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Itinerary suggestions for Spain?
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Jan 5, 2019 20:48:01   #
repleo Loc: Boston
 
I pressed the button on a couple of cheap tickets to Madrid in May. (BOS-MAD non stop $375 R/T). Nothing else planned yet. Looking for some suggestions for picturesque locations in and around Madrid or maybe a 1-5 day road trip from the city. We are comfortable with public transportation and/or self driving. Not keen on bus tours. We don't speak Spanish, but have never had a problem with language anywhere in Europe.

On previous trips we have been to Barcelona and Andalusia (Granada, Rhonda, Pueblos Blancos, Seville). We would be quite happy to return to any of those but hoping for some new suggestions. Although it is not really a photo trip, we both prefer scenic landscapes, crooked little alleyways and tumbling hilltop villages to grand architectural public buildings and plazas. Priority will be food, wine, tapas and people watching. We are not much into museums and galleries.

I have always had great luck reaching out for travel suggestions here. Hope to hear from some of you again.

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Jan 5, 2019 21:15:53   #
happy sailor Loc: Ontario, Canada
 
Hi Phil, we have been to Barcelona a couple of times and Seville, Cadiz, Valencia, Cartagena and Malaga. Of all of them Malaga was our favourite, beautiful city on the Gold Coast. You have been to Barcelona so probably have taken the cable car up to Mont Serrat, if not a great side trip as well. If you haven't been to Gibraltar it is a great place to visit as well, tour the caves and tunnels and the history is very interesting. We self drove in a 12 passenger Mercedes window van one time through Portugal and Seville was the only Spanish stop that time. The driving is very comfortable for the most part, some of the mountain (big hill) roads in Portugal did have some of my passengers screaming but hey what is a vacation without a bit of excitement! I have heard the interior is very nice too but haven't been there.

I am pretty sure that it was in Malaga that we found this one attraction that was a parabolic dish inside a building with a periscope out the top of the building that gave views of the entire city and port. A very interesting technology that dated back to the Moors.

Have a great trip.

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Jan 5, 2019 21:16:04   #
AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!
 
Toledo! And the castle that looks like the bow of a ship. I've forgotten the name.

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Jan 5, 2019 21:31:06   #
repleo Loc: Boston
 
happy sailor wrote:
Hi Phil, we have been to Barcelona a couple of times and Seville, Cadiz, Valencia, Cartagena and Malaga. Of all of them Malaga was our favourite, beautiful city on the Gold Coast. You have been to Barcelona so probably have taken the cable car up to Mont Serrat, if not a great side trip as well. If you haven't been to Gibraltar it is a great place to visit as well, tour the caves and tunnels and the history is very interesting. We self drove in a 12 passenger Mercedes window van one time through Portugal and Seville was the only Spanish stop that time. The driving is very comfortable for the most part, some of the mountain (big hill) roads in Portugal did have some of my passengers screaming but hey what is a vacation without a bit of excitement! I have heard the interior is very nice too but haven't been there.

I am pretty sure that it was in Malaga that we found this one attraction that was a parabolic dish inside a building with a periscope out the top of the building that gave views of the entire city and port. A very interesting technology that dated back to the Moors.

Have a great trip.
Hi Phil, we have been to Barcelona a couple of tim... (show quote)


Thanks Happy Sailor. Malaga! We flew in and out of Malaga on one trip but headed straight North and never went into the city. I guess I should have done a better job on my homework. Thanks for the suggestions.

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Jan 5, 2019 21:37:29   #
repleo Loc: Boston
 
Thanks AZPicLady. Toledo and the Mollinos of La Mancha seems like a do-able day trip from Madrid or a nice detour if we head south for a longer trip.

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Jan 5, 2019 22:24:38   #
LoStrunzo
 
Suggest Segovia which is to the North of Madrid. Old Roman aquduct which is still working, castle protecting the northeast sector, old narrow streets and great food. Also suggest the Alhambra (sp?) which is supposed to be a monument to the Spanish civil war KIA, but in reality is a monument to Franco.

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Jan 6, 2019 05:37:51   #
johneccles Loc: Leyland UK
 
Last year we went on a short trip to the Asturias and the Basque country in the North of Spain on the bay of Biscay coast. We drove from Madrid to Gijon through the Picos De Europa, the drive through the mountains was really worth the effort as the scenery is fantastic and the towns and villages along the coast are very pretty. We then travelled West along the coast to Santander which is in the Basque Country where they have their own language, which is nothing like Spanish. There are lovely restaurants and hotels everywhere where you can just turn up without booking.
Give that region a try you won't regret it.

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Jan 6, 2019 10:30:37   #
Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL
 
We have taken about five trips to Spain and will be finally taking a tour of Northern Spain Bilbao-Porto Portugal this September. I think the Toledo suggestion is excellent. If you are up for a short and inexpensive flight for 3-5 day trip I suggest a trip to the lovely island of Minorca which is off the coast of Barcelona. The small cities of Mahon (Mao) and Ciutadella are a great base for an auto tour of the island. It is easy driving and the landscape is varied and beautiful with small villages sprinkled between the two cities. It has a fascinating history with Moorish, British and of course Spanish influence and they speak a form of Catalon. If you rent an auto in Mahon (airport) you can easily drive anywhere on the island in two hours. We stayed in a lovely hotel in Cala Blanca, which is just outside Citutadella, parking was plentiful for a very inexpensive large & comfortable room with breakfast. May is just before the major tourist season and the weather should be great. It is a safe, clean and layback destination with lots to see. This is not Majorca where all the cruise ships stop. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

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Jan 6, 2019 10:39:20   #
byuaceman Loc: Mesa, AZ
 
Segovia to the North is very nice. High speed train makes it a very easy day trip. The castle where Columbus asked Queen Isabella for money to fund his trip is there.

Toledo to the South is also nice. A very nice cathedral there and they make a lot of swords and knives there. They also do a lot of damascene (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascening) making there. In some shops, you can find a person actually doing it.

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Jan 6, 2019 10:49:26   #
Tinker
 
For LoStrunzo: what you are thinking of as the monument to the Civil War dead is known as "La Valle de los Caidos" or "Valley of the Fallen," north of Madrid about 50 miles. There is a huge cross, about 500 ft tall, over an equally huge cathedral carved from living stone inside a small mountain under the cross. From the altar to the top of the cross is about 900 ft. Worth seeing, but consider that it was constructed largely or wholly by anti-Franco Spanish prisoners of war. Franco is buried there in a marked location, suposedly there are thousands of others in the walls of the cathedral, all unmarked. Alhambra is located far to the south at Granada, and was constructed by Arabs long before Franco was ever heard of. Also a beautiful location and well worth the time and effort to visit. As I recall it is a World Heritage site. My father was an Air Force officer stationed near Madrid (Torrejon AB) when the Valle de los Caidos was finished years ago. Its dedication was a major event in Spain, loved by the Franco supporters and generally hated by the Franco opponents. As a matter of history, the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39, was probably as terrible for them as ours was for us, and the bitterness against Franco has only begun to subside following his death in 1975.

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Jan 6, 2019 12:27:40   #
windshoppe Loc: Arizona
 
LoStrunzo wrote:
Suggest Segovia which is to the North of Madrid. Old Roman aquduct which is still working, castle protecting the northeast sector, old narrow streets and great food. Also suggest the Alhambra (sp?) which is supposed to be a monument to the Spanish civil war KIA, but in reality is a monument to Franco.


Totally agree. Segovia was an unexpected highlight of a month-long trip to Spain.

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Jan 6, 2019 12:38:48   #
bertloomis Loc: Fort Worth, Texas
 
From Madrid go northwest to Santiago de Compostela then along the northern coast to Oviedo, Bilbao, Santander and San Sebastian. From there head to Pomplona then on to Barcelona. On the way back to Madrid stop in Zaragoza.

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Jan 6, 2019 14:27:38   #
bobjim
 
Try Salamanca by train from Madrid.

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Jan 6, 2019 15:33:32   #
Eff Ess in Ess Eff
 
If you do go to Segovia, check out the castle there. The famous Disneyland castle is reportedly modeled after it.

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Jan 6, 2019 15:35:39   #
2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond
 
If you want to see some of the most beautiful horses, Cadiz is about a 6 hour drive from Madrid and there is the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art where you will see Andalusian horses trained in much the same way as the Lippizaners of Austria. The grounds around the School itself are worth the trip, but if you decide to go, get tickets ahead of time as it is sold out at certain times. You can take pictures of the horses training outside, but not inside the beautiful arena.

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