What would you do with 2 weeks in Spain?

cmkuno · May 2012

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Spain this coming Sept. or Oct. We'll probably spend around 2 weeks there (14-16 days). Any suggestions for an itinerary?

We usually try to travel by train rather than renting car, so prefer destinations on a train line. And we enjoy a mix of experiences (big cities, small cities, beaches, hiking). Basically, I'd like to know what your "can't miss" cities/destinations are.

Thanks!

expatjen · May 2012

We did 2 weeks in Spain around Easter and started in Barcelona, then took a short flight to Granada, then took the train to Seville and then another train to Madrid. It was a good 12 days for us. We were able to see a lot and eat a lot!

MrsSstrug · May 2012

we did two weeks in July...started in Barcelona, train to San Sebastian for a few days (day trip to Bilbao for the art museum) and then to Pamplona for the San Fermin festival (running of the bulls) and then back to barcelona. i am not sure what the weather is like in San Seb but the beach is gorgeous and the food is amazing. we loved all the gaudi stuff in barcelona too....but San Seb was our favorite. it was an amazing trip.

TravelingJen · May 2012

I did two weeks in Spain a few years ago, although I did have a rental car part of the time. Began the trip in Barcelona (3 days), then flew to Granada (2 days) then rented a car and drove to the white hill towns of Andalusia (2 days), drove to Seville (2 days), drove to Cordoba (1 day), drove to Toldeo (1 day), drove to Segovia (1 day) and then drove to Madrid (2 days). With the exception of the white hill towns (which I highly recommend) most of this trip can also be done via train. I am in the midst of posting entries on my trip to Spain in my travel blog, which you can look at here.

kyles123 · May 2012

The places you should visit in Spain are Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Seville, San Sebastian.I had also visited these places & it is the most beautiful place i have ever seen.

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elenetxu · May 2012

I'm a horrible person, but I really think San Sebastian is overpriced and overrated. The whole Northern coast is gorgeous, and a lot less expensive. That being said, if you're one of those people who have to go to those typical cities, it is nice.

Both Bilbao and Santander are easily reached by RENFE trains. If you go to Bilbao, but want the beach, you could easily take the metro up into Plentzia and explore both Plentzia and Gorliz. I love Bilbao, there's a bit of everything there.

Santander is my favorite if you're looking for a beach (disclaimer: I'm biased, I lived there). The Sardinero beaches are lovely, and you've got plenty of little bars in the center to check out as well as the Magdalena Palace and its grounds.

If you're lucky, September is still usually beach weather and the first half of October can be ok too in the north.

As for the rest, Barcelona is great. I'm not sold on Madrid, but Segovia is definitely worth a visit for the aqueduct and the Alcazar.

wise_rita · May 2012

Pueblo Ingles! On my phone so can't type much but I did it and it was awesome. Cheap way to enjoy the countryside and get to know the locals. It was a blast.

ktmae55 · May 2012

With 10 days, we did 3 in Rioja (stayed in Logrono) for the wine, 2 nights in San Sebastian (beautiful beach town, amazing food), then took an overnight bus back to Barcelona for 4 days.

TX_Lorrie · May 2012

We did a couple weeks in Portugal + Spain last Sept and did 3 nights in Lisbon, 3 nights in Madrid, 3 nights in Seville, 2 nights in Granada, and 5 nights in Barcelona. We really enjoyed the whole trip. We flew from Lisbon to Madrid and from Granada to Barcelona but other than that, we took trains between the other cities. There is a really good article on tripadvisor.com about navigating the Renfe website (it's a difficult web site).

I was not all that impressed with Seville and really liked Granada a lot more than I thought I would. We had wanted to make it down to Malaga but we didn't enough time and didn't want to cut out any other parts of the trip.

JenniatONU · May 2012

When in college, our marching band went. We started in Madrid, and then ended in Barcelona. We were there in November, right before thanksgiving.

The weather was beautiful, but 90% of us ended up with a stomach flu/food poisoning. We didn't get to go sight-seeing as much as planned.

Of what we did see, I really enjoyed La Rambla, Gaudi's houses/buildings, & park Guell. We also stopped by a bull fighting ring in Madrid. It was "off" season when we went, if that is something you're interested in.

Temp536318000001135 · May 2012

We went to Spain last year - we loved it there. We started in Madrid (did a day trip to Toledo), then went to Sevilla, Granada, and ended in Barcelona. We took the train between Madrid and Sevilla, and Sevilla to Granada. We flew from Granada to Barcelona as we didn't want to do the overnight train, and the cost of the flight was cheaper than the train.

Sevilla is nice, but we didn't like it that much actually. Of the four cities it was our least favorite. We much preferred Granada. Personally I think the Alhambra is a must see.

NDSUGirl · May 2012

We just got back on Friday from 2 weeks in Spain! It was WONDERFUL! We only used public transportation the entire time we were there so everything we did can be done with that.
Here's a short version of where we went (if you have any specific questions please feel free to PM me)
5 nights in Madrid with two side trips - 1 to Avila & Segovia (in the same day) & 1 to Toledo.
2 nights in Granada - would have loved to do some hiking in the Sierra Nevada's but we were on the cusp of the seasons so it didn't work out for us.
5 nights in Barcelona with two side trips - 1 to Montserrat (not to be missed especially if you like to hike) & 1 to Tarragona.

Happy planning!!

What would you do with 2 weeks in Spain?

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