So, anybody got some tips about travel to Espana?

Going for my honeymoon in August. Arrive in Madrid and depart from Barcelona 9 days later.

I've got a preliminary itinerary I got from a travel agent that I'm mulling over (seems overly suspect. Read: expensive) but wanted to see if any of the well traveled folk here may have some insight...

You can spend a good half-day in the Prado, but the Reina Sofia, depending on the active exhibitions, might only be worth a peek at Guernica. (Which is under armed guard.)

Take a day-trip to El Escorial (palace of Felipe II, if not mistaken). Great views.

Kitschy, but eat a meal at El Museo del Jamon. Which might be available in Barcelona as well as Madrid; it's a chain restaurant. (As is VIPS, but it's not uniquely Spanish, so as a tourist, no need to go. Unless you fancy the idea of buying a Playboy, candy-bar, & bottled water, then sitting down to croquetas (note: for which you should be willing to die; delicioso).)

Plaza Mayor is the touted one, but for my money, Puerta del Sol at twilight beats all. Might run into some Hare Krishae, as well. & there's a Dianetics auditor on one of the side-streets coming off PdS. (& at least three top record stores; if you stop in, try to find the four-sided ten-inch of Live GG Allin that I should have bought, but didn't.)

Oh, & La Mallorquina (pastry-shop) on Puerta del Sol -- heavenly.

Good times.

Ahorita, disfrutense.

Tambien comanden la paella. No le importa el restaurante. Siempre es exquisita.

I don't have any recommendations per se, but I am going to Spain with my wife for the first two weeks in July. Fly into Madrid, spend 3 nights there before heading down to the Andalusia region - Sevilla (3 nights), Granada (2 nights), and then Malaga (3 nights). Hate that we aren't going to hit Barcelona.

We basically just searched around this site and made our own itinerary for 11 nights, upgrading our hotels along the way: http://www.europeandestinations.com/

There are also other itineraries either pre-selected by the site or that other users have made, but you can play around with it and get priced in real time.

take trains everywhere.

i can only speak for barcelona: la sagrada familia is my favorite tourist spot there. it's a church that's been under construction since the 1880s. it's incredible. i would recommend a full pass that gets you up into the towers. the views are excellent. the gothic quarter and las ramblas are popular areas for tourists. the marketplace off ramblas is a must-visit, too. i would avoid beaches in barcelona, if that's your thing. there are far better beaches further south. you can probably kill much of the day at montjuic park, too. it's a nice walk with a handful of decent attractions, but it's easy to get lost. park guell is also worth the trek.

Spent two weeks in Spain about five years ago. Loved it. Madrid was cool but I wouldn't spend too much time there. Also visited Seville, Cordoba (briefly), Valencia, and Barcelona as far as larger places and enjoyed them all. Granada/The Alhambra was great. Ate a lot of jamon and drank a lot of wine.

Second on La Alhambra. See it at nite, though -- if you can.

Barcelona was awesome 11 years ago, and I'm sure it's only gotten better. Go watch some Bourdain episodes where he visits Spain. I seem to remember some of the Northern spots near San Sebastian looking incredible.

We're going to be in Spain from 6/21-7/8. We're flying into Barcelona then Madrid, Granada, Nerja, Ronda, Seville and back to Madrid to fly home.

We've done quite a bit of research. I'll post some tips we've received later(traveling today). I'm also interested in other's suggestions.

HAM, ALMONDS, WINE

I expect nothing less from CHH.

That's a pretty comprehensive trip in Andalucia though. We're really torn about where to go in the middle of our trip. On one hand, Sevilla seems to encompass all of that romantic charm of the Old World Spain with it's museums, architecture, cathedrals, food, flamenco, bullfights, etc. but on the other, it's our honeymoon and some down time would be nice.

The travel folks want to put us up in Torremolinos for 3 nights. From what I've seen the place has incredible beaches but it looks touristy as hell. Like, I could have that vacation on the Gulf if I wanted. If we went the beach route, I was considering a little further west in Nerja. Seems a little more low key but has great beaches.

I guess we ultimately need to decide if we want to do the beach or not.

I'd be curious to hear those tips Marco.

Lots of what's been said... I find Barcelona to be one of the most interesting cities in Europe, though there are fewer "gotta see" tourist sites. The Sagrada Familia and other Gaudi stuff... but just getting lost in the gothic quarter is the best.

Getting to southern Spain is time consuming, and I'd suggest spending the time in Madrid, Toledo (short trip from Madrid) and Barcelona (and beaches south of it). But if you decide to get to the south stay away from Torremolinos/Malaga... which to me now seem like the coast of Orange County... or perhaps more kindly, Maui. Cordoba's mosque/cathedral... the Alhambra.... and the cathedral in Sevilla... are all in the top 20 "architecture must sees" world wide. Do the mosque on acid if you can.

Best. Advice. EVER.

Harry, PM me your guys' cell # from Tangier.

I'll make it happen. I'll even film it.

What dates, Derris? We've got an open vaca slot for August 13-29 and, travel deals permitting, might just be heading that way.

No shit? We're in Madrid August 14th-16th, 3 nights somewhere in Andalucia (still debating Seville or the Costa Del Sol), and the final 4 nights in Barcelona. We fly out August 23rd.

Thanks for that. Meant to say August 13-19, but whatever we end up doing will likely be a last-minute deal. Will keep you posted.

Still would be interested in any tips you received Marco. I've done a ton more research since I posted this thread and we have now booked and settled on Madrid (2 nights), Seville (3 nights), and Barcelona (4 nights. We allllllllmost went with going to Nerja but just couldn't pass up one of the old cities in Andalucia. Just heard Nerja was MUCH less touristy and had great beaches.

Anyway, one of the issues I've been having is booking a train from Madrid to Seville. I want to use the Spanish rail site, Renfe, but am having trouble using it. Can't seem to purchase via their site. Are you driving or taking trains?

I am trying to book a Preferente class ticket on the AVE train. They have a much better timetable that Rail Europe or Eurail.

Any insight?

Sorry I never responded. Most of the tips I had received were mentioned by others in the thread. We return in early July so if we have any great experiences in those 3 cities I'll post them.

We're taking a train from Barcelona to Madrid and from Madrid to Granada. We couldn't get the Renfe site to work either so used Rail Europe. We're then driving from Granada to Nerja and then on to Seville.

My wife has done most the leg work for this trip so I'll pick her brain for other tips and post more later.

I think you have to try Tickets in Barça- http://www.ticketsbar.es/en/

Dude, I looked into it weeks ago. It's closed for 3 weeks in August including the week we're there.

I've scoped out some others with the Ferran influence. Def want to get down on some molecular gastro porn.

Really the only things we have planned are a side trip to Montserrat in Barcelona, a bullfight somewhere, and the typicaly touristy stuff.

Other than, we're going Viking on food and drink.

We went to an FC Barcelona match, it was a blast

The key to enjoying Spain is staying away from any part of the country British people go to.

Really jealous of that. We leave a week from Saturday and if Spain makes the Euros Championship, that will be our first day in Madrid. So definitely hoping for that, so maybe that will convert Mrs. Guns Holla to a soccer fan (not likely). Also, I think we are going to take a tour of the Bernabeu where we can go on the pitch. Also, ready to HAM on some jamon. So excited for this trip.