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 absolutely loved San Sebastian. Beautiful beach and the best food I've ever had.

In the south, Sevilla, Jerez, Cadiz & Malaga are all great cities to visit, but definitely not in July or August because it’s just way, way too hot, particularly in Jerez & Seville. Even the locals try to get out of the ridiculous heat.

In the North, Donostia / San Sebastián is wonderful, with a superb beach and a world class foodie culture which it shares with Bilbao & the entire Basque Country region. The climate is also very different to the south, and similar to that of SW France.

Such great tips. Thank you!

I love a Spanish city and have been to quite a few. We used to live in Spain and still drive down regularly, plotting different routes. Seville, Cordoba, Segovia and Zaragoza are among my favourites but then there's Burgos and Merida. I had to cancel a trip to Salamanca and Cadiz so they are two biggies still on my to do list. There are lots of of wonderful smaller towns that are worth visiting too.

Bilbao, San Sebastián, Hondaribia and all towns inbetween fantastic food, beaches and views!

Barcelona, Jerez, Granada, Ronda and Merida. Loved them all. We drove though so can’t comment on travelling between them by train.

Can't believe no one's mentioned Whitley Bay yet.

I’ve enjoyed
Valencia
Seville
Barcelona

didnt like Madrid much and would like to try Malaga

If you are in the Seville region then definitely add Cordoba to the list. San Sebastián is one of my favourite places too.

Ahh I love Spain. Most favourite cities have been Seville, Cordoba, and Salamanca. Albarracin is also stunning and a hidden treasure!

Mijas is lovely but do venture further along the coast! Estepona, San Luis de Sabinillas, Marbs of course/the Old Town/Puerto Banus, and Puerto de la Duquesa are all beautiful and slightly more off the beaten track.

I've been to Sabinillas many times, also Duquesa and Estepona (and Gaucin, Casares, and over to Tarifa, Zaraha de los Atunes, Barbate etc), but I don't think any of them are cities and my post was at risk of listing all the places in Spain anyway :-)

Plus there's all the other places not mentioned that can be tagged onto a city break for a change of scene, like El Caminito del Rey in the mountains outside Malaga.

Our next holiday in a few weeks time is to Lanjaron, a spa town in the mountains between Malaga and Granada where we will be doing some walks, visiting a couple of local towns by bus, will probably have a day trip to Granada and just relax, read and swim in the pool.

As well as the trains being very cheap and easy (I think you have to book ahead for the AVE to get the best price, but the commuter trains are ludicrously good and cheap for those of us used to the UK railways), Alsa, the Spanish equivalent of National Express is also good and cheap (we went from Granada to Seville, a 3 hour journey, on a modern air conditioned coach, with free water and snacks, for about £12 each).

People who've written off Spain as a holiday destination because 'Benidorm, Magaluf , Playa de la Americas' need to read this thread to see that there's so much more to it than that.

Well you were the one who brought Mijas into it and the last time I looked, it wasn't a city either...!!

I agree. But I also liked Bilbao and San Sebastian. I wasn't overly keen on Guernica, but as an historian who has also studied Picasso, I'm very glad I went.

Definitely Valencia, it’s a fabulous city and smaller towns in the province are lovely. The beaches along from Gandia, Oliva, Denia and Javea are beautiful. I especially like the old town of Oliva.

Santiago de Compostella is breath taking

Following.

Hah! Walked past Spanish City just the other weekend.

DD is currently in Seville on a trip with her university and I am so jealous. I'm following along as I'd love to see southern Spain one day.

Sorry to hijack but I am planning to stay in Malaga and visit Granada, Seville and Cordoba by train. This is the 2nd thread of people saying the trains are fantastic. I have researched at length and apart from Cordoba the trains are expensive, at useless times and irregular, please help! There does not seem to be any recognition that the many tourists need good return trips. Now Italian trains - they make sense!

If you haven't booked your accommodation yet, I suggest that you travel from Malaga (work in at least a day or two in Malaga as it's a destination in it's own right) to Granada and stay at least one night in Granada because you have to go up into the Albacin to have tapas in a little square and walk along to the viewpoint to see the Alhambra by night. (Can't remember the names, but it's all signposted from Plaza Nueva, where you walk up the opposite side of the valley to the Alhambra from).

then train from Granada to Seville, stay in Seville for a few days
do a day trip to Cordoba from Seville
finally Seville back to Malaga, or fly straight home from Seville if the flights work for you.

Then you need fewer train trips, so cheaper and the times may work better. You might also be able to use a train pass, but check if it's valid on the AVE, you still might need to book and/or pay a supplement.

Have you looked at seat61.com? Last time I looked the Spanish railway website (renfe.com) was useless.

You could also look at coaches (alsa.es). We did 2 nights in Granada, then a coach to Seville, because the trains weren't running when we went, then 4 nights in Seville with the day trip to Cordoba before back to Malaga just to get home as we couldn't get flights from Seville. That was after we drove from Malaga to Granada via el Caminito del Rey, but I think you can also do this by train or an organised tour now, we went within the first few weeks after it opened.

People who've written off Spain as a holiday destination because 'Benidorm, Magaluf , Playa de la Americas' need to read this thread to see that there's so much more to it than that.

I couldn’t agree more. So many British people are dismissive of Spain, but when you ask a few questions it turns out they have only ever been to Torremolinos, Palma Nova or some other ghastly ‘Brits abroad’ shithole. What they think is snobbishness is actually ignorance.

We’ve done all the sophisticated resorts and cities (been nearly everywhere now) but also enjoy Torremolinos and Palma Nova (just don’t stray into Magaluf lol). Torremolinos has the most fantastic prom that runs about 6 or 7 miles with traditional chiringitos all the way. The old town is lovely and Calle Bulto very traditional. We were actually looking for lively places with live music and found it quite quiet, had to go into Benalmadena. My friend went expecting it to be like Benidorm and admitted it was anything but.
PalmaNova has a fantastic beach and some surprisingly good restaurants, good walks on the Calvin’s walking trail and good access into Palma.
Even Benidorm had nice bits lol

We didn't have a car, so we baulked at the train journey times but I'd have loved to see Denia and Javea at least. Maybe we got it wrong?

Loved Valencia - was a committed Costa del Sol person until this last summer! There was just something a bit 'different' about Valencia and it wasn't nearly as touristy as other cities, but no doubt that's about to change - since we've been we've come across so many people who have also just been recently or are about to go there!

I absolutely love Whitley Bay @Nothingbuttheglory lol, and on a good day, there and Tynemouth could give Spain a run for the money!!

We've only ever driven through Torremolinos and Benalmadena, but didn't see anything to make us stop? Just so put off by touristy destinations though. I've no interest in an English breakfast!!

I wanted to travel by train across Northern Spain but we used buses which were excellent. Cheap flight to Porto then Santiago, a Coruna , Orviedo, Ribadasella ( for a couple of days at the beach) , Bilbao and a cheap flight home..should have added in San Sebastian but there was no time. Loved the whole experience .

Northern Spain has some lovely cities, Bilbao, San Sebastián, Santander, Oviedo and Gijon, and Santiago de Compostela.

I also love Malaga, so many people fly there and head to the costas, but the city is w worth a visit.

I hated Madrid the first time I went there but have been a few times since and really liked it.

I also agree with others about Valencia, it’s a brilliant city, with beach and culture combined.