Spain
Andalusia ranked, Barcelona without the Sagrada Familia, and why shade decides your day
This covers the Andalusia trip, Sevilla, Córdoba and Granada, plus Madrid, Toledo and Barcelona. The short version: Sevilla wins in the south, Barcelona is worth more than its one famous building, and the heat decides everything about when you go.
Cities
- Sevilla: by far my favourite of the three Andalusian cities. See the shade tip at the bottom for why it also happens to be the most liveable in the heat.
- Córdoba: very nice, and pretty small. The old town in particular is lovely.
- Granada: the most touristy of the three, and not that big. Plan accordingly.
- Toledo: beautiful, and very much a tourist trap.
- Barcelona: its own section below.
Andalusia, Madrid and Toledo
Restaurants
- Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid: a food court with a lot of Spanish food, great vibes and very little seating.
- Herbabuena, Toledo: a great restaurant, a bit tricky to reach on foot, and no English spoken. Still worth it.
- Ispal, Sevilla: pricey, but a great experience with a decent wine pairing.
- Doña Rufina, Sevilla: the roof tables are lovely, with a great view over the cute streets below.
Beyond those I have no specific tapas spot to single out, which is the point: you eat well pretty much everywhere.
Monuments
- Sevilla cathedral and the Real Alcázar: beautiful, and both a must-see.
- The Alhambra, Granada: very nice and very big. Full of tourists and awkward to reach, so give it a lot of time. We did not book far ahead and it was fine, but we travelled outside the main holiday periods, which is doing a lot of the work in that sentence.
- The Mezquita, Córdoba: part of what makes that small old town worth the trip.
Bars
- Chamán, Sevilla: a great cocktail bar to end the night on.
Flamenco
I saw a show with drinks included. It was nice, and not out of this world, so I am not going to recommend it across the board. It is worth the effort of finding a genuinely good one rather than booking the first tourist option you see.
Hotels
Nothing memorable in Sevilla or Madrid, so no recommendation either way.
Barcelona
Food and drink
- Catacroquet: croquetas, done properly. The one place I would go out of my way to name.
- Otherwise the city is full of good restaurants and good bars and nothing stood out enough to single out, which is its own kind of recommendation. It is hard to eat badly here.
- The markets, Boqueria and the rest, are mostly tourist traps. Still worth a walk through, especially if all you want is a drink.
- Platja del Prat, the beach directly behind the airport west of the city: beach bars, restaurants and a club. Good food, easy plane spotting, and regular buses back into town. An odd outing, and a genuinely fun one.
Monuments
- Hospital de Sant Pau: the standout. Very beautiful, well worth the entry fee, large, not overrun, and a genuinely unique piece of Modernisme.
- Sagrada Familia: I have not been. You have to book well in advance, and between the price and the crowds I am still not convinced.
Neighbourhoods
A lot of them are worth walking. The Gothic quarter and the old town are very nice, and so are the newer parts. The right approach is to just explore the whole city.
Hotels
Pick something reasonably central. The Hyatt Regency is nice but pricey and far out, and it is geared to conventions rather than to travellers, so it is not one I would recommend.
Day trips
- Sitges: reachable by train, an LGBT town, and kind of fun. Worth exploring once, though not somewhere I would go back to.
- Trains are cheap, which makes it easy to hop out to a smaller town for the day and come back.
Still on my list
The top of Montjuïc, and the hikes and day trips in the natural park outside the city.
Practical
- The metro is very easy, with ticket machines everywhere.
- Pickpockets: I have no strong opinion. Normal precautions were enough.
- June is already hot. Prefer April and May, or late September and October. As in much of Spain, air conditioning is not a given, so be careful with the sun.
Tips
- Heat is a real problem in summer. Avoid the peak months. April and May are very nice.
- Sevilla is surprisingly cool compared to Córdoba, because the narrow city-centre streets keep it heavily shaded. It feels odd at first, then makes complete sense the moment the sun is properly up.
- You can do all of it by train. Plan ahead: the stations are complex to navigate and have airport-style security checks.
