Madrid & Barcelona - 5 days - any suggestions

bittihuduga

Hi
Me and OH are on a short trip to SPain.
We are arriving in madrid on june 19th evening and leaving there on monday noon.
i have plans of visiting the bull fighting on sunday 20th.
anything else i can see on saturday evening, sunday half day and monday morning?

i am arriving in barcelona on monday evening.
will head to the beach on evening
any suggested places till wednesday night when i leave for dublin?

muffy

This is not enough time for these places! These are two cities that you can walk around in for houuurrrssss not doing anything particular, just observing the atmosphere and eating tapas/drinking wine. (I love the local wines, and they are cheap!)

In Madrid, I enjoyed best Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid's modern art gallery. Even if you do not like art it is worth it to skip to see Guernica by Piccasso, I think it is on the third or fourth floor. It is incredible. There are so many side streets with amazing choclateries and such. There are distinct areas. Huerta and Chueca are young, bit "edgy" and that put cool places, cool bars and that. Around Plaza Mayor I think it gets a bit touristy and expensive but there are some lovely little lane ways. Also there is Retiro Park to check out.

http://www.museoreinasofia.es/index.html

In Barcelona there are HUNDREDS of things to see. Most people will recommend La Sagrada Familia, Antonio Gaudi's unfinished cathedral. However, I preferred Casa Mila (a Gaudi building). Both have spectacular views from the top. Or you could go to Parc Guell, a park filled with Gaudi designs, again lovely views.
If you like military history (or more vistas!) go to Mont Juic, you can travel up by cable car, there is a military museum at the top.
Of course there is shopping, go to Placa Catalunya (there is a Corte Ingles, I think they're over rated personally). Explore the side streets of Placa Catalunya there are Zara's, H & Ms, etc and loads of one off shops.
There is also the Aquarium (it is a pretty good one) in Port Vell, and the Mare Magnum shopping centre. This is pretty much at the end of Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas in the evening is full of atmosphere.

Ok I have rambled on, if you are interested in traveling outside Barcelona I can recommend many places north towards Gerona. To the South is Port Aventura theme park, I think this is far to go from Barcelona for a day, especially when there is so much to do in the city.
Also I could recommend some nightclubs if you need?

Unshelved

We did a bike tour of Barcelona with Mike's Bikes - http://www.europeslegendarytours.com/barcelona.html - you don't have to book in advance, which is handy. It's a great way of getting the feel for the city, with a bit of history and a bit of exercise thrown in. You get to see most of the sights, with the exception of the Mount Juic area (wouldn't fancy cycling up that hill anyway). Visit the Boqueria market at lunchtime for a lunch of fresh fish and cava. If you're not a culture vulture, the Oceanarium is worth a visit. If you are then don't miss the fab art deco Palau de Musica.

In Madrid, I preferred the Prado to the Reina Sofia - not a big modern art fan. If you're really into art it's worth getting a combination ticket for the big three art museums. If you like soccer, a tour of the Bernabau Stadium is worth a trip. The Plaza Santa Ana area is great for nightlife and tapas - instead of having an evening meal, spend one evening bar-hopping and eating tapas - one drink and one tapas in every bar in the area. Finish off your night with chocolate and churros in Chocolateria San Gines - yum.

Both cities don't really start their nights out until 10pm - if you go out any earlier you'll only meet other tourists. Nightlife goes on all night - till daylight!

Beware of pickpockets in both cities - in Barcelona especially, theft is rife.

bittihuduga

great info folks..thanks for your suggestions...
@unshelved: did you mean doing a tapas tour?
what is it like?

Unshelved

I've never tried an organised tapas tour - I'm sure there are ones. The bars in Plaza Santa Ana and the streets around are so numerous and so close together that we just hopped from one to the other all night. Look out for the one that's about 5 metres squared and just does grilled prawns in garlic butter and draught beer and wine - there aren't any seats, just a shelf going around the walls to hold your food and drink.

bittihuduga

sounds great....i will just walk around on my own and try as much as possible

dudara

The 3 art musuems in Madrid are great - but you would need to do one a day - otherwise it's quite tiring. My favourite was the Reina Sofia - I found the Prado a bit too dull.

Barcelona is great for tapas - walk down Ramblas at night for fun (keep you bag close to you).

Hennybug

muffy wrote: »

Ok I have rambled on, if you are interested in traveling outside Barcelona I can recommend many places north towards Gerona. To the South is Port Aventura theme park, I think this is far to go from Barcelona for a day, especially when there is so much to do in the city.
Also I could recommend some nightclubs if you need?

Hi Muffy, piggy-backing on this thread Could you recommend some places for day trips out of the city? I've been a couple of times but never moved outside the city really and would like to see a bit more this time. Not into adventure parks or anything like that, more sights and interesting places to go see - thanks!

muffy

There is Figueras, which has the Salvador Dali museum, which is amazing, nice town to walk around in, near the Pyrenees, nice views - about 2 hours on train from Barceolna, http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figueres

There is Girona, about an hour and a bit by bus or an hour by train- nice small city, has a cathedral and a very interesting old Jewish Quarter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girona

If you have a car, you can visit lots of places easily, I am not sure how easy it is to get to the following few places...

This is a really lovely town, with an old roman viaduct, little streets and squares to explore, not touristy at all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besal%C3%BA

Here is a good link
http://gospain.about.com/od/catalonia/qt/barcelonadtolot.htm

Banyoles is lovely http://www.canyellespetites.com/places-banyoles.htm
you can swim and row on the lake, and there are some little bars along it!

Empuries has Roman ruins to explore http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Spain/Catalunya/Empuries-275951/TravelGuide-Empuries.html
... google Empuries to see more pictures!

La Bisbal is famous for its pottery and ceramics, if you are into that! http://www.costabravaguide.com/453/costabrava-about-la-bisbal-d%27emporda.html

http://www.sagales.com bus services

www.renfe.es some train services

http://www.gencat.cat/temes/eng/transports.htm

hope this was useful!

all these places are north of Bcn, I don't really know anywhere to the south... Barcelona is amazing but a trip to one of these places will be a break from the city and a chance to see some cool places!
Enjoy!

Hennybug

Great info there Muffy - thanks a million!