Sevilla. with the AVE, it's only 45 minutes from Sevilla. (Madrid-Atocha is 2,5 hours) But you would be missing the evenings in Cordoba, which are very relaxed.

In Granada, of course the main thing not to be missed is the Alhambra, but the town itself is pretty, with a lot of nice squares. The old muslim quarter is beautiful. (If you stay at the Oasis hostel, you are in the middle of it.) If you walk uphill, to the mirador de San Nicolas, you will see the panaroma, you know from the million of pictures. The Alhambra, with on the background the mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

If you want to spend 6 days in Barcelona, then also have some plans for daytrips, as 6 days is a lot. (maybe Girona?)

[me]

other interesting towns in Andalusia:

Arcos de la Frontera - very picturesque

Antequera - attractions within and around it

Marbella - where all the "beautiful people" go in Western Med area

but, to me, Sevilla has more to offer than others. Sevilla holds more history & culture than just about any other place in Spain!

if you want to save on fares, look into coach rides between some towns. between more distant cities, trains are probably worth the extra cost. [AVE is pretty fast.] this is especially true if you opt to visit Lagos from Seville. a bus is better there.

Edit: for speed & price, flights are better for more distant cities.

- d

[jennifer]

Well, I think you guys convinced us on Sevilla. I don't know why, but Gibraltar seemed cool and Sevilla, ordinary... really don't know why, I guess it's a hunch

Herrbert, I don't need to do a daytrip from Sevilla to Cordoba, as I will be staying in Cordoba

As for daytrips in Barcelona and Madrid, no worries, we don't plan on getting bored, we have some planned. We just want to take it in, you know, lounge around in a park, on a bench, writing postcards and daydreaming? Drinking sangria in the plaza... stuff like that, not stressing around for the first few days of our trip!

[jennifer]

OK, so Cath and I have discussed it, and we'll head to Sevilla.

Any ideas on daytrips not to miss from Madrid and Barcelona (I know about Toledo.)

Thanks!

[herrbert]

Well ofcourse from Madrid also Segovia.

In my opinion Salamanca is more than just a daytrip (takes about 2,5 hours to get there), and I think it wouldn't do the city justice to only be there a few hours. In my opinion if you choose Salamanca, then you need to stay the night. But some people do it as a daytrip. (the same is true in my eyes for Cuenca, although there is less to see)

Besides Toledo and Segovia, my other choices would be to go and see the Palace and the Gardens (incl, de Casa de Labrador) in Aranjuez. (only make sure your not there on a monday, as all the sights are closed - happened to me.)

Chin-Chon is an old town, beloved by many madrileños, to visit on a sunday. You would have to go by bus, leaving from the busstation near to metrostation Mendez Alvaro (southside of the city.) and you could also visit the university town of Alcala (north-west of Madrid).

From Barcelona, I would at least suggest Girona, and Figueres. Girona is a beautiful town, often overlooked by all the people that are landing there on a ryanair flight. And Figueres is a must if you like Dali, as it is the site of the Dali Museum.

If the weather is nice, than you can (of course) also go to the beach.

[googleygoo]

Hi Jennifer,

This is probably too belated of a post, but I went to Spain for about 2.5 weeks and visited all of the cities you mentioned, except for Gibralter.

I feel like 6 full days in Madrid is a lot, although if you take day trips to Toledo, Segovia and El Escorial, I guess 3 full days in Madrid is good.

I definitely agree that you should check out Seville, at minimum 2 days, although I feel like there's more to do in Seville than Madrid.

Once you settle on dates, make sure you make a reservation for the Alhambra!!! If you can't get a reservation, you just have to make sure you get up early enough to stand in line and get your ticket the day off. I couldn't get a reservation for during the day so I went to see the palace at night, which was quite pretty, albeit dark.

There's so much to do and see in Barcelona and it's the perfect place to relax. I was there for 6 nights and only took one day trip to Montserrat. Would've loved to see the Dali stuff but sort of didn't get around to it, if you can believe it. There was plenty to do in Barcelona. And I figured, hey, I can always go back!!

Only spent one night in Cordoba- and it seemed enough.

have fun planning!!

[jennifer]

Thanks Google for the posts, and Herrbert, helpful as usual

I think i might look into Salamanca, but more as a daytrip. I don't mind hopping around cities, but one of the things my friend is into is not moving from town to town, she wants to dig into only a few cities! We agreed on that!

We maybe will just keep Salamanca for the next trip or something!

Never heard of Chin-Chon, will check it out!

Of course we plan Dali. We took an art class together last year so we figure we'll do 2 or 3 museums on our travels. We aren't museum rats, we wanna explore the city more, but of course, Prado, Dali, etc. areones we can't miss!

And yeah, the beach for sure! I'll probably be sick all evening from sun poisoning like usual, even with a hat, 60 sunscreen and an umbrella Ah porcelain skin But yeah, I wanna see the beaches and the weather might be quite nice in May, who knows

Google, it's cool that you saw those cities, it gives me a good idea!

I'm not too worried about too long in Madrid because of the daytrips and well, it's always fun to just lounge around in the park!

We have decided on letting go of Gibraltar and taking Seville instead!

Any ideas on where to reserver the Alhambra? Can on reserve on the net? Do we have to do it far in advance? Which time of day would you recommend for the visit?

Thanks all!
jen

[googleygoo]

Jennifer, here's Rick Steve's web info for the Alhambra
www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/spain/alhambra.htm

You can reserve tickets online at
www.alhambratickets.com

Basically the palace admits only 7,800 visitors a day and there's a set number for advanced reservation and a set number of tickets to buy the day of. In my case, all the day reservations were taken when I tried about a month before I went (I also went in May). So I took a 10pm slot and saw the rest of the Alhambra grounds during the day. You can spend all day there it's so big.

Granada is awesome- it's probably the last place in Spain where you can still get a free tapa when you order a drink at a bar! Hopefully that's still the case when you go.

If you're traveling from Barcelona to Granada (since you listed in that order in your first post), you might check out Vueling for flights- it might cost just as much as the train, except you won't spend as much time traveling!

The beach in Barcelona is awesome- because it's free!

I'm glad you're going to check out Sevilla! Although, if you go to Granada first, the Alcazar in Sevilla won't be as impressive. Still, fun city to walk around in. Check out a flamenco show if you can, and take a tour of the bull ring.

If you have time in Andalusia, I also really liked Ronda.

And if you get sick of Madrid, spend a night in Toledo It's nice when the daytrippers are gone

[herrbert]

googleygoo said:

Granada is awesome- it's probably the last place in Spain where you can still get a free tapa when you order a drink at a bar! Hopefully that's still the case when you go.

I don't have a lot of time right now, so in short:

If you know where to go, then you can have free tapas, all the time, thoughout Spain. (I suggest follow the locals, for this one). Even in Madrid and Toledo this still works.

A couple of paintings from Dali, can also found in the Reina Sofia in Madrid. And ofcourse Guernika, by Picasso, Although I like other works by Picasso more.

Salamanca, it can be done as a daytrip, but leave early, and be prepared to return late.

Googleygoo, is spot on, about the Alhambra tickets, if you can get tickets by internet, that's great, but if you can't it no reason to panic. I believe they only sell about 2000 tickets by internet, and the rest at the door.

This is something I can find on ChinChon, really fast: www.radiomorata.com/chinchon.shtml If your Spanish is crap, then just look at the pictures. Below are also other links (e.g. Aranjuez)

Getting tired of Madrid? Never !!! ;D (who's bias?)