Seville - Cordoba - Madrid

JohnCleary

Hi all,

We were considering doing this trip a while back but ended up going back to Thailand instead. We now hope to do this trip in Spring (late Mach / early April). I previously made notes on this but of course can't find them now!

The basic plan was:

Fly into Seville

Train to Cordoba

Train to Madrid

Fly out Madrid

We've done a day trip to Cordoba before but it was just a brief visit.

Has anyone done this trip, or can even advise an approx. amount of time to spend in each place? We like to get up early in the morning, spend the day walking / visiting sites (we're into architecture, rather than museums), wander from bar to bar eating tapas drinking sangria and in the evening find a place with a bit of life and drink the evening away..... rinse and repeat (we're used to it, just done it for 5 weeks constantly in SE Asia!)

Should any other stop offs be included for a night or two on that train route from Seville - Madrid? Any reason to do the trip in reverse? (apart from financial reasons ie. cheaper flights).

Any advise much appreciated!

HalloweenJack

I live in Cordoba. If you end up making the trip, PM me and I can give you more detailed info about places to eat and drink.

I reckon with two days in Seville, you'll find stuff to do. Parque de España is good, then there's the Cathedral and the Torre de Oro.

Cordoba has enough for two days. There's the old town to walk about then places like the Mezquita, the Alcazar, the Synagogue, the Archaelogical museum, the Roman Forum and the Roman Bridge to have a longer look at. There's also an olde site a hit outside the city that is good for a few hours. Its called Medina Azahara and a bit off the beaten track. There's another place near enough called Almodovar del Rio which has a nice castle too.

Madrid is good for a fair few days. You'll find plenty of stuff to do. For me, the Reino Sofia and Prado art galleries are must-sees. Retiro and Parque del Oeste are good for spending a few hours too.

I can't think of any places in between Cordoba and Madrid that'd be worth spending the night in. Toledo is a decent day trip from Madrid.

SuperStarHoney

You'll easily fill 3 days in Seville and more than that in Madrid.

Two things I'd suggest having a look into:

Possibly plan to be in Seville Holy week to coincide with the Easter processions which are quite the spectacle.

Consider a day trip to Toledo from Madrid, less than an hour on the train and lovely place to wander round.

JohnCleary

Thanks all. The dates we were looking at 5 - 11 Apr, but looking just at Seville, hotels are crazy prices (Easter). Wondering if we need to either make alternative plans, or change dates. We're not tight, but €100 hotels are looking for €350 in Seville on Apr 5 / 6 / 7 which is a bit bonkers (Granted this was just quick searching, didn't delve too deep).

trellheim

Hotels are always mad in Easter in Seville due to Santa Semana being world famous

HalloweenJack

Easter in Seville and Cordoba is a nightmare for tourism, Seville especially. Not just for hotels; It's a pain to move around the city as they have several processions every evening, some of them going on until the early morning. The streets are cut off and Holy Thursday and Good Friday are bank holidays so a lot of places will be closed.

Cordoba, and most places in Andalusia, is similar but not as bad. Its really only worth your while if you like religious pageantry but if not, it'll be a nightmare.

A few weeks after Easter is the Feria which is a big party but quite exclusive and will also mean that things are very expensive. There's a few festivals in Cordoba in May: Cruces is on the May bank holiday weekend and Feria is at the end of the month. Feria in Cordoba is not as stuffy and uptight as the one in Seville. That said, Cordoba will be more expensive in May because it's a big month for tourism.

Early June would be a good option before the heat sets in. By the end of the month, its already into the high 30s and won't drop again til September.

JohnCleary

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120159118#Comment_120159118

Wow, thanks for such a comprehensive reply.

Based on this advise, we simply won't stick to our original plan in the OP and will look elsewhere. We can do this trip any other time (which we will).

Time to get Google maps out and start looking for a warm, city, Easter(ish) break with a little bit of adventure (ie. train hopping, or just a vibrant city with lots to see / do).

I'm struggling to come up with places we have not been to, that we can fly direct. Off the top of my head, we've visited: Lisbon, Porto, Malaga, Barcelona, Malta, Rome, Florence, Venice, Bratislava, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Berlin (i'm missing a few).

I know it's for a different thread.... I've been to Prague several times (just not together), so may consider that. There's something I find a bit over-rated about Prague, but maybe because there'd be nothing new for me (but I wouldn't let that stop me as OH has never been).

Back to the drawing board... thanks again!

Marcusm

Bilbao/San Sebastian then Salamanca then Madrid

or include Burgos, Pamplona or Zaragoza then Barcelona?

JohnCleary

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120179370#Comment_120179370

Never been to Bilbao so that's certainly an option. Food for thought, thank you for the suggestion!

I think Bilbao has a bit of a party vibe? (It's a student city, right?) - If you've been there, any idea on how long to spend there? Plenty of architecture etc. to admire during the day?

Will Google Burgos etc. as never even heard of those towns / cities!

Marcusm

Bilbao has a medieval city, a 19th century city and a huge new build site the centre of which is the Guggenheim. Can’t see how it would be described as a student city, it’s a very commercial/wealthy city with many HQs etc which helps the non-touristy restaurant scene. Burgos is the city of El CID and has two prominent cathedrals, museums etc.

staples7

Bump to this thread heading to Seville with a group of friends 22nd-25th March, heard its Semanta Santa.

Is that good or bad lol hopefully party atmosphere...

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628067#Comment_121628067

Yo do realise that Semanta Santa means Holy Week, ie between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday with the commemoration of a man execution near the end?

I liked Cordoba (albeit small) and I absolutely love Seville. You’ll get the Ku Klux Klan out in force (not really, many of the Spanish religious organisations wear a costume identical to KKK and have many marches and processions, especially on Palm Sunday and Good Friday). It might be that some of the larger churches (including the Mesquite in Cordoba) might be taken over by religious events (I guess that’s what they are there for in the first place).

dav45

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120159591#Comment_120159591

John, It looks like you have visited a lot of places in Spain. There's nothing much I can do to help you. It also looks like you are well-planned by now. Still, if you want to see any last-minute changes, you can check out these articles: https://www.spain.info/en/ (Spain's official tourism site) and https://gowithguide.com/blog/tourism-in-spain-statistics-2024-your-in-depth-travel-guide-5686 (I liked the statistics in this one.) Have a great journey.