Spain Master Thread

[@Yehuda]

There are other cities besides MAD/BCN. Seville, Granada (the Alhambra), Cordoba, Gibraltar, Torremolinos, Marbella. If you do it right, you can see many things and it is really easy to get around by train/car (at least I found it was when I did a trip there).

Doesn't mean it is the right trip for you, but there is definitely what to do on a trip to Spain IMHO.

So what do you think about spending 4 days in Spain. Can you do more than just Madrid and Barcelona, or do you really need more time to do more than that?

[LAXtraveler]

So what do you think about spending 4 days in Spain. Can you do more than just Madrid and Barcelona, or do you really need more time to do more than that?

I think it depends on what you want to do. Toledo is great for a half day trip from MAD. In MAD you can do the Prado if you like art and the palace, among a few other sites (i.e., Retiro Park is really beautiful to spend some time in).

Seville has the Alcazar (smaller version of the Alhambra) and a great town area, along with a river cruise if you want. Granada has the Alhambra. Cordoba has the old Rambam statue and shul. The mezquita is an attraction (ask your LOR if you can go in or not, as I have heard different psaks from different rabbonim).

Costa del sol (Torremolinos, Marbella) is great for beaching.

Gibraltar is a great place for Shabbos.

I would say you don't need more than a day or so in each of the cities, but remember travel time also to factor in. I didn't get to BCN at all, so I can't comment on it, other than that I have heard it is a beautiful city (and nicer than MAD), but it really depends on what you want to focus on seeing when in Spain. In terms of the beach cities, that just depends on how long you want to stay for.

[SamKey]

I was in BCN twice and once to MAD,GIB, Marbella. I love BCN gorgeous city with fantastic architecture, beautiful views and lots to do. Marbella is a really nice beach town not too busy with nice hotels for decent price. GIB is a must, a wonderful Shabbos experience.
I plan on going back to Spain for my honeymoon this summer

[@Yehuda]

Thanks guys for your advice! Maybe I will save Spain for a future trip.

[YankyDoodle]

I'm planning a Eurotrip this summer and Spain was going to be part of it, but now I'm not sure it's worth spending time there instead of having longer stays in other places like Paris/London/Rome/Venice. Can I hear thoughts on this? Maybe someone else who has done a few European countries including Spain?

Are you planning on flying from country to country or doing a train? My wife and I flew between each country. We did 1 day BCN, 1 day LHR, 5 days CDG and 3 days VCE. Wouldn't change a thing. 1 day in Barcelona was just enough time to see the beautiful architecture and hit up the beach plus La Rambla IMO. I would skip Park Guell in hindsight. Great city, and perfect way to start off a Europe trip!

[SamKey]

Are you planning on flying from country to country or doing a train? My wife and I flew between each country. We did 1 day BCN, 1 day LHR, 5 days CDG and 3 days VCE. Wouldn't change a thing. 1 day in Barcelona was just enough time to see the beautiful architecture and hit up the beach plus La Rambla IMO. I would skip Park Guell in hindsight. Great city, and perfect way to start off a Europe trip!

I loved Park Guell and the W there is just WOW

[@Yehuda]

Are you planning on flying from country to country or doing a train? My wife and I flew between each country. We did 1 day BCN, 1 day LHR, 5 days CDG and 3 days VCE. Wouldn't change a thing. 1 day in Barcelona was just enough time to see the beautiful architecture and hit up the beach plus La Rambla IMO. I would skip Park Guell in hindsight. Great city, and perfect way to start off a Europe trip!

Thanks! Flying. Train hopefully only within Italy. Been working here (http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=37776.0). So I've actually been working on my dates and looks like we might actually have enough time for a decent 4-5 day stay in Spain. Reconsidering this now.

[smart brit]

Thanks! Flying. Train hopefully only within Italy. Been working here (http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=37776.0). So I've actually been working on my dates and looks like we might actually have enough time for a decent 4-5 day stay in Spain. Reconsidering this now.

I don't know what you are looking for but in Spain you have malga and mallorca both stunning beaches and lively cities

[SLP]

Spain trip report:
We spent 8 days in Spain in January. We took food along and got kosher food in GIB and Barcelona. We used public transportation, but renting a car would have been much easier and is definitely doable in southern Spain.  Although Spain is full of Jewish history, very little remains to actually visit and see today. I highly recommend Rick Steve’s guide books. He gives tons of great information and recommendations, and we used his self guided walking tours in every city we visited. Beware: Theft and pick pocketing is widespread in many areas in Spain, particularly in Barcelona.
We arrived in Madrid Sunday afternoon and stayed until Tuesday morning. We stayed in the Hotel Regina, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND- great location and price.
Madrid  - Royal Palace, walked around the old city, the Prado and Reina Sofia (art museums)– both had free entry in the evening. Unfortunately, we were unable to go to Toledo, which is only a short train ride from Madrid.
We took the train from Madrid to Cordoba on Tuesday morning. We spent the day there and then continued on the train to Seville in the evening. The regional train is only a slightly longer ride than the express and was significantly cheaper.
Cordoba – old shul, Jewish museum, the old palace/fort was not very impressive and could be skipped IMO, we did not go inside the Mezquita
Seville – We stayed in the Hotel Derby: pretty could location, clean, cheap. It was outside of the old city center. We walked around the old Jewish quarter, visited the Alcazar (palace) – it was magnificent! We also went to see a flamenco show in a bar – the show was free, we just needed to pay for a drink which was not too difficult! Seville is a beautiful city to just walk around, explore, and visit the shops selling authentic goods.
Granada – We took a long bus ride to Granada on Thursday morning. We visited the Alhambra palace. We booked our tickets online in advance, which is recommended; entry is timed so plan accordingly. We also went to a relatively new Jewish museum in the city that was quite interesting and watched sunset from a hill overlooking the palace and city. We took another long bus ride to Algeciras and from there a taxi to the border of Gibralatar (about 20 min).
Gibraltar – It was quite hard to get to GIB by public transportation but was well worth it! We stayed in the Elliott. Although it's not really worth the money you'll pay, it's very close to the shuls and kosher places. We booked on their website and got a decent rate with wifi included. On Friday, we took the cable car to the top of the rock and hiked down. The views were spectacular and the monkeys were crazy! We did not get proper directions for hiking down and ended up on the restricted path – we had to climb over a fence at one point and walked past an area that looked like it was prone to falling rocks, so just beware. We were hosted by locals for both Shabbos meals. We checked out 3 shuls over Shabbos, all very beautiful and old. All in all, GIB was an incredible experience.
Barcelona – We hired someone to drive us from GIB to Malaga on Sunday morning, where we took a Vueling flight to Barcelona. We stayed in the Hotel Flor Parks – the room was tiny and smelled from smoke, but the location was right on the Ramblas and it was quite cheap. Barcelona is a really cool, interesting city. There are some Kosher restaurants there, 2 on the same block of the Ramblas.
Sites: The Ramblas, Gothic Quarter (Old Jewish quarter), Picasso Museum, old shul, waterfront/harbor, Gaudi sites, Park Guell, Sagrada Familia (we just checked out the exterior)

[HP58]

Nice TR. planning a trip in the summer this should come in handy!

[SLP]

If I'm in GIB for Shabbos and want to leave Sunday and get to Madrid to catch my next flight to Italy, how do I best go GIB-MAD?

Probably take a flight from Malaga, which would be quickest. I'm not sure of the train/bus options.

[Ergel]

Nice TR. Wasn't worth it to rent a car between all the trains/buses/driver that you took?

[SamKey]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I'm getting more and more into Spain.

If I'm in GIB for Shabbos and want to leave Sunday and get to Madrid to catch my next flight to Italy, how do I best go GIB-MAD?

We did RT rental from Malaga you can book a flight Malaga-MAD 4.5k Avios but we took a train

[@Yehuda]

I know it's tempting to try to fit in as many places as possible when you have the chance but I did a similar trip several years back and it was exhausting.  There were many things that we did not get to see and I feel we sacrificed some of the experience just so we could check off more places on the list.
Then again, it's all personal preference.

I definitely hear you.

We did RT rental from Malaga you can book a flight Malaga-MAD 4.5k Avios but we took a train

Good idea! Do BA Avios work on IB flights?

[Dan]

Do BA Avios work on IB flights?

Why wouldn't they