Madrid or Barcelona for a weekend?

[Anonymous]

Barcelona is the only major city Ive visited outside of North America that I totally disliked. So touristy, not charming and people were super rude in every restaurant and our hotel. Never seen anything like it. if you work in a service industry in the main tourist area of a city that is known for tourists, you can't be put out by having tourists come to your restaurant. I said to DH that I got to the point where I assumed every meal we got at restaurants had someone spit into it....

[Anonymous]

Which did you guys find more affordable?

[Anonymous]

I would do Cordoba or Seville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Forgot to mention my husband and I will be bringing our college aged daughter and son.

DH is leaving towards Seville instead. Just wondering it that city will be “fun” enough for our kids

*leaning towards

Like others I was going to suggest Seville. It’s a fun place to spend a long weekend. Excellent food. See a Flamenco show in a small venue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Barcelona is the only major city Ive visited outside of North America that I totally disliked. So touristy, not charming and people were super rude in every restaurant and our hotel. Never seen anything like it. if you work in a service industry in the main tourist area of a city that is known for tourists, you can't be put out by having tourists come to your restaurant. I said to DH that I got to the point where I assumed every meal we got at restaurants had someone spit into it....

I’ve been to Barcelona twice and have had the opposite experience. Really lovely people everywhere we went. We avoid the busiest tourist areas, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Seville? Might be warmer and feels more classically Spanish.

+1

[Anonymous]

Madrid, Barcelona is one of my least favorite cities in Europe.

[Anonymous]

I liked visiting Barcelona but it was insanely busy to the point of being almost unbearable and this was March and over a decade ago. I can’t recall if service people were unpleasant or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Forgot to mention my husband and I will be bringing our college aged daughter and son.

DH is leaving towards Seville instead. Just wondering it that city will be “fun” enough for our kids

Seville is the quintessential "Spain is Different" location. Every single delightful stereotype about Spanish culture: tapas, bull fighting, horse culture, white-washed villages, narrow cobblestoned streets, people spontaneously breaking into flamenco songs and clapping their hands in rhythm while having "cañas" (small beers) in the plaza in the middle of the day, people strolling along the Guadalquivir river and watching the sunset while someone plays flamenco guitar: that is Andalucia, and Seville is the capital of Andalucia, so it's a perfect. Also, the orange blossoms may be in bloom in March and the entire city will smell so good. You can take a flamenco class in the Santa Cruz neighborhood, paint some pottery in triana, go to a paella making class at the Mercado de Triana (there are so many americans doing cooking classes there and they all seem pretty happy doing it), etc. Plus very easy to do a day trip to the beach especially if you have a car.

I think Seville will be plenty fun for your kids. If they want to go out clubbing (discotecas), it starts around 1 am and lasts until 6 or 7 am. (yes the clubs open earlier but nobody's out there until like 1 am at the earliest). Drinking age is 18. Skip the sangria, get Tinto de Verano (wine with lemon soda---sometimes you get the crappy prepackaged kind but most bars will use really decent wine and not much "Casera" lemon-lime diet soda since soda is more expensive than wine in Spain, lol).

Obviously the Giralda is really famous and a great hike up to the top to look out, but since you have older children, if they (and you) like heights, I recommend visiting the Torre de Sevilla's Mirador that has a nice coffee shop during the day/ cocktail bar in afternoon/evening at the top and really spectacular views since it's on the 37th floor or something and is tallest building in Seville (I think). Plus it has an elevator, something La Giralda cannot boast to have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Forgot to mention my husband and I will be bringing our college aged daughter and son.

DH is leaving towards Seville instead. Just wondering it that city will be “fun” enough for our kids

Seville is the quintessential "Spain is Different" location. Every single delightful stereotype about Spanish culture: tapas, bull fighting, horse culture, white-washed villages, narrow cobblestoned streets, people spontaneously breaking into flamenco songs and clapping their hands in rhythm while having "cañas" (small beers) in the plaza in the middle of the day, people strolling along the Guadalquivir river and watching the sunset while someone plays flamenco guitar: that is Andalucia, and Seville is the capital of Andalucia, so it's a perfect. Also, the orange blossoms may be in bloom in March and the entire city will smell so good. You can take a flamenco class in the Santa Cruz neighborhood, paint some pottery in triana, go to a paella making class at the Mercado de Triana (there are so many americans doing cooking classes there and they all seem pretty happy doing it), etc. Plus very easy to do a day trip to the beach especially if you have a car.

I think Seville will be plenty fun for your kids. If they want to go out clubbing (discotecas), it starts around 1 am and lasts until 6 or 7 am. (yes the clubs open earlier but nobody's out there until like 1 am at the earliest). Drinking age is 18. Skip the sangria, get Tinto de Verano (wine with lemon soda---sometimes you get the crappy prepackaged kind but most bars will use really decent wine and not much "Casera" lemon-lime diet soda since soda is more expensive than wine in Spain, lol).

Obviously the Giralda is really famous and a great hike up to the top to look out, but since you have older children, if they (and you) like heights, I recommend visiting the Torre de Sevilla's Mirador that has a nice coffee shop during the day/ cocktail bar in afternoon/evening at the top and really spectacular views since it's on the 37th floor or something and is tallest building in Seville (I think). Plus it has an elevator, something La Giralda cannot boast to have.

Seville has been used in the filming of Game of Thrones and Star Wars so your kids might enjoy that.

[Anonymous]

We visited this place west of Seville where they filmed spaghetti westerns

https://tammytourguide.wordpress.com/2017/03/29/el-rocio-spains-strangest-town-andalucias-wild-west/

[Anonymous]

Seville hands down.
Are you traveling from the states? For a short weekend flight I'd only go to a city I can fly to directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seville hands down.
Are you traveling from the states? For a short weekend flight I'd only go to a city I can fly to directly.

OP here. Thank you for all the recommendations everyone! We are flying from Germany as we will be visiting family there. We are looking for somewhere warmer and sunny for a few days after the inevitable drab, cold of Munich in the month of March lol.

We were also considering Lisbon but flights are way more expensive there for some reason

[Anonymous]

I'd lean towards Madrid for this one. Barcelona's great, but Madrid just hits different - better food scene, more authentic Spanish vibe, and generally less touristy than Barcelona's La Rambla madness. In March, both cities should be pretty pleasant weather-wise (think mid-60s°F), though Madrid might be a tad cooler.