Places to Visit · Spain
Spain 7-Day Itinerary: Barcelona to Andalusia by High-Speed Train
One week, four cities, and the train network that makes it possible
You can see a real slice of Spain in seven days, but only if you stop trying to drive it. The country's AVE high-speed trains move at up to 310 km/h, which means Barcelona to Madrid takes under three hours and Madrid to Seville takes two and a half. That single fact reshapes what a week in Spain can be. This Spain 7 day itinerary runs from the Catalan coast to the heart of Andalusia, with two nights in Barcelona, a fast pass through Madrid, the slow magic of Seville, and a day in Granada that most people underestimate. Every train is bookable in advance. Every day has a logic. Here is the route, the timing, and the costs, laid out the way I would plan it for myself.
Days 1–2: Barcelona, the coastal start
Why Barcelona first
Most international flights into Spain land in either Barcelona or Madrid, and Barcelona makes the better opening. The city is compact, walkable, and dense with the kind of sights that orient you fast. Two days is tight but workable if you accept that you will not see everything.
Day 1 — Gothic Quarter and Gaudí's warm-up
Spend the morning in the Gothic Quarter, the oldest part of the city, where the streets are narrow and the stone is medieval. Barcelona Cathedral opens to visitors at 9:30 ($11 entry). Wander afterward toward El Born for lunch, then visit the Picasso Museum ($14, book online). In the late afternoon, take the bus up to Bunkers del Carmel for a free panoramic view of the whole city against the sea.
Day 2 — The Gaudí day
Park Güell in the morning ($13, online only), then Sagrada Família in the mid-afternoon ($30 basilica, $11 for tower access). The basilica's stained glass works best after lunch, when the western windows light up in orange and red. Eat in Gràcia between the two, where the menu del día runs $15-$25 for three courses.
What to eat
Catalan food is its own thing, distinct from the rest of Spain. Try pa amb tomàquet (bread rubbed with ripe tomato and olive oil), escalivada (smoky roasted vegetables), and seafood fideuà, which is like paella made with short noodles instead of rice. Vegetable and seafood options are everywhere. Skip Las Ramblas for meals entirely.
Insider tip
Book Sagrada Família and Park Güell before you fly. Both sell out days ahead in summer, and the walk-up lines can cost you two hours you do not have on a two-day stop.
Day 3: Madrid, the fast middle
Getting there
The morning AVE from Barcelona Sants to Madrid Atocha takes about 2 hours 45 minutes. Book a seat on the 8:00 or 9:00 departure and you are in central Madrid before noon. Fares booked in advance run $35-$70; last-minute tickets can hit $130. More on booking below.
Why one day works for Madrid
Madrid is a great city to live in and a slightly awkward one to visit for a single day, because its best quality is atmosphere rather than headline monuments. But one focused day captures the essentials. Drop your bags, then walk.
Afternoon — The art and the streets
Start at the Prado Museum ($16, free 6-8 PM Monday to Saturday), home to Velázquez's Las Meninas and the dark late paintings of Goya. Give it two hours. Then walk through Retiro Park, the city's green lung, and down into the Barrio de las Letras, the old literary quarter where Cervantes once lived.
Evening — Tapas in La Latina
End the day in La Latina, around Cava Baja street, where the tapas bars are thick on the ground. Order patatas bravas with both sauces, grilled vegetables, tortilla, and croquetas. A grazing dinner across two or three bars costs $25-$40 with sparkling water and fresh juice.
What to skip
The Royal Palace, unless you have a specific love of palace interiors. It takes 90 minutes and competes for time you need elsewhere. The exterior and the gardens are free and enough for a one-day stop.
Insider tip
Madrid eats late. Restaurants barely fill before 9 PM, and many kitchens do not open for dinner until 8:30. Adjust, or you will find yourself eating alone in an empty room at 7.
Days 4–5: Seville, the heart of Andalusia
Getting there
The AVE from Madrid Atocha to Seville Santa Justa takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. Take a morning train on Day 4 and you have the full afternoon in Seville. Fares run $30-$65 booked ahead.
Why Seville earns two days
Seville is where the trip slows down and deepens. The city was the wealthiest in Spain during the age of exploration, the port through which New World silver flowed, and that history is written into its architecture. It is also unbearably hot in midsummer, which shapes the rhythm of any visit. You move in the morning and evening. You rest in the afternoon, like the locals.
Day 4 — The cathedral and the Alcázar
Seville Cathedral ($13) is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world by volume, built on the site of a former mosque whose minaret, the Giralda, still stands as the bell tower. Climb it in the morning before the heat. Next door, the Real Alcázar ($16) is a royal palace of staggering Mudéjar craftsmanship, still used by the Spanish royal family. Book the Alcázar online; the line is brutal. Spend the hot afternoon resting, then explore the Santa Cruz quarter in the cooler evening.
Day 5 — Triana and Plaza de España
Cross the river to Triana, the old ceramics and flamenco neighborhood, for a morning of tilework, market food, and quieter streets. In the late afternoon, visit Plaza de España, the vast semicircular plaza built for the 1929 exposition, its tiled alcoves representing every province of Spain. Go an hour before sunset, when the brick glows and the heat finally breaks.
What to eat
Andalusian food is built for the climate. Gazpacho and its thicker cousin salmorejo, both served cold. Spinach with chickpeas (espinacas con garbanzos), a Moorish-rooted dish. Fried fish (pescaíto frito) done lightly and fast. Triana's market bars do all of this well and cheaply.
Insider tip
Flamenco in Seville comes in two forms: the polished tablao shows aimed at tourists, and the raw, unannounced sessions in small Triana bars. The second kind is harder to find and worth the effort. Ask a local where the peñas (flamenco clubs) are.
Day 6: Granada and the Alhambra
Getting there
Granada is the one stretch where the high-speed network thins. The AVE from Seville to Granada takes about 3 hours with a route through Antequera, or you can take a direct bus (around 3 hours, $25-$30) which many travelers find simpler. Either way, leave Seville early.
Why Granada matters
Granada was the last Moorish kingdom in Spain, surrendered in 1492, and the Alhambra is the reason everyone comes. The palace complex is the finest surviving example of Islamic architecture in Europe, a sequence of courtyards, fountains, and carved stucco that took centuries to build and minutes to fall silent in.
The Alhambra — booking is everything
Alhambra tickets ($20 for the full complex including the Nasrid Palaces) sell out weeks ahead in high season. This is the single most important booking of the entire trip. Buy it the moment your dates are fixed. Your ticket includes a timed entry slot for the Nasrid Palaces; miss the slot and you forfeit that section. Arrive early, bring water, and allow three hours minimum.
The rest of the day
After the Alhambra, walk through the Albaicín, the old Moorish quarter of white houses and steep lanes across the valley. The Mirador de San Nicolás gives the classic view of the Alhambra against the Sierra Nevada mountains, best at sunset. Granada is also one of the last Spanish cities where ordering a drink still comes with a free tapa, so an evening of small bites can cost almost nothing.
Insider tip
If Nasrid Palace tickets are sold out for your date, check the official Alhambra site at midnight Spain time. A batch of returned and newly released tickets often appears then. It is not guaranteed, but it works more often than people expect.
Day 7: The flexible day
Three good ways to end
The last day depends on your flight. If you fly out of Granada or Málaga, spend a slow morning in the Albaicín and leave in the afternoon. If you need to return to Madrid or Barcelona for an international flight, the train back becomes the day, and that is fine. The Spanish countryside through the train window is part of the trip.
If you have the full day and want one more place, the coastal town of Málaga is 90 minutes from Granada by bus, with a good beach, the Picasso birthplace museum, and a relaxed seaside pace that makes a fitting end. Alternatively, return to Seville for the half-day you wished you had.
Insider tip
Build buffer into your final travel leg. Spanish trains are reliable, but a single missed connection on departure day can cascade into a missed flight. Aim to reach your departure airport city the night before any early international flight.
Booking the AVE trains: what to know
Where to book
Book directly through Renfe, the Spanish national rail operator, on its official website or app. Third-party resellers add fees and sometimes hide the cheaper fare classes. The Renfe site can be clunky and occasionally rejects foreign cards on the first try; if that happens, refresh and use a different browser, or book through the app.
When to book
AVE tickets open for sale 60-90 days ahead, and the cheapest fares (called Básico and Elige) go first. For this itinerary, the Barcelona-Madrid, Madrid-Seville, and Seville-Granada legs should all be booked as early as your dates allow. Booking two months out instead of two days out can cut the total train cost by more than half.
Rough train costs
| Route | Type | Duration | Booked Early (USD) | Last-Minute (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona → Madrid | AVE | ~2h 45m | $35-$70 | up to $130 |
| Madrid → Seville | AVE | ~2h 30m | $30-$65 | up to $110 |
| Seville → Granada | AVE / bus | ~3h | $25-$45 | up to $60 |
| Total train budget | Per person, booked early | $90-$180 | ||
Dietary notes for the route
Spain is easy for vegetable and seafood eaters and increasingly easy for vegans, especially in the bigger cities. Gazpacho, escalivada, espinacas con garbanzos, grilled vegetables, and tortilla are reliable across the whole route. For gluten-free travelers, say "sin gluten, por favor"; most kitchens outside the heaviest tourist zones can adapt. Spanish chefs treat dietary requests as routine, not as a problem, and will tell you honestly what they can and cannot change.
If a week is not enough
Seven days gives you the spine of Spain: Catalan coast, capital, and the Andalusian south. It leaves out Valencia, the Basque Country, the northern green coast, and the dozens of smaller towns that reward slower travel. The Spain Travel Guide expands this route into a 3-day short version and a full 14-day itinerary across seven cities, with the same train logic and the same hour-by-hour detail.
THE SPAIN GUIDE 🇪🇸
The 3-day and 14-day versions of this route, with detailed train timetables, city-by-city plans, and the local food maps that turn a fast week into a real one.
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CODE: SUMMER2026
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