Landed in Madrid Barajas airport on June 7 morning.
There is airport shuttle bus which takes you to city center (near Atocha train station) for 4 Euro but there is a long line which is not worth waiting particularly after a long international flight.
We took a taxi to AC Hotel (Marriott) which is close to Atocha train station, paying 30 Euros and it took about 20 minutes.
In Madrid many of the attractions are close to Atocha and one can either walk or take the Metro or Bus to go around. The sign boards are mostly in Spanish and not many speak English.
Museo del Prado***- museum, free entrance after 7 pm, a must visit in Madrid ,Metro - Atocha or Banco de Espana
Retiro park *** (free entrance) Seen the Crystal house, and the Lake , Walkable from Prado museum, really nice place to hang out and one enjoy rowing the boats in the lake
SOL and Opera ***- nice to walk areas and find something to eat , Metro stations with same names
Favorite Veggie Food - Churros with chocolate sauce at Chocolateria San Gines which is between Sol and opera metros in the street Pasadizo San Gines
Palacio Real - Seen it from outside as it was not opened for public due to renovation work
Teleferico* - observation tram , interesting for children otherwise we can give it a pass
Bull fight at Las Ventas - Purchased 5 € tickets at a hefty price of as these were sold out when I reached the venue by 5 pm . Could not stand the show beyond an hour ( I would not have gone had I known that the Bulls are getting killed)
Ended the day with a vegetarian Lasangna
Madrid (Atocha PL) to Barcelona Sants by 7 am train from Atocha PL . Reached Barcelona at 9.30 am
Walked across the Sants station to our hotel (AC hotel Marriott) . Sants station is well connected with other areas by Metro. There is also R2 train leaving to airport every 30 minutes.
La Sagrada Familia ***- Church , There was a long line to get tickets for a visit inside. I wished I should have purchased the tickets online, even seeing it from outside is worth the visit (actually I was not that impressed seeing it inside may be ticket price could have been a factor) , metro Sagrada Familia
I realized there is a desi restaurant ( Taj) nearby only after having my Pasta lunch. See also my note on Iris Arc on Day-4 for vegetarian food in this area
La Pedrera * - Historic home , Metro Diagonal , not worth the ticket price
Barcelonata beach *** - crowded but nice beach , Metro - Barcelonata
Columbus statue*** (Mirador de Colon) - about 10 minutes walk from Barcelonata beach
La Rambla *** - Street - a must in Barcelona for shopping, food etc and it is straight across Columbus statue
Cathedral** - Worth the visit, Metro - Catalunya
Picasso museum** - enjoyed the live music when standing in line to get the tickets. Well organized museum though tickets are pricey
Lunch at vegetarian restaurant Iris Arc*** which is very close to Vanguer metro. It is not desi food but the 4 course meal is defenetly worth the price of 9 €
Royal palace(Palau Real") - I struggled to find this place without success . As per Frommer's guide it is near Cathedral but could not find it. The tourist office person informed me it is near Paul Real metro & on reaching station I inquired the metro official for Royal Palace and he started searching in Google!
Barcelona to Granada by evening flight (R2 train from Sants station takes you to airport near Terminal 2 but there is a long shuttle ride to the main terminal T1)
We took a cab to AC hotel, Granada (about 30€) and the hotel is like a palace.
Granada is a small town with the main attraction of Alambhara palace. The palace is in the uphill and there are frequent buses to the palace from Cathedral which is in the central part of the town.
Cathedral * - nothing unique
Alahambrah palace *** 1/2 - we booked the tickets in advance via web but seen people who could buy tickets directly on the day ; 3 different palaces, multiple gardens ; primarily Muslim architecture ; a not to be missed attraction in Spain (if you can't afford to travel all the way to Granada then settle for it's next cousin Alcazar in Seville) ; since you may need at least 3 hours to go around better pack your sandwich and there are nice places where you can relax and eat)
Evening train to Seville SJ and reached AC hotel by cab (about 10€)
Southern city with a hot summer and a nice weather during winter. There is a good bus service to move around the city.
Alcazar palace*** - You will love it if you had not seen Alhambra palace but still this is worth the visit on its own. Upper level is even now used by the Royal family ; 2 palaces with different gardens ;
Cathedral*** - walkable from the palace; looked impressive from outside & we were wondering if we need to really to go in after checking the ticket price (9€) but thanked ourselves for deciding to go in . The domes, paintings, treasure, orange garden, bell tower with nice slopes everything was enjoyable.
Lunch - Vegetarian tapla in one of the Tapas restaurants near cathedral
Evening train to Madrid
Reasonably priced water , yogurt etc at groceries (alimentation)
Excellent public transportation (Renfe trains, metro, bus)
Hassle free taxi
Clean and neat places
Vegetarian food
Train tickets at Renfe website which is much cheaper though you need to figure out the translation to English and also try different credit cards
Booked Tickets for Alambhara palaces online
Booked the ticket in advance for Sagrada familia
There is airport shuttle bus which takes you to city center (near Atocha train station) for 4 Euro but there is a long line which is not worth waiting particularly after a long international flight.
We took a taxi to AC Hotel (Marriott) which is close to Atocha train station, paying 30 Euros and it took about 20 minutes.
In Madrid many of the attractions are close to Atocha and one can either walk or take the Metro or Bus to go around. The sign boards are mostly in Spanish and not many speak English.
Day-1 (Madrid)
On the first day evening:Museo del Prado***- museum, free entrance after 7 pm, a must visit in Madrid ,Metro - Atocha or Banco de Espana
Retiro park *** (free entrance) Seen the Crystal house, and the Lake , Walkable from Prado museum, really nice place to hang out and one enjoy rowing the boats in the lake
SOL and Opera ***- nice to walk areas and find something to eat , Metro stations with same names
Favorite Veggie Food - Churros with chocolate sauce at Chocolateria San Gines which is between Sol and opera metros in the street Pasadizo San Gines
Day-2 (Madrid)
Plaza Mayor** -Square,Palacio Real - Seen it from outside as it was not opened for public due to renovation work
Teleferico* - observation tram , interesting for children otherwise we can give it a pass
Bull fight at Las Ventas - Purchased 5 € tickets at a hefty price of as these were sold out when I reached the venue by 5 pm . Could not stand the show beyond an hour ( I would not have gone had I known that the Bulls are getting killed)
Ended the day with a vegetarian Lasangna
Day-3 (Barcelona)
Madrid (Atocha PL) to Barcelona Sants by 7 am train from Atocha PL . Reached Barcelona at 9.30 am
Walked across the Sants station to our hotel (AC hotel Marriott) . Sants station is well connected with other areas by Metro. There is also R2 train leaving to airport every 30 minutes.
La Sagrada Familia ***- Church , There was a long line to get tickets for a visit inside. I wished I should have purchased the tickets online, even seeing it from outside is worth the visit (actually I was not that impressed seeing it inside may be ticket price could have been a factor) , metro Sagrada Familia
I realized there is a desi restaurant ( Taj) nearby only after having my Pasta lunch. See also my note on Iris Arc on Day-4 for vegetarian food in this area
La Pedrera * - Historic home , Metro Diagonal , not worth the ticket price
Barcelonata beach *** - crowded but nice beach , Metro - Barcelonata
Columbus statue*** (Mirador de Colon) - about 10 minutes walk from Barcelonata beach
La Rambla *** - Street - a must in Barcelona for shopping, food etc and it is straight across Columbus statue
Day-4 (Barcelona)
Cathedral** - Worth the visit, Metro - Catalunya
Picasso museum** - enjoyed the live music when standing in line to get the tickets. Well organized museum though tickets are pricey
Lunch at vegetarian restaurant Iris Arc*** which is very close to Vanguer metro. It is not desi food but the 4 course meal is defenetly worth the price of 9 €
Royal palace(Palau Real") - I struggled to find this place without success . As per Frommer's guide it is near Cathedral but could not find it. The tourist office person informed me it is near Paul Real metro & on reaching station I inquired the metro official for Royal Palace and he started searching in Google!
Barcelona to Granada by evening flight (R2 train from Sants station takes you to airport near Terminal 2 but there is a long shuttle ride to the main terminal T1)
We took a cab to AC hotel, Granada (about 30€) and the hotel is like a palace.
Day-5 (Granada)
Granada is a small town with the main attraction of Alambhara palace. The palace is in the uphill and there are frequent buses to the palace from Cathedral which is in the central part of the town.
Cathedral * - nothing unique
Alahambrah palace *** 1/2 - we booked the tickets in advance via web but seen people who could buy tickets directly on the day ; 3 different palaces, multiple gardens ; primarily Muslim architecture ; a not to be missed attraction in Spain (if you can't afford to travel all the way to Granada then settle for it's next cousin Alcazar in Seville) ; since you may need at least 3 hours to go around better pack your sandwich and there are nice places where you can relax and eat)
Evening train to Seville SJ and reached AC hotel by cab (about 10€)
Day - 6 (Seville)
Southern city with a hot summer and a nice weather during winter. There is a good bus service to move around the city.
Alcazar palace*** - You will love it if you had not seen Alhambra palace but still this is worth the visit on its own. Upper level is even now used by the Royal family ; 2 palaces with different gardens ;
Cathedral*** - walkable from the palace; looked impressive from outside & we were wondering if we need to really to go in after checking the ticket price (9€) but thanked ourselves for deciding to go in . The domes, paintings, treasure, orange garden, bell tower with nice slopes everything was enjoyable.
Lunch - Vegetarian tapla in one of the Tapas restaurants near cathedral
Evening train to Madrid
Happy about:
Cheap internet (just 2 € per hour)Reasonably priced water , yogurt etc at groceries (alimentation)
Excellent public transportation (Renfe trains, metro, bus)
Hassle free taxi
Clean and neat places
Challenges
Limited use of EnglishVegetarian food
How did I plan:
Air tickets at OrbitzTrain tickets at Renfe website which is much cheaper though you need to figure out the translation to English and also try different credit cards
Booked Tickets for Alambhara palaces online
What I could have done different
Planning the trip starting at Madrid ending at Barcelona (via Seville & Granada) and that way I could have taken the return flight from Barcelona itselfBooked the ticket in advance for Sagrada familia
