Which Spanish cities to visit?

[SpainHoliday]

We have long fancied a holiday where we go to a selection of cities in Spain, probably travelling by train between them.

Which are the nicest Spanish cities to visit? Does anyone have any recommendations 😃

I've never been but a tour as you suggest across Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Jerez is on my wish list!

Seville definitely. Went with no expectations as I found some dirt cheap flights and it's been my favourite city break.

I love Valencia, Madrid, Seville, Malaga/Marbella.

A friend did Seville/Cordoba/Granada in the summer and it all looked amazing. She said her favourite was Seville.

Was in Valencia recently and loved it, a very different 'feel' compared to other Spanish cities I've been to. It's got both city and beach, and the food was wonderful!

I haven’t been to Granada but I second Seville and Cordoba. They are both super gorgeous, people were nice and I enjoyed learning about the history there.

echo the comments about the Andalusian cities - Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga make a great tour

Also have enjoyed Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Girona , Palma, Santa Cruz

Yes Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla are fantastic. Santiago de Compostela is gorgeous as well. Toledo is great. And Barcelona is also wonderful. So lots to choose from!

Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

I have a work trip to Seville next year and am planning to take some extra holiday to do a few nights in Málaga and Cordoba while I'm out there. The trains between them look doable.

I've been to lots of Spanish cities and enjoyed them all. I think if you want to do several in one trip, you should identify a good start/finish point and then see what other cities are within easy reach e.g. Madrid, Toledo, Valladolid, Segovia, or Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Jerez, Cadiz.

Actually, San Sebastián is also on my list but that's a different trip!

Depends which part of Spain you want to visit and how far you want to travel. Spain is a big country and it's easy to underestimate distances. I would pick a region first and then look for a route taking in as many interesting places as possible. The Andalusian cities already mentioned are a good choice but there are lots of interesting but less well known places elsewhere. Years ago my DH and I did a great road trip going by ferry to Santander then driving through the mountains to places like Burgos, Leon and Segovia before heading back aling the northern coast taking in some lovely towns and villages. Not sure that route would be doable by train though.
Other places currently on my to do list include Salamanca, Avila and Santiago de Compostela.

Thanks everyone! Off to Google all your great ideas.

We flew to malaga and took bus from bus station to Ronda. Few days later took train to Cordoba. Finally taking train to seville. We stayed in lovely air bnb in all three places. So easy. We met an English couple with 2 small children doing the same trip with nonproblems. Do it! Great fun. Last year we worked our way from Seville to Granada.

It’s years ago now but we did Madrid-Segovia-Avila-Toledo by train and bus (buses were sometimes a better bet long-distance between certain cities in Spain then but that could have changed). Well worth doing - Avila and Segovia felt very untouristy, though it was in the off season.

All of them. Seriously

Toledo would be good to add to Madrid and Segovia (stay in Madrid and do other two as day trips).

Not a city but Mijas worth adding as a day trip from Malaga, which is a great city in itself, not just a starting point.

We had a week in Bilbao and San Sebastian cancelled during Covid that we haven't yet rearranged. Few days in each with a day trip to Guernica from Bilbao, Few beach trips including a little place on the French border who's name I forget but you can get a little boat across the estuary into France for the day.

We also want to go to Cal Franc Hotel which is a 5 star spa hotel in the Pyrenees that used to be a railway station, probably best accessed from Zaragoza.

Seville, Cadiz and Malaga have been my favourites. San Sebastián is next on the list.

In terms of trains the AVE between Madrid and Barcelona is very good - fast and efficient,

It does depend on the time of year. We did a beautiful trip in Andalucía through the major cities down to Ronda in late February and it was 25 degrees. Also incredibly cheap. Absolutely avoid these places in summer. I would definitely go for San Sebastián at that time. Madrid and Barcelona are for spring and autumn. You can go out from Madrid down to Toledo or up to Segovia. Both are very popular but avoid summer! Another summer option is Cadiz. It’s more for relaxing

Valencia. Went on the train from Madrid.

Was coming on here to say the same thing!

You can get the AVE high speed train to Girona, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Valencia, Madrid, Seville - all great cities to visit, and it's REALLY fast and very comfortable. Barcelona to Madrid is less than 3 hours on the train and you're right in the centre when you get there.

We used to drive to Spain from UK twice a year and chose different cities to stay each trip. San Sebastian has to be one of our favourites, food there is Amazing. Toledo and surrounding areas are interesting. James Martin has just done a Spanish food road trip for ITV but as well as food does show the areas he stays in.

Santiago de Compestela. Beautiful architecture

I’ve been to most Spanish cities and like the cities by the sea best. Malaga, Cadiz, San Sebastián and Valencia.
A smaller city to consider would be Tarragona, nice beaches, lovely old town, marina/port and loads of Roman history

We are currently in Malaga, it's great, very busy and 28 degrees. Everywhere walkable distance. Don't bother with the sightseeing bus tho, the traffic is bad, and better to walk if you can.

I loved Bilboa.

If you're going before the end of the year, all trains except high speed ones are free after you make a €10 deposit (and you cen even get that back if you make enough journeys). I went to Bilboa and explored the entire Basque region by communter trains - they go every 20 minutes so we got off at the stops we though looked interesting and if we were wrong - just got on the next train.

Did the same in Valencia and Seville which are also highly recommended.