Spain Trip.

Originally Posted by culverwood

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4 days is not much, at least in June the South will not be too hot:
Rough outlines:
Madrid - Art, food, football, bullfighting.
Barcelona - much the same but on the coast and no bullfighting.
Balearics and the rest of the Mediterranean coast only if you want sun and girls or boys.
Cordoba and Granada small cities with one great sight to see in each.
Seville city with great atmosphere and much to see but no highlight like the Alhambra.
Toledo, Avila and Segovia closer to Madrid and good for a day out historic centres.
Salamanca - wonderful town North West of Madrid (my favourite)
Santago de Compostela - pilgrimage centre with great cathedral.

In 4 days I would stay in Madrid for 2 (the Ritz) and pop up to Segovia and/or Avila (Parador) and Salamanca (AC Palacio de San Esteban or the suite at the San Polo for a good room at a good price http://www.hotelsanpolo.com/habitaciones/Suite.htm )

7 days is a bit more tricky as you cannot see the whole country but you want to try and see more in this case Madrid 2 days, Seville 2 (Hotel Alfonso XIII), Cordoba and Granada 1 (Paradors or Hotel America in Granada for a small cheaper hotel in a great position).

The parador site has some routes that may interest you
http://www.parador.es/en/cargarRutas...cion=0&SM=true

I'll vouch for Alfonso XIII - had some lovely stays there... Granada is fun to wander around. Cordoba is dry and dusty once you see a flamenco show and the Mosque.

Originally Posted by Michigan Planner

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That's not really much time to see stuff, especially if you are interested in really taking in the history and the culture. So my advice would be to go to somewhere like Salou or Palma de Mallorca and just sit on the beach for those few days.

Completely disagree. That would be a waste of a trip if all he does is go to Mallorca and sit on the beach.

I went to Barcelona and LCB for 8 days back in May and imo, it was plenty for Barcelona. Spent 3-4 nights in Barcelona and spent the remaining time driving up and down LCB and staying in the coastal towns. Loved every minute of it and thought we accomplished a LOT for 8 days. In fact, I left Barcelona feeling that I saw plenty of it. Could I have spent another few days there? Sure, but I think a week is plenty for the city.

Based on my experience, I would do Barcelona and LCB in that time period. My next trip to spain will be in the San Sebastian area.

I was in spain for a bit last summer.

I think I enjoyed Madrid more than Barcelona (mostly I wasn't a huge fan of Barcelona's attitude). Madrid had a lot of cool stuff to see and I took a day trip (30min train ride) to Segovia which was epic. Wish I had had another day in madrid itself and a day to take a second day trip to Salamanca.

Best thing I did in barcelona was rent a bike and ride around. I ended up riding the final km of stage 6 of the tour (it was the day after it) and then riding all around the mountain/hill thing that looks down over the city...tons of fun.

From there I trained over to Lisbon which was awesome (if you aren't set on spain and will settle for the iberian peninsula). Cool city and some nice day trip options by train.

Originally Posted by gumercindo

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Completely disagree. That would be a waste of a trip if all he does is go to Mallorca and sit on the beach.

+1. are you going on a college spring break? I hope to never again pay for airfare and hotel only to sit on the beach...give me activities of social/cultural value and I'll glady wait for beach weather to come to me.

I've been several times and each place had its joys.

I'd recommend Barcelona - good for 2 - 3 days. Many people I know have gone, and most have warned against pickpockets on Las Ramblas. Keep your wits about you. I managed to discourage the prostitute who propositioned me by asking her where I could buy drugs. However, don't let this talk discourage you. Have a good walk around town, visit the Gaudi places, especially La Sagrada Familia, go on the cable-car across the plaza to the port, sample the local restaurants, visit the old Olympic village. The subway system is cheap and easy to navigate. I was lucky enough to catch a football (soccer) match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis at the Nou Camp, Europe's largest stadium.

The Barlearics are fun, but places like Palma and Magaluf are what I imagine Spring Break destinations to be like. You can pretty much guess what you're going to get here.

Almeria is a nice little coastal town in the south of the mainland. It is about as near to a proper arid desert as I've ever come in Europe, and is apparently the location on which many spaghetti westerns were shot.

Denia is not far from Alicante airport, and has some nice historic features, including a castle. As with anywhere in Spain, I found that learning and using a few basic phrases greatly endears you to the locals, and will get you better service in restaurants and cafes.

Originally Posted by Sherlockian

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I'd recommend Barcelona - good for 2 - 3 days. Many people I know have gone, and most have warned against pickpockets on Las Ramblas. Keep your wits about you.

Standard but good advice. My wife and I were walking through the metro station when she felt something strange about her backpack.. When she turned, she discovered what appeared to be a mother and daughter... we were the subjects of a pickpocketing training course! They disappeared quickly.

Only a minor annoyance, though. Barcelona is a world-class city with outstanding people and food. Can't really go wrong anywhere in Spain. Each region has its charms. How you spend your time depends on whether you're looking for something urban vs. country, active vs. relaxing, etc.

Having lived in Barcelona, I cannot recommend it enough and would base myself there for your entire trip. The Costa Brava in June should be reasonably free of massive crowds (just avoid the weekends) and is a short drive away. Terrific food, wonderful people watching, culture and architecture in one of the most temperate climates in Europe. Almost pulled the trigger on a return trip with the gf in June, but we're going to Sardenga instead

PM me if you want any hotel or restaurant recommendations.

I was about 4 days in Barcelona a couple of years ago and loved the place - actually IIRC Bill, it was one of those trips where you and I were in Paris at the same time, but the ever useless RJMan was unable to put us a the same table. Anyhow, I was in Paris as a weekend-long layover, southern France for business, and took an overnight bus to Barcelona from there.

Anyhow, 3-4 days is ample. Great city to wander in, get completely lost, then completely found again. Lots of Attractions as well, so I just ended up going to An Attraction, and then trying like mad to work out how to get back...and, as with all trips, that part was the best part.

I've never been anywhere else in Spain, so I speak with no experience at all, but figuring if you wanted a beachy trip, or a spring break style party, you'd just head for Florida from where you are, so maybe 3-4 days Barcelona and 3-4 days Madrid would make a pretty solid trip.

Originally Posted by mafoofan

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Whatever you do, promise that you'll eat well.

I actually found it a hard place to eat. As a solo traveler, in a place where everywhere wanted to feed me tapas, I was like 'OK, so option A...i buy a plate of olives and eat a bunch of olives and am now full on olives alone, or option B, I buy nine different dishes, eat one thing from each plate, am now full, and a hundred euro poorer, and watching the uneaten ninety euro of that be scraped into the trash'.

Not a cuisine set up for those traveling alone!

Originally Posted by Sherlockian

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I'd recommend Barcelona - good for 2 - 3 days. Have a good walk around town, visit the Gaudi places, especially La Sagrada Familia, go on the cable-car across the plaza to the port, sample the local restaurants, visit the old Olympic village. The subway system is cheap and easy to navigate.
+1 on Barcelona... Gaudi park and unfinished cathedral - you must walk up as far as you dare as it is really not for the faint hearted... The Picasso museums, squares of taxidermists (for perusing or even procuring a stuffed stallion) and the alleyways on the wrong side of Les Ramblas for tiny local tapas places and laundry strung across the eaves by weathered but most divine hags of the night. . .

Originally Posted by Matt

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I actually found it a hard place to eat. As a solo traveler, in a place where everywhere wanted to feed me tapas, I was like 'OK, so option A...i buy a plate of olives and eat a bunch of olives and am now full on olives alone, or option B, I buy nine different dishes, eat one thing from each plate, am now full, and a hundred euro poorer, and watching the uneaten ninety euro of that be scraped into the trash'.

Not a cuisine set up for those traveling alone!

completely off-topic, but last summer i went with a friend to a new tapas bar in santa monica that had just opened. we spent over $100 and walked out of there hungrier than when we walked in. ended up eating at a sports bar down the street.

My fiance and I just did a quick four night trip to Madrid. We found it was a good amount of time to leisurely enjoy the city. I think trying for a day or overnight trip to another city would be pushing it with only four or five nights, but I enjoy a relaxed pace.

I'm not a big museum guy, but I thought the Prado and the Reina Sofia were excellent. We did the obligatory bullfight, which was interesting. Otherwise, a lot of wandering in different neighborhoods and mostly eating. Overall, I was really impressed with the food, which exceeded my expectations. A great mix of fancy restaurants and low-end places. Not a fan of tapas style eating in the U.S., but found the culture much more fun and appealing over there.

Anyways, I highly recommend 4-5 nights in Madrid. It's an easy overnight trip from Atlanta, so you can hit the ground running on the first morning. Plus, you can stop into Carmina.

Originally Posted by zbromer

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I think trying for a day or overnight trip to another city would be pushing it with only four or five nights, but I enjoy a relaxed pace.

With 4 or 5 nights, you could definitely do Segovia (salamanca would be pushing it). It is like a 30 minute train ride with awesome country views. The aqueduct is truly a marvel and the tower/castle has some amazing views. High speed trains run quite frequently and you only really need a few hours.

Thread update.

Going to San Sebastian for 4 days for some sun and food. Mugaritz and Arzak in addition to a pinchos tour is on the schedule. Any other places worth checking out?

Places close by Biarritz, the Pyrenees, Bilbao, Guernica (not much to see but seeing where it is), Pamplona (depending on when you are there). I would say spend your time in San Sebastian and when you need a change of scenery go up into the Pyrenees if the weather is good or to Bilbao if it is not.