What do you like?
When I think of Spain, I think of art and architecture, tapas bars and cafe life, and gorgeous beaches.

Barcelona has Gaudi architecture (La Sagrada Familia is a must-see) Las Ramblas, beaches, tons of art including Picasso, and plenty of nightlife.

Inland, Madrid has the magnificent Prado and other art. Picasso’s Guernica is now in the Sofia Museum, I believe.

There is the Alhambra in Granada. You could do a Seville/Granada/Cordoba leg.

I would try to see flamenco if possible. These are all just generalities, but it’s a start.

I love Andalusia, mainly Seville, Cordoba, Granada. Also the small towns around Madrid like Toledo, Segovia, Avila. Salamanca is also a cool university town with great architecture.

I’d also recommend Barcelona, Madrid, Donostia, Granada, and Sevilla. Definitely do a day or overnight trip to a small town like Toledo, Avila, etc. from Madrid if you get a chance. I see you’re tentatively planning to go to Bilbao. I haven’t been there in almost a decade, but I might be tempted to skip it unless you really want to see the Guggenheim, and I probably wouldn’t give it three days.

i liked barcelona, take a 20 side trip to sitges beach. a cool beach town with awesome food and beach scene.

my favorite place by far was san sebastian, another beach town in northern spain. great bar/tapas nightlife especially if you are in your 20s/30s.

Wow!!
thanks for all the advice!!!! I can’t wait to see Spain!!!

thanks for the tips, maybe I will just do a day trip from San Sebastion to Bilbao if I feel like it!!

Great tips here! Definitely the architecture in Spain is a must see!

My boyfriend and I were in Spain September 2009. In 10 days, we visited: Sevilla, Cordoba, and Madrid with day trips to Avila (not much to see there except Saint Teresa stuff) and Segovia (Segovia is a beautiful little town! I highly recommend spending at least a day there).

If I would go back to Spain, I would definitely spend a lot of time in Sevilla. There is a ton to do and it’s just beautiful! Plus, the weather all over Spain is great in September!

Madrid, is an AWESOME city.

I’ve always wanted to see Segovia (near Madrid) myself. I hear Madrid is kind of crowded and can be dangerous sometimes, but Segovia is a lovely smaller city with the advantage of having an ancient Roman aqueduct still running right through the middle of it! As for Spain in general, the only place I’ve been is Barcelona. It was an interesting city, but the summertime weather was a bit oppressive for me.