The route that gives Spain in its full range without the mistake of trying to add Barcelona to a 7-day itinerary: two days in Madrid with the Prado at 10am and the tapas that start at 9pm, one day in Toledo where the El Greco is in the building it was painted for, two days in Seville where the Alcázar and the Flamenco and the Tapas Bar That Has No Menu are all within 15 minutes of each other, and one day in Granada for the Alhambra at dawn before the tour buses and the tapas that arrive free with every drink.
Reading time: 11 minutes | Last updated: 2026
Spain is four countries in one — the Castilian interior, the Andalusian south, the Catalonian northeast, and the Basque north — each with its own language, its own culinary tradition, and its own relationship with the idea of Spain itself. A 7-day itinerary cannot cover all four. This one covers the two that give the greatest range for the first visit: the Castilian capital and the Andalusian south.
Barcelona is not in this itinerary deliberately. Barcelona deserves its own trip. Adding it to a 7-day Spain circuit results in a 4-hour train journey in each direction consuming two of the seven days and leaving insufficient time in Andalusia for the Alhambra booking to be worth making.
Before You Leave — The Booking Sequence
8-12 weeks before:
- Alhambra tickets — the single most important advance booking in this guide. The Nasrid Palaces (the palace complex within the Alhambra that contains the Court of the Lions and the Hall of the Ambassadors) sells its 6,600 daily tickets out 3 months ahead in peak season (July-August) and 4-6 weeks ahead in shoulder season. Book at alhambra-patronato.es — the morning slot (the Nasrid Palaces 8am-10am entry) is the correct booking.
4-6 weeks before: 2. Flamenco show in Seville — the good shows sell out 2-3 weeks ahead. The Teatro Flamenco Triana or the Casa de la Memoria in the Barrio Santa Cruz: book online. 3. Madrid train to Toledo — available to book on Renfe.com or the Renfe app. 4. Seville to Granada transport — the ALSA bus (3 hours, €25-35 / £21.55-30.17) or the Renfe train (3 hours, €25-45 / £21.55-38.79).
The Route
Madrid (2 nights) → Toledo day trip (Day 2) → Seville (2 nights) → Granada (1 night)
Transit: Madrid-Seville (AVE high-speed train, 2.5 hours, €40-80 / £34.48-68.97 booked 4+ weeks ahead)
The 7 Days
DAY 1 — Arrive Madrid
Afternoon and Evening: the Barrio de las Letras
Most UK flights arrive in Madrid by early afternoon. Metro from Barajas Terminal 4 (Line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios, then Line 10 south to Sevilla station): 35 minutes, €5 / £4.31 with the airport supplement.
The Barrio de las Letras (the Literary Quarter) on the first evening walk: the streets named for the writers who lived on them, the Casa de Lope de Vega, and the evening vermouth at the Taberna Ángel Sierra or the El Callejón. The Madrid first evening instruction: eat late (9pm is early for Madrid, 10pm is normal), drink a vermut at 8pm, walk the Letras neighbourhood, find the restaurant with no photographs on the menu.
Dinner: the Casa González (León 12 — the wine shop and tapas bar that has been the Barrio de las Letras neighbourhood institution since 1931, the cured meats, the Manchego, the Iberian ham, the wine list of Spanish wines): €25-35 / £21.55-30.17 per person.
DAY 2 — Madrid: Prado and Toledo Day Trip
10:00am — The Prado
The Museo del Prado at 10am opening — the Bruegel room, the Velázquez Las Meninas, the Goya Third of May 1808. Full guide in the Madrid 48 Hours guide. Allow 2.5 hours.
1:30pm — Train to Toledo
The Renfe AVE from Madrid Atocha to Toledo: 33 minutes, €13.70-17 / £11.81-14.66. Trains run hourly.
Toledo Afternoon:
Toledo is the single most historically compressed city in Spain — the medieval city built on a granite hilltop surrounded on three sides by the Tagus River, the city where Muslims, Jews, and Christians coexisted as productive neighbours in the 11th-13th centuries before the Christian Reconquista made that coexistence impossible. The three monuments of that coexistence:
The Cathedral (the Gothic Cathedral of Toledo, begun 1226 — the sacristy with El Greco’s Disrobing of Christ and Goya’s Arrest of Christ, the choir with the misereres carved by Rodrigo Alemán, the Transparente by Narciso Tomé — the Baroque altarpiece visible through a hole cut in the Gothic vault, the natural light falling on it from above): entry €10 / £8.62.
The Sinagoga del Tránsito (the 14th-century synagogue built by Samuel Halevi, the treasurer of Peter the Great — the mudejar plasterwork on the walls, the Hebrew inscriptions, the Sephardic Museum in the former women’s gallery): entry €3 / £2.59.
The Santo Tomé Church (the 14th-century church containing El Greco’s The Burial of the Count of Orgaz — the painting that was made for the church, is in the church, and has been in the church since 1586: the upper half depicting the celestial reception of the soul, the lower half depicting the burial attended by the historical figures of 16th-century Toledo): entry €3 / £2.59. The correct way to see El Greco: in the context it was painted for.
Return to Madrid: Train from Toledo to Madrid Atocha, evening.
DAY 3 — Madrid to Seville
Morning:
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (one morning in Madrid’s second great art museum — the Hopper, the Dutch Golden Age, the full arc of Western art that the Prado doesn’t cover): see the Madrid 48 Hours guide. Entry €13 / £11.21.
Midday: AVE to Seville
The AVE from Madrid Atocha to Seville Santa Justa (2.5 hours, €40-80 / £34.48-68.97 booked in advance — the walk-up price is €90-140 / £77.59-120.69, the advance price is the only correct booking strategy for AVE travel in Spain).
Afternoon: Seville Arrival
Seville (the capital of Andalusia — the third-largest city in Spain at 700,000 people, the city that was the wealthiest in Europe in the 16th century when the House of Trade gave Seville a monopoly on all commerce with the Americas): the Barrio Santa Cruz (the former Jewish quarter, the whitewashed lanes, the orange blossom, the most photogenic neighbourhood in Spain outside the Alhambra) on the arrival afternoon walk.
The Cathedral and the Giralda (the largest Gothic cathedral in the world by volume, the Giralda tower — the minaret of the Almohad mosque converted to a bell tower by adding the Renaissance belfry, the 35 ramps rather than stairs — installed so the muezzin could ride a donkey to the summit): entry €12 / £10.34 for the cathedral and tower combined. The view from the Giralda at 5pm: the city in the Guadalquivir valley, the Alcázar gardens visible below.
Evening: Tapas in the Triana
The Triana neighbourhood (the barrio across the Guadalquivir from the Santa Cruz — the neighbourhood that gave flamenco the specific Seville form, the neighbourhood where the gypsies settled and developed the art that became Spain’s most internationally recognised cultural export): the tapas at the Bar Santa Ana (Pureza 82 — the Triana bar that serves the neighbourhood’s working population alongside visitors, the montadito de pringá — the slow-cooked meat spread, the most Sevillano single tapa), the manzanilla (the dry fino sherry from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the wine that accompanies every Sevillano tapa by unwritten convention): €1.50-2 / £1.29-1.72 per glass.
DAY 4 — Seville: The Alcázar and the Flamenco
9:00am — Real Alcázar de Sevilla
The Real Alcázar (the Royal Palaces of Seville — the palace complex continuously occupied by the Spanish royal family since the 11th century, the Game of Thrones Water Gardens, the UNESCO-listed mudejar architecture built by Moorish craftsmen for the Christian king Pedro I in the 14th century): arrive at 9:30am opening.
Book at alcazarsevilla.org (the advance booking is required and eliminates a queue that reaches 45-90 minutes in peak season). Entry: €14.50 / £12.50.
The specific Alcázar spaces:
The Patio de las Doncellas (the Courtyard of the Maidens — the mudejar plaster work, the reflecting pool, the arches built by craftsmen who had previously built the Alhambra): the finest single courtyard in Spain outside the Alhambra.
The Salón de los Embajadores (the Ambassadors’ Hall — the gilded dome, the wooden panels, the hall where Charles V married in 1526): the most elaborate room in the Alcázar.
The Gardens (the 14 interconnected gardens of the Alcázar, the combination of Moorish and Renaissance design principles): the correct place to spend the second hour of the visit.
1:00pm — Lunch: La Pepona
The Bodeguita Antonio Romero (Antonia Díaz 19 — the Seville restaurant that the Sevillanos use as the reference for the traditional tapas, the jamón, the berenjenas con miel — the fried aubergine with the cane honey — and the salmorejo — the thick Córdoba-style cold tomato soup): €20-30 / £17.24-25.86 per person with the manzanilla.
3:00pm — The Archive of the Indies
The Archivo General de Indias (Avenida de la Constitución — the UNESCO-listed archive in the 16th-century Lonja de Mercaderes building, the repository of all documents relating to Spain’s colonial administration of the Americas — 43,000 volumes and 8 million pages covering 1492-1960): the reading rooms, the exhibited documents (the handwritten letters of Columbus, the maps of the Americas, the records of the treasure ships). Entry: free.
Evening: Flamenco
The evening flamenco performance — the distinction between the tourist tablao (the performance-for-audience in a fixed venue, the choreographed spectacle) and the juerga flamenca (the private spontaneous performance among aficionados) is real. This guide recommends the tablao at the Teatro Flamenco Triana or the Casa de la Memoria as the most honest available middle ground: the performances at these venues are genuine flamenco art performed by serious practitioners, not a Las Vegas-style tourism product.
The Casa de la Memoria (Calle Cuna 6, Centro — the 200-year-old Andalusian house with the courtyard converted to a 100-seat intimate performance space): the 90-minute show at 7:30pm. Book at casadelamemoria.es. €18 / £15.52.
DAY 5 — Seville to Granada
Morning: Seville — the Metropol Parasol and the Market
The Metropol Parasol (the Las Setas — “the Mushrooms” — the 2011 parasol structure by Jürgen Mayer H. above the Plaza de la Encarnación, the largest wooden structure in the world at 150m × 70m): the promenade above the structure at 28 metres (entry €3 / £2.59 with a drinks voucher), the archaeological excavations visible through the glass floor in the base level (the Roman and Moorish Seville revealed during the construction, the museum below free with the promenade ticket).
Bus or Train to Granada:
The ALSA bus (the most direct route: Seville Prado de San Sebastián bus station to Granada, 3 hours, €25-35 / £21.55-30.17) or the Renfe train (change at Antequera, 3-3.5 hours, €25-45 / £21.55-38.79).
Granada Afternoon:
The Albaicín (the Moorish quarter of Granada — the hill facing the Alhambra across the Darro River gorge, the whitewashed houses, the carmenes — the walled garden houses of the Moorish tradition — and the Mirador San Nicolás viewpoint at the hill’s summit):
The Mirador San Nicolás (the viewpoint above the Albaicín, the Alhambra visible across the gorge in the late afternoon light — the Sierra Nevada behind the Alhambra, the snow visible on the mountains above the red palace): the most photographed view in Andalusia.
At 5pm: the guitarists at the mirador, the street performers, the vendors with the Moroccan handicrafts (the Albaicín’s Moroccan community — 5,000 people, the largest in Spain outside Ceuta — giving the neighbourhood its specific dual identity). The sunset from the Mirador: the Alhambra lit in the last light.
Evening: Free Tapas
Granada is the last city in Spain where the tapa is still served free with every drink (the tradition disappeared from most Spanish cities when the tapas economy was commercialised). In Granada: order a beer or a glass of wine, a plate of food arrives automatically and without payment.
The circuit: the Bar Los Diamantes (Navas 26 — the seafood tapas, the free gambas al ajillo — garlic prawns), the Bodegas Castañeda (Almireceros 1-3 — the wine bar with the free montaditos), and the Restaurante Cunini (the late evening fish tapas): €2-3 / £1.72-2.59 per drink, the food arrives.
DAY 6 — The Alhambra
8:00am — Arrive at the Alhambra Gate
The Alhambra ticket includes: the Nasrid Palaces (the time-slot entry, 30 minutes allocated for each entry group), the Generalife (the summer palace and garden), and the Alcazaba (the military fortress, the oldest part of the complex).
The 8am entry slot (the first Nasrid Palaces slot of the day): arrive at the Alhambra main entrance (the Puerta de la Justicia, the 14th-century main gate) at 7:45am. The ticket office opens at 8am; the booked entry begins at the time printed.
The Nasrid Palaces:
The Court of the Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes — the central reflecting pool, the myrtle hedges, the Torre de Comares reflected in the water): the most photographed view inside the Alhambra.
The Hall of the Ambassadors (Salón de los Embajadores — the throne room of the Nasrid kings, the muqarnas dome — the stalactite plaster ceiling of 8,017 individual wooden pieces arranged in a mathematical pattern representing the seven heavens of Islam): 20 minutes under the dome.
The Court of the Lions (Patio de los Leones — the 12 marble lions supporting the central fountain, the 124 slender marble columns, the arabesques of the plaster work — the most recognisable single image of Islamic architecture in Europe): 20 minutes in the court.
The Generalife:
The summer palace and garden of the Nasrid kings above the main palace complex — the water channels running through the hedges (the specific Nasrid garden engineering, the acequias bringing the Sierra Nevada snowmelt through the garden by gravity), the cypress trees, the rose garden, and the view down to the palace below.
The specific Alhambra instruction: the Generalife in the morning when the light is from the east and the water channels are in shadow. In the afternoon the tourist traffic peaks and the water channels become backgrounds for queued photographs.
Afternoon: The Sacromonte
The Sacromonte neighbourhood (the hill above the Albaicín, the Roma community of Granada — the community that developed the cave dwelling tradition and the Granada flamenco style, the zambra): the cave houses visible from the road (the whitewashed facades, the floral displays, the specific Sacromonte domestic architecture), and the Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte (the cave museum covering the history of the Sacromonte community, the cave dwelling reconstructed as it was in the 19th century): entry €5 / £4.31.
DAY 7 — Granada to UK
Morning:
The Cathedral and the Royal Chapel (Capilla Real — the burial place of Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs who completed the Reconquista and commissioned Columbus’s first voyage in 1492 — the year of the Alhambra’s fall to the Christian forces and the year of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain): entry €5 / £4.31.
The Bib-Rambla market (the square market adjacent to the Cathedral, the flower vendors, the morning coffee): the last Granada morning.
Fly home from Granada Airport (GRX — Ryanair operates Granada-London Stansted), or take the bus to Málaga airport (1.5 hours, €12-15 / £10.34-12.93) for the wider choice of UK routes.
What It Costs
| Category | Budget | Mid-Range |
|---|---|---|
| Return flights (UK-Madrid, Granada-UK open jaw) | £50-130 | £80-180 |
| 7 nights accommodation | £280-490 | £490-840 |
| AVE train Madrid-Seville (advance) | £35-70 | £35-70 |
| Food (7 days) | £140-250 | £280-490 |
| Site entries (Prado, Alhambra, Alcázar, etc.) | £60-90 | £60-90 |
| Local transport | £30-50 | £40-70 |
| Total | £595-1,080 | £985-1,740 |
