First time in Andalusia and fell in love !
Our take

| First four photos are from Seville, the next four are Granada, and the last three are Cádiz. My girlfriend and I flew into Madrid, spent one night there, and then went to Granada for three nights. In Granada we toured the Alhambra, which was incredible. I also highly recommend Hammam Al Andalus, an Arab-style bathhouse that ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Another great experience was seeing a flamenco show in one of the caves in the Sacromonte neighborhood, which felt really unique to Granada. After Granada we moved on to Seville for four nights. Seville felt incredibly romantic and quite grand tbh. The Alcázar has stunning Moorish architecture, and the dome in picture 3 is a good example of that style. We also really enjoyed walking and biking along the river, which I didn’t capture in these photos. There’s definitely enough to do in Seville to spend three to five nights comfortably. We also wanted some beach time, so we did a day trip to Cádiz, since it’s one of the closer coastal options from Seville. Cádiz felt quieter and slower compared to Seville, but relaxing on the beach and walking in the water felt amazing after days of exploring medieval cities. Overall it was an incredibly romantic trip with my girlfriend. She even said it felt like a honeymoon, which I honestly agree with! Also worth mentioning is the high-speed rail between Seville and Madrid is fantastic. It cuts what would be about a 6-hour drive down to roughly 2.5 hours and the train ride is very comfortable. If I return to Andalusia I’d love to explore Ronda, Córdoba, and Málaga, which we chose to skip this time so we could experience Seville and Granada more thoroughly. Happy to answer any questions! [link] [comments] |
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- Málaga, spring 2026I’ve always loved Andalusia, I’d already visited Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba, so this year I decided to finally check out Málaga. I spent four days there at the end of March, and it was honestly perfect. The weather was sunny but still a bit fresh. You can walk the whole city on foot, we didn’t even bother to use public transport to move around. The food was great too. One place that really stood out was Las Merchanas, a local tapas restaurant, it was really good. If you enjoy Andalusian culture like me the Alcazaba of Málaga is definitely a spot to visit. It reminded me of the famous AlHambra in Granada, which I loved. There’s also a spot nearby you can hike up to called Gibralfaro, with a wonderful view on the city, but we didn’t get the chance to visit it. We also did a day trip to Marbella (1 hour in bus), which had a totally different feel. Much more upscale and polished, kind of like Cannes or Monaco. Not the same vibe as the rest of Andalusia, but still really nice to experience. Overall, it was just a really enjoyable trip. Nothing too rushed, just good weather, good food, and a great atmosphere. I’d definitely recommend it. submitted by /u/LevantMind [link] [comments]
- 2 weeks in Madrid & Andalusia Golden Triangle - what we did and how much we spentNobody asked for it and I normally don't track expenses to this level, but AI has made it much easier to pull from my credit card transactions. My travel spreadsheet is much more detailed than this, but I'm just posting the itinerary and total expenses here. Our travel style - DINK in late 30s, prefer walking, really love food but don't drink alcohol much (tapped out after the first glass). - Big planner with a "one main activity a day" mindset. This is more of a vacation than a trip so we didn't try to do much (and we plan to come back). - Our common orders in Spain include 2-3 plates and 2 drinks (and maybe water). - We don't eat out all meals since we get tired and/or want vegetables. We cooked sometimes, and also ate breakfast at home. - Not included: coffee (we tried several highly recommended specialty shops and found them just ok, so we just made coffee at home - also saved time to get ready in the morning), snacks, and discretionary purchases. In Granada we stayed at a hotel with free late breakfast, so our food budget was lower. Day Location Activity Total $5,453.23 Day 0 EWR -> MAD Flight 23:55 $793.00 Day 1 Madrid Accommodation Barrio de la Letras $788.86 AM Food Quick sandwich + grocery $19.69 PM Activity Puerta del SolPlaza MayorCalle de las Huertas PM Food Vi Cool $98.98 Day 2 Madrid Accommodation Barrio de la Letras AM Food Casa Toni $27.75 PM Activity Plaza de EspañaGran ViaTemple of Debod for sunset view PM Food La Concha + Casa Lucas $64.95 Day 3 Madrid Accommodation Barrio de la Letras AM Food Los Gatos $20.70 AM Activity Retiro Park PM Activity Lavapies PM Food Los Caracoles $38.67 Day 4 Madrid Renfe train 10:30 $65.75 Accommodation Barrio de la Letras AM Food Jose Maria $75.37 AM Activity AqueductAlcazar de Segovia $32.00 PM Food Bar Quevedo $39.93 Day 5 Madrid -> Cordoba Renfe train 10:35 $90.08 Accommodation La Judería $181.34 AM Food Chocolat Madrid $13.15 PM Food Bar Guzman $24.94 PM Activity San Basilio Day 6 Cordoba Cordoba Accommodation La Judería AM Food El Gallo de Oro + Bar Santos $11.00 AM Activity Free walking tour $46.88 PM Activity Mezquita Cordoba $35.55 PM Food Casa Pepe Juderia $66.83 Day 7 Cordoba -> Granada Renfe train 13:06 $74.46 Accommodation Centro $515.89 PM Activity Rio Darro- Paseo de los Tristes- Carrera del Darro- Plaza Nueva Day 8 Granada Granada Accommodation Centro AM Activity El Realejo- Campo del Principe- Carmen de los Martires PM Activity Alhambra (Nasrid Palaces at 18:30) $52.65 PM Food Betula Nana, 21:00 $87.87 Day 9 Granada Granada Accommodation Centro $263.45 AM Activity Hammam Al Andalus $205.40 PM Activity Zambra Los Amaya $105.89 PM Food Avila Tapas $30.59 Day 10 Granada -> Seville Alsa bus 11:00 $53.90 Accommodation Centro $736.88 PM Activity Setas de Sevilla PM Food Bar Sal Golda $41.14 Day 11 Seville Seville Accommodation Centro AM Food Barrio Cerveceria $47.14 AM Activity Plaza Espana + Parque de Maria Luisa PM Activity Hanging out in Los Remedios for Seville Fair Day 12 Seville Seville Accommodation Centro AM Activity Alcazar de Seville $36.31 PM Food Barre Baja $87.00 Day 13 Seville Seville Accommodation Centro AM Food Callao Bodega Triana $32.07 AM Activity Triana PM Food Bar Alfalfa $32.54 PM Activity Macarena & Alfalfa Day 14 Seville - Madrid Seville - Madrid, Renfe 11:32 $78.00 Accommodation Chueca $188.76 AM Activity Chueca / Salamanca PM Food Casa Macareno @ 8:00 $58.66 Day 15 Madrid - EWR 19:35 AM Activity Malasana Other expenses Transportation Metro de Madrid (x10 trips) $18.66 Transportation Bus Segovia station <-> town $10.66 Transportation Taxi from Cordoba -> hotel $13.41 Transportation Bus from Alhambra -> town $3.75 Transportation Bus from Madrid -> airport $11.73 Grocery Vegetables, fruits, yogurt, bread, cold cuts, pate, drinks $131.00 Reminders/tips/thoughts: - Stay near the attractions so you can come back midday for a rest/siesta. - Visit attractions on Sunday/Monday, so you can explore neighborhoods on days when stores are open. - Book Alhambra really early (like a month or two out). Book Alcazar early as well (a week or two) or you'll stand in line for 1.5 hours like us on the day of. Bring your passports. - April is the ideal time to go. Sunny and hot, but lots of wind to cool you down. Plus the cities (except some parts of Seville where the horses roam) smell so good with all the orange blossoms. - Seville Fair really is an insider affair, especially for two foreign-looking kids lol but I'm glad we went. Kind of amazing to see people having fun and dancing. Pretty easy to identify public casetas and the drinks are not crazily marked up. The carnival was fun too. - Most places we went took credit cards. All and all we spent 100e in cash. - Granada restaurants/bars do give out free tapas with a drink, but the details vary place to place. For example, at Avila you can only choose the free tapa on the left side of the menu. Transportation - Book popular train/bus routes early to get the times you want, and for cheaper prices. - Keep refreshing and trying if the Renfe trains you want are not available. The Renfe app is horrible though, doesn't accept my US phone number (or any phone number, really) and wouldn't let me proceed, so use desktop if you can. - Do the math to see if the train or bus to Segovia works better for you. The train alone is faster, but you have to line up at least 30 minutes to catch the bus from town to the train station, whereas the bus to Madrid stops right in town. - Renfe stations can be confusing... you can be in front of your gate and the entrance will be on the other floor. If it's 10-15 minutes before departure time and the gate is empty, you're at the wrong place. Ask if you're not sure. - Bus can be much cheaper but takes longer. We usually opted for the train, except for the Granada -> Seville leg which takes the same amount of time. Happy to answer questions to my limited knowledge. submitted by /u/consuellabanana [link] [comments]