In October 2022 we decided to finally step foot on foreign
soil – after two years of COVID pandemic. Here is a detailed itinerary of the
places we visited and the experiences, hope this helps you plan your own
holiday well.
COVID regulations:
Spain needed a compulsory 3 vaccines certificate, so we got
our booster vaccinations and the certificate. The certificate was only required
at Immigration. No certificate was required for our 7 year old. On return,
however Govt of India needed a RT PCR for my son, and we had to get an RT PCR
done in Barcelona. The best way is to google RTPCR centers at your destination,
or to ask the pharmacies in the city to guide you to a centre. The RTPCR cost
49 Euros. If you have vaccination certificates no need for RTPCR.
Spain itinerary overview :
Arrive at Madrid , 3 nights in Madrid
Travel by train to, Valencia (2 hour train journey from Madrid
), 3 nights in Valencia
Travel by train to Barcelona (2.5 Hour train journey from
Valencia), 3 nights in Barcelona
The Hotels and train tickets were prebooked on Make my trip
and while I don’t recommend the hotels that we stayed at, I do recommend the
train travel. The trains are clean, fast, comfortable free wifi and provide a
scenic journey to the next destination. There is a basic bag screening which
takes 5 minutes at train station. No need to book flights within Spain, it will
take longer and more cumbersome.
Madrid itinerary
We travelled from Madrid airport to our Hotel by taxi at the
airport, while Uber is also available, Taxi is faster and same cost. They have
a cap of 4 persons to a car.
Once at hotel ask for the map of Madrid, infact each of the
cities had their maps at the hotel receptions making travel very convenient. And
we travelled using the Metro train. The main stations are Atocha and Sol. Atocha
is also the station where we get the train to Valencia, the station closest to
the Yellow bus tours and to the meeting point for our travel to Toledo and
Segovia. Sol station is close to the city center, night clubs, Gran Via road,
shopping and sight seeing.
Day 1 Madrid
We took the metro to
Sol, and visited the San Miguel food market, Tapas, sangrias and local food. Also
the Gran via road has all the top fashion houses and malls. Perfect to see the
city vibes.
Day 2 Madrid
We did a day tour of
the city via Yellow bus tours. Yellow bus tours is a 2 hour panoramic city
tour, they have a guide who talk you through the sights, you cannot get off the
bus in the 2 hours. This is different from a Hop on Hop off bus. A hop on-Hop
off bus is preferrable, visit 3 places definitely – the Madrid castle one of
the largest castles in western Europe, The Bull fighting arena one of the only
places in the world where bull fights are still seen and one of the grandest
bull fighting arenas in the world bull fighting season is March to October so
you can book tickets to watch, and Park Retiro which is UNESCO heritage centre 128
hectares and 15000 trees, also has lots of monuments, buildings and parks
within the park, plus a lake for boating. Would recommend ‘steak burger’
restaurant for their premium steaks, ‘san gines’ for churros, and la Polleria
for the Instagram waffles.
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| metros and buses every where , accesible tourism |
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| steak burger on Gran via road |
Day 3 Madrid
We did a half day tour of Toledo and a half day tour of
Segovia, from Madrid via yellow bus tours. Toledo is about 1 hour by bus from Madrid,
and then we return to Madrid and travel another 1.5 hours by bus to Segovia. We
went by the yellow city bus tour. Highly recommend both the destinations. Toledo
is stunning, like a scene out of Arabian nights, a Middle-eastern Muslim inspired
city with winding roads, built on a hill, and you can lose yourself for hours
in this magical medieval place. We spent way too much time in a sword and
damask shop, would recommend you discover the city instead. If you can take a
full day tour of just Toledo, or better still stay a day or two in Toledo to
catch the night scenes. We left Toledo at 1 pm (had a mere 4 hours of Toledo),
to head for Segovia , Segovia has the Roman aqueduct 2000 years old, an Alcazar
castle and the grand cathedral. Segovia has a lot of history as well. I would a
full day tour here aswell. Both places have a lot of history the Muslim and
Modejar (muslims converted to Christianity), and Jewish influence. The bus
journey was comfortable and our guide was excellent, both Spanish and English guides
available.
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| the alcazar in Segovia |
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| roman aqueduct in Segovia |
Day 4 travel from Madrid to Valencia by Train.
Day 1 Valencia
Unfortunately because of the bookings by Make my trip we found
oourselves staying outside of Valencia near the airport ! This meant it used to
take us a minimum of 40 minutes to reach city center (Plaza Espanya is the most
popular bus/metro station) , and multiple bus and metro changes to get to any
of our destinations. Big mistake! Please please stay near the Valencia old city
(near plaza espanya), or closer to the beach (playa something). We stayed in a
place called Bonnaire, which had a mall close to us, since each night we needed
to come back to Bonnaire by 10 , we spent most evenings, perusing the Bonnaire
mall. The largest Mall in Valencia with 120 shops, and lots of eateries. Would
recommend the 100 Montaditos restaurant in the mall, for beer on tap and tapas.
Day 1 Valencia
We reached on a National holiday and all malls, and market
were closed. We headed to the beach in Valencia. One of the busiest beaches in
Spain playa, Valencia is the nearest port to Ibiza and if you travel here in
the summer, you will get to see the true Valencia playa beauty, but early October
was not bad. Since we come from Goa, we are used to seeing the sunset over the
sea, but since Valencia is on the east coast, the sunset is over the houses.
Valencia is THE BEST PLACE to try Paella.
The national dish of Spain
originated from Valencia, and the best Paella places are to be found lining the
beaches (playa). All Paella dishes are made after the order is placed and when
we finally sat at one of the highly recommended Paella places, the waiting was
too much with a 40 minutes waiting time, since we had changed two metros and a
bus to get to the place, and had a deadline to catch our last bus- we missed
out on dining by the beach. I know it was just a meal- but it is a learning
experience to not trust ‘tour guides like make-my-trip’ to book hotels.
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| fideua - paella with noodles/pasta |
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| the beach at Valencia |
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| wearing the colours of spain in spain, also beer on tap at 100 montaditos |
Day 2 Valencia
We spent the day in the arts and sciences city of Valencia. They
have 6 buildings,the entire complex is known as one of the 12 treasures of
Spain.It houses the largest under water world in Europe with Oceanographic,
a Massive interactive science city museum which resembles the skeleton of a
whale, and IMAX cinema and planetarium L hemispheric built like a human
eye. This place is sci-fi at its best. We took some 400 pictures and videos on
this day and a pass cost 42 euros per person. Just brilliant.. Plus we reached
the place by just changing 2 buses. Buses were the preferred mode of transport
rather than metros in Valencia, bus number 95 goes to oceanographic. So ask
around for the bus map, also google bus routes. We also had a very easy travel
card, that saved us a lot on travel each day, so in any city, just go to the
train/metro station and ask for the trave card. Available at airports aswell.
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| oceanographic |
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| pics at the art and science city |
Day 3 Valencia
We had a pre booked hopon-hopoff bus tour of Valencia this
day. Hop on hop off is an excellenct idea if you plan on going to the beach (as
I mentioned it is really far and out of the way), but if you plan on visiting
the art science center it is a waste, since you will be spending the entire day
at one place, and also if you plan on spending time in Valencia old town . Valencia
old city has no cars or buses allowed that means no hop on-hop off buses within
this place. Places to visit within the old city are plenty, there are guided
tours for the entire old city, walking tours, and cycle tours. The Valencia
cathedral that houses the famous Holy Grail the chalise from which Jesus drank
his last sips is breathtaking (take the guided tour it is worth it) special significance
if you are pregnant or hoping to conceive , the Valencia mercado central is one
of largest enclosed markets in western Europe (closes at 3 pm), the La Lonja
next to the market is a free entry Unesco monument, apparently we can climb the
144 steps to get a panoramic view of the old city, but it was closed on the day
we went. The Iglesia San Nicholas church, and a meal at the Plaza de la Virgen
and the Neptune fountain were all highlights of the old town. We finally had
our Paella over looking the Valencia cathedral and it was everything we had
hoped for. We had the traditional Valencia paella with chicken, rabbit and
chorizos, we also had the sea food paella, and a vegetarian paella. Also sangrias.
Day 4 travel from Valencia to Barcelona scenic train journey
by the Spanish sea side.
Day 1 Barcelona
We spend each of the first days understanding the metro and
the bus stations. In Barcelona you need either the travel card or pay by card,
no cash is accepted on buses, and so we chose to the card. Buses were the best
way to travel. Barcelona has a lot of the places extremely well located around
two bus stops /metro stops. Plaza Catalunia and Plaza Espanya. Take any
bus/metro to Plaza Catalunya. Day 1 we walked down La Rambla road conveniently located
along plaza Catalunya. We also attended a Flamenco dance performance.We went to
Flamenco Barcelona SL, close to plaza Catalunya, they have shows every 2 hours
, show lasts 1 hour 15 min, no food provided and at 20 euros this was the most
economical. (shows in Madrid started at 35 euros) this show has certificate of
excellence from trip advisor, has extremely high ratings, and children watch
free/discounted. Must experience once.
Day 2 Barcelona
We did a hop on hop off tour of Barcelona, and this audio
tour was much much better than the Valencia hop on hop off. (I do not recommend
the hop on hop off tour guide of Valencia, waste of money and time) but
Barcelona was very enjoyable. We got off at Park Guell which was underwhelming,
over crowded, and miss-able. It does not exemplify Gaudi’s best work, for which
I would recommend La Pedrera (read next). We also went to the Football club of Barcelona,
and it was super fun to take pictures outside the building. Since we had done a
tour of the stadium and museum in 2013, we didn’t repeat it, but you should
visit if you have not done it before. We also visited the marines, and the
Barcelona Cathedral and all the beautiful lanes around Gothic part of
Barcelona. No cars/buses are allowed in this region between La Rambla and Via Laetana
, and this place has narrow walking lanes, picturesque shops, cheaper eateries,
a very enjoyable walking discovery, with live musicians, and street performers
and art museums.
Day 3 Barcelona
We spent the morning soaking in the magnificence of Sagrada
Familia, and Casa Mila or La Pedrera. This was our second time visiting Sagrada
Familia, we had visited in 2013 dec, and in the past 9 years a few new
additions have been made, but more than that there is a proper system for
tickets, we get to fix a time and buy the tickets. You don’t need to stand in
serpentine queues for half a day to get in! You can even buy the tickets online!
We bought it outside the cathedral at an additional cost of 2 euros, since our
online booking was not happening. But it is still very convenient. You get a
free downloadable audio guide. This time we also went to La Pedrera, the last
time we were cash strapped youngsters who found the ticket too expensive, also
we had just 12 hours to explore Barcelona the last time around. This time we
were really able to understand more about Gaudi and his work and workings
inside the La Pedrera building.
The Sagrada familia
has very little of Gaudi’s original work, and much of what has been built, is
over the past 96 years since Gaudi’s death! So the real genius is in the la Pedrera
building- La Pedrera means a stone quarry or stack of stone, people used to joke
that it looks like a haphazhard pile of stones, but from an attic shaped like a
whales spine, and glass reptiles and warriors on the undulating roof and the butterfly
wing gate at the entrance, everything in this building has Nature and meaning. That
is why even though people criticised the building when it was made, and made
fun of Gaudi, the entire city of Barcelona is literally a celebration of Gaudi
a century after his death.
Day 4 : Early morning flight from Barcelona back to India.
Over view of our holiday.
Well just recollecting and writing this holiday guide has
brought back vivid memories and if you found just reading all of this
overwhelming, believe me the sights, sounds, stories, tastes and experiences
will leave your senses overwhelmed.
But, since we had 3 days each in the places we had a very
enjoyable pace, and a deep understanding of each place. There is a lot of
walking, with each day we were walking over 20000 steps. The roads are not like
cobblestone roads of Italy so it is much easier to walk in Spain, all signs are
in English, but people don’t speak much English. All hotels, restaurant
managers, and major stores have English speaking staff so you can ask them. All
metros have someone who knows English, most bus drivers do not know English. When
in doubt ask locals/ other tourists for help. We were told Barcelona is filled
with thiefs and pick pockets, we thankfully did not face such experiences. Of all
the places we visited, Toledo and Segovia were the perfect European castle
experience, Valencia is the perfect east meets west experience, Madrid had the
most local city flavour, Barcelona was the most touristy and welcoming.
Food wise lots of Sangria (fruits and red wine), churros
(doughnut type stick desserts), tapas (small bar eats with drinks our favourite
were tortillas, patatas bravas, gambas and calamari fritters, pollo croquettes)
, jamon(smoked meat), paella (one pot rice dish), and try the local Mercados
(markets) for seasonal local products. And try the fixed meal combos, which
give you a starter, mains, dessert at a fixed price. All malls and most
shopping places close on Sundays and national holidays.
For more : follow my Instagram page @thefoodietrails for
pictures from our trip it is under insta highlights.
Search for my posts with the hashtag #thefoodietrailstospain
#shreyshtinspain on Instagram
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| breakfast tortillas loaded spanish omlettes |
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| paella ! |
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| audio guided tours everywhere |
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| the pretty neptune fountain in Valencia |
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| camp nou in Barcelona |
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| The bay area in Barcelona |
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| Night life in Madrid |
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| patatas bravas and meat balls tapas |
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| park guell barcelona |
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