3 Days in France, Spain, or ?

[Gone To Texas]

I have a few free days (Thursday morning - Saturday evening) in July after a meeting in Lisbon and am trying to decide on one of the following trip alternatives:

*Madrid
*Barcelona
*Madrid AND Barcelona
*Paris
*Madeira
*Other recommendations?

In the past, I've only traveled to the UK and Portugal, so I'm looking to see something new. My only other constraint is that I don't want to stray too far from Lisbon (no more than a couple of hours by plane). Appreciate the wisdom of Hornfans in advance.

 

[Mobyhorn]

Madrid and Barcelona. Paris by itself.

 

[SunBurntOrange]

I would be very inclined to just find a nice beach somewhere on the Med and call it good.

 

[Stuck_At_Work]

No joke. Just go find a great beach. Screw the big cities. Tarifa in Southern Spain is relatively unknown - an extremely beautiful beach town with PLENTY of nightlife. San Sabastian is a picturesque town in Basque country (Northern Spain). As much as I enjoyed Madrid, Barcelona, or Paris... I much much prefer small coastal towns. You could take a road trip North and visit Galicia (the Spanish province right above Portugal).

 

[foxyhorn]

I would pick Barcelona over Madrid. If you like architecture, the works of Gaudi must be seen. Truly unique. Drinking and people watching on Las Ramblas is great also. In Madrid, the only attraction I really liked was the Prado (which would be a bust if you don’t enjoy Goya and other the classical Spanish artists). Overall, I enjoyed the feel of Barcelona and walking around there much more. There is enough to do for 3 days and you could also take a day trip to Dali’s home. I did not do that and really regret it.

If you chose the beach route, I highly recommend taking the train from Lisbon to Lagos,Portugal. Don’t know how old you are, but if you are young (or young at heart) and love to drink and chill on beautiful beaches it can’t be beat. There are tons of cheap, laid back bars and few late night ones (open to 4 AM I believe). The bars are all run by Brits/Aussies who are fun to BS with.The beachse are gorgeous and have great people watching. I spent 6 weeks there after college. PM me if you have need some specifc recommendations.

 

[foxyhorn]

Also, I spent some time in Tarifa and found it a little too sleepy for my tastes.

 

[HornInDub]

skip all the big cities. Fly into Madrid, rent a car and drive around the area surrounding Madrid. Leave Madrid airport and head to Segovia for an overnight stay. On the way, stop off to visit El Pardo, where General Franco lived, El Escorial, which is a beautiful small town with a massive monastery set at the foothills, and the castle in Manzanares. If you are feeling ambitious, stay only one night in Segovia and drive south to visit Toledo as well. Or stay in Segovia, and in the afternoon take the short trip to La Granja to see the palace and gardens, which are described as a miniature Versailles.

Driving in the countryside in Spain is just like driving in the US, it is very simple, the roads are great and well sign-posted, and it is generally very easy to find parking in the smaller towns. Don't limit yourself to big cities, all the good stuff to see in Spain is in the smaller towns.

We did the Madrid -> Segovia over a weekend, staying one night in Segovia, and loved every minute of it.

 

[Uninformed]

There are some great towns in Southern Portugal. I liked them much better than the beach towns in Southern Spain - cheaper, less touristy, nicer, easier to get around...

San Sebastian in Northern Spain is a little closer to you and is nice. I wouldn't go any further - too much time traveling and not enough time enjoying.

 

[MustangOrange]

Have you been to Lagos? Southern Portugal is freakin' gorgeous!