I’ve visited Spain twice.. it’s an amazing country with incredible architecture, art, culture, and cuisine. The first time I went was over 10 years ago to Barcelona and Ibiza. More recently, I stayed in Seville, Granada, & Madrid which I’ll write about here.

My Itinerary

Day 1- Arrival in Madrid –> Seville- evening arrival

Day 2- Seville- Explore Main Sites: Palazzo Reale, Park Maria Luisa, Plaza Espana, Cathedral, Giralda, etc

Day 3- Seville- Day trip to Cordoba (30 minutes by train)

Day 4- Seville- Visit the Flamenco Museum, Modern Art Museum, Evening in Triana

Day 5- Seville- Last day in Seville

Day 6- Granada- Move on to Granada via train. Start exploring and go out for tapas.

Day 7- Granada- Visit the Alhambra

Day 8- Granada- Explore the Albaicin area

Day 9- Madrid- Travel to Madrid by train. VIsit Reina Sofia Modern Art Museum.

Day 10- Madrid- Last day in Spain. Visit the park, relaxing lunch, cocktails at Salmon Guru.

Tips & Highlights:

Use the trains to get around from city to city. I initially booked a flight from Madrid to Seville, but it would have been much easier to take the train, especially because I have not seemed to have the best experiences at the Madrid airport.

Seville was such a beautiful place! I stayed for a leisurely 5 nights at the Casas de la Juderia, a sprawling property made up of multiple buildings, gardens, and courtyards (it has a rooftop pool and gorgeous piano bar, too!) I was completely in love with this property. The city is also gorgeous and my highlights included visiting the Real Alcazar (royal palace- you might recognize from Game of Thrones), a stroll at the peaceful Maria Luisa park, and sunset waterside in Triana. I also highly recommend taking a half day trip to Cordoba to see the fantastic mosque-cathedral- I went on a 103 degree (F) day, so the up side was I got to avoid the crowds! It’s only about a 30 minute train ride, so it’s an easy day trip to navigate on your own. (I use the Trainline app to book all my train travel, it’s a really user friendly platform.)

Granada was amazing! It was my favorite city of the trip. Great vibes! You have to book your Alhambra visit well in advance (like, maybe literal months) and be sure to bring proper documentation when you go- but it’s incredible and worth it. The palace detail is particularly incredible, but seeing all the beautiful gardens was my favorite part. Beyond the Alhambra, I loved exploring the different neighborhoods in Granada and checking out their next level tapas dining scene. I really enjoyed the restaurants here. When you order a drink, it always comes with a snack/small plate. Don’t miss the amazing seafood at Los Diamontes!

To stay, I spent 3 nights at the Room Mate Leo hotel, in a convenient central location amidst lots of shops. I nabbed a terrace room for a great price. There are lots of options for hotels and Airbnbs in Granada. The down side was that visiting in August meant a lot of restaurants on my list were unfortunately temporarily closed that time of year, but I wasn’t disappointed in any of the meals I did end up having here. I did take advantage of the August sales and buy a pair of sunglasses. I’d love to return to Granada during a different time of year and stay for a longer period of time.

Madrid is a huge city! I only had a short time there, so I planned to do some things I’d enjoy rather than race around trying to do it all. The Reina Sofia Modern Art Museum was unbelievable and I spent hours there. It reminded me of an enormous MoMA (my NYC favorite)- if modern art is up your alley, definitely take the time to check it out! I also had a chill, fantastic lunch (pre-fixe, sitting at the bar) at Los Chuchis after taking a walk at the park. It was perfect. Later, when walking near my hotel, I stumbled upon Salmon Guru (ranked on the world’s 50 best cocktail bars- though I didn’t know it at the time). Luckily, I was able to get a table and it was a really cool experience. The bar was vibrantly decorated, small plates were delicious, and the drinks were fun and creatively presented. I only had 2 quick nights here in Madrid, but they were such fun ones, I actually called the airline to see how much it would cost to change my flights and extend my trip! Ultimately, it was a lot and I decided to go home, but I’d love to return and spend more time in Madrid!

Next Time?

Next time I’d definitely stay at the Casas de la Juderia again if I went back to Seville- but Seville was surprisingly not my favorite city of the trip. I’d probably spend less time in Seville and more time in Granada- it just had a more relaxed, fun vibe.

I’d also be interested in other destinations throughout Spain such as Valencia, Malaga, and the food scene in the Basque area up north.