As part of my Spring 2023 trip, I made my way around Spain, Portugal and Morocco. After a couple of weeks in Morocco I flew across the border to Malaga and my trip went as follows…
Granada – 2 days
After touching down in Malaga airport I hopped on a bus (Alsa Bus) to Granada which took about 2 hours. I only had about 24 hours in Granada, so it was a bit of a whistlestop tour, but my recommended places are: the charming Albaicin neighbourhood; a network of narrow streets, hills and cobbles – it’s a charming place to explore and a great place for al fresco dining and watching the sun go down.
The Alhambra and Generalife are undoubtedly what everybody goes to Granada for and it is absolutely massive, reputedly the best-preserved Muslim walled city in the world. Every corner you turn is beautiful workmanship, gardens and architecture – you need the best part of an afternoon to experience it all.
Some other great places to see, include Carrera del Daro, the Royal Monastery and the Granada Cathedral. I found, the best self-catering spot in Granada, right opposite the Cathedral with the most incredible views, you can check out the property, Casa de la Catedral here: https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/catedral.en-gb.html
Sevilla – 3 days
After Granada I travelled again by Alsa Bus to Sevilla (3h) and this city was a personal favourite. There’s a real buzz about the city, lots of activities and it’s absolutely baking, over 30C in May! So, what to see?
- The Alcazar (advanced booking essential), an incredible palace with extensive gardens, which served as the filming location for Dorne.
- Plaza de Espana, a humongous square bustling with people and entertainment. Bonus nerd point: it served as a filming location for the city of Theed, in Attack of the Clones.
- The Santa Cruz district which is the old Jewish Quarter, features a maze of narrow streets, traditional Spanish townhouses and fantastic little restaurants.
- Seta de Sevilla (Mushrooms of Seville), is an iconic yet controversial wooden structure offering panoramic views of the city. It also hides a nightclub and a museum in the lower levels. It’s pretty expensive but well-worth a trip and make sure to check out the drone tour of the city, too!
- The Triana district, on the opposite side of the river, was originally the main district of Sevilla and retains a lot of its old-world charm. Personal highlight was finding an old lady who had transformed her doorway into a minibar selling cans of beer for 2 euros 👌
Madrid – 3 days
After Sevilla, I headed further west into Portugal (which I’ve covered here) and eventually crossed the border from Porto to Madrid. When it comes to travel, I tend to not splurge on transport and accommodation. I’ll choose buses over flights and hostels over hotels, it means I can cover multiple cities over the course of a month for a couple of grand instead of two or three times that and instead I’ll spend more money on experiences and eat at nice restaurants every night. With that in mind, I took a Flixbus from Porto to Madrid which took nine hours overnight and cost £15. A flight would have been about £100, and with airports and taxis either side, it would’ve taken 4-5 hours anyway. But oh my god, what a hideous experience. I thought this was going to be a sleeper bus, but no it’s just a regular bus with announcements and lights coming on every hour or so, it was the worst experience ever. I arrived in Madrid at 7am and I couldn’t check in till 2pm. I wish I had got that flight.
Madrid is understandably huge and unfortunately I was pretty wiped out by this stage of the trip, this was coming up to my 20th stop, so I didn’t see a great deal of the city and used the few days I had as an opportunity to unwind, enjoy some good food and meet new people.
After this, I took a train to a little town called Segovia.
Segovia – 2 days
The train to Segovia is a short trip in about 2 hours. This is a really picturesque little town, I stayed in a central place called the Hab Urban Hostel in a “superior double room with a terrace”, really nice little place and not your typical hostel either, very up-market. The terrace was a nice sun-trap but only a short window of direct sunlight. The property is a minute’s walk from the famous aqueducts and maybe 15-20 minutes to the Alcazar. The aqueduct and alcazar are the two main draws of the town, but the ancient Roman architecture throughout the town will keep you snapping pics for hours. The Alcazar itself was the inspiration behind the castle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the resemblance is remarkable.
Bilbao – 3 days
After Segovia I headed to Bilbao. Whilst you can get a bus direct from Segovia to Bilbao, I think I left it too late, so I had to train back to Madrid and then bus up to Bilbao. The bus station in Madrid (one of them, that is) is absolutely gargantuan and quite stressful to navigate, be warned! The whole journey took about 6 hours I think and as you get into “Basque Country” it’s like stepping across the border into a totally different country. Bilbao and neighbouring San Sebastian are home to pintxos, little snacks (or “tapas”) served in bars. Instead of ordering from menus, the food is displayed in cabinets on a bar-top and you just point at what you want (great if your Spanish sucks!) and away you go. Highlights of Bilbao include the Guggenheim, Plaza Nueva, Mercado de la Ribera and Bilbao’s very own funicular (not quite as iconic as Lisbon’s) the Artxanda cable car. Just outside of Bilbao, you’ll find San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the real life filming location of Dragonstone in GoT and House of the Dragon. It is AMAZING. Just make sure you book a ticket in advance, like waaaaaay in advance, you cannot show up on the day and chance it.
