How to Plan an Amazing Spain and Portugal Itinerary

With the notable exception of Italy (mi amore!), which we’ve visited every single year for the past three, Spain and Portugal are the two European countries where we’ve spent the most time over the past several years, including a full two months a few years back, a return trip to Spain this spring (April/May of 2024), and return trip to Portugal slated for early 2025 that we couldn’t be more excited for. 

One thing we’re constantly blown away by when we visit the Iberian Peninsula – which is the hunk of land that Spain and Portugal occupy at the southwestern corner of mainland Europe – is the amount of history here.

Over roughly 2,000 years, numerous different factions have controlled huge swaths of land, including – but not limited to – the Roman Empire, the Visigoths, and the Islamic Caliphates. 

In fact, there was an 800 year war fought between the Islamic kingdoms in southern Spain and Portugal and the Christian kingdoms coming from northern Spain for control of the peninsula. 

And all that history happens well before Spain and Portugal both become two of the most powerful empires in the world, sailing all over the world (I recently learned that the Philippines are actually named after King Phillip from Spain), and changing the course of world history. 

And the food! Spain and Portugal both have great food cultures, with a bounty of amazing ingredients to use to create tapas, pintxos, and alcoholic drinks of various types (cava, port, vermut, and all of the wine) that we’re 100% here for. 

As you can see from this opening few paragraphs (read: love letter), we love Spain and Portugal, and we think you probably will too. 

In this guide to planning your Spain and Portugal itinerary, here’s what we’re going to cover:

• Exactly how to plan out your 14 day trip to Spain and Portugal, including what stops to make, what route to take, and all the important logistics we think you need to know
  
  
• A guide to what to do, where to stay, and how to get there for each stop on the itinerary
  
  
• Options for shorter and longer trips if you have more or less time

Throughout the guide, we’ll share our favorite finds and experiences in Spain and Portugal based on our multiple trips (including two months in Spain and Portugal a few years ago, and a more recent trip to Spain in 2024) to help you plan your unforgettable trip.

Sound good to you? Let’s get into it.

Putting all of our advice above together, here’s what this itinerary looks like written out: 

• Day 0: Arrive in Porto
• Day 1: Porto
• Day 2: Day Trip to Douro Valley (stay in Porto)
• Day 3: Early Morning Travel to Lisbon
• Day 4: Lisbon
• Day 5: Half Day Trip to Sintra + Lisbon
• Day 6: Fly to Sevilla
• Day 7: Sevilla
• Day 8: Day Trip to Córdoba
• Day 9: Travel to Madrid + Explore
• Day 10: Madrid
• Day 11: Day Trip to Toledo
• Day 12: Travel to Barcelona
• Day 13: Barcelona
• Day 14: Barcelona

Of course, depending on flight times and prices, you could also reverse the itinerary, starting in Barcelona, making your way to Sevilla via Madrid, and flying to Lisbon before ending in Porto. 

Here is a slightly deeper dive into each of those aspects. 

• Miradouros: Porto is basically a city built on a hill overlooking the Douro River, with Porto on one side of the river and Vila Nova de Gaia on the other side (which is where all of the port houses are located). As a result of that geography, there are a plethora of great views to be had around the city. Our favorites – in order of preference – were Miradouro da Vitória (great view looking east at the church on the hill), Miradouro da Serra do Pilar (great view from the other side of the river looking back at Porto), and the view from the top deck of Ponte Luís I, the tall bridge over the river. 
  
  
• Port: Now, technically, you’re leaving Porto and venturing over to Vila Nova de Gaia for this one, but it’s a short walk (or ferry ride) across the river to get there, so we’re including it. Port is a must-try in Porto, and the best place to do it is at a winery where they can walk you through the history and a guided tasting, which makes for a much more enriching and engaging experience. There are a nearly unlimited number of port houses you could go to, but we very much enjoyed the tour and tasting at Graham’s. Worth stopping at the garden at Churchill’s backyard garden bar while you’re up there for a port tonic with a view. 
  
  
• Azulejos: There are countless churches around Porto adorned with the iconic blue and white tiles, which are called azulejos. In our opinion, the best places to see them are Igreja do Carmo (here on Google Maps) with its tall walls covered in them, Igreja Paroquial de Santo Ildefonso (here on Google Maps), and, ironically, São Bento Station (the train station in central Porto). 
  
  
• Eating and Drinking in Porto: Generally speaking, the best way to experience the food culture of a place is to have someone who knows what they’re talking about show you around. However, Matt has Celiac Disease, and most food tours in Portugal weren’t particularly suitable for his gluten free needs. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do one, though! My mom and her friend did this highly rated food tour in Porto, and highly recommended it. If you don’t want to do a full tour, the two dishes you should definitely try are the bifana, a traditional sandwich consisting of a soft bread roll filled with thin slices of marinated pork and plenty of mustard and piri-piri sauce (try it at Conga, which was recommended to us by a walking tour guide and my brother enjoyed), and a francesinha, which is an indulgent sandwich filled with various meats and smothered in a beer-based red-colored sauce. 

There are plenty of other things to do and see in Porto (we’d highly recommend this walking tour, which we did and loved). For more, read our 3 day Porto itinerary or our guide to spending one day in Porto.

We considered it, but at the end of the day, we went with this full day tour, loved it, and have sent multiple friends and family members on the same exact tour since. 

Here are the highlights: 

• It includes pickup in central Porto, so you don’t have to worry about getting out there on your own (it’s a 1.5-2 hour journey by car or train).
  
  
• It includes multiple wine tastings – a guided port tasting, tons of wine with lunch, and a port tonic on the boat ride. 
  
  
• It includes a HUGE lunch, complete with different non-port wines to try, in a tiny town where one of the owner’s parents grew up. I do mean huge – we thought the first course was the entire thing, and ended up being so full by the end.
  
  
• You get to hop on a boat ride on the Douro River to see the terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley from a different perspective than most people.

At the end of the day, it’s definitely not the cheapest way to see the Douro Valley, but we came away thinking it was a good value, and absolutely loved the experience from start to finish. 

And we haven’t even mentioned the friendly guides who you’ll spend the day with! They’ll give you some insight and commentary on life in Porto, give you recommendations on where to eat and drink in the city, and you’ll get to meet other like-minded travelers who are on the tour with you. 

Click here to check prices and availability for your trip to the Douro Valley

Where to Stay in Porto

Porto, unlike some of the bigger cities you’ll visit like Madrid, Lisbon, and Barcelona, is pretty compact. For that reason, it matters a little less what area you choose to stay in. 

We have an entire guide dedicated to finding the perfect place to stay in Porto. Read that for far more detail than we’re including in this section. 

At a high level, the two main neighborhoods that we’d recommend in Porto form the central spine of the city, which is set along the banks of the Douro River, sprawling north up the hillside. 

The first neighborhood – Ribeira – is right along the river, and it’s pretty clearly the best location in Porto.

From the streets of Ribeira, you’ll have a nice view of the river and Villa Nova de Gaia beyond, which is where most of the port houses are located. 

The downsides here are that it’s consistently busy and loud, packed with tourists soaking up the river views and mediocre food and drink options (which is a second downside). You’ll also be paying for the location, which makes it one of the most expensive areas to stay. 

However, it’s hard to argue with the convenience of being within five or ten minutes of the river, some of the best views in Porto, and the main train station in central Porto. 

Our first choice in Ribeira would be the surprisingly budget-friendly Rio da Vila, which is a great location right in the middle of the neighborhood, across the street from the Palácio da Bolsa and three minutes to the riverfront. 

If you’re looking for a serviced apartment with a little more room, we also have Mouzinho 160 saved for a future trip. It’s in the same vicinity as the guesthouse above, but the rooms are spacious apartments, which can be especially useful for groups and families (we think it’s better to do a two bedroom apartment as a group of four than two separate hotel rooms). 

Click here to find the perfect place to stay in Ribeira

The second neighborhood we’re big fans of is what we’re calling “Baixa,” which basically refers to the areas on either side of Avenida dos Aliados (“Avenue of the Allies”), which runs up to Porto’s Town Hall and its clock tower. 

For what it’s worth, we stayed here and loved every minute of it. 

There are tradeoffs, of course – you’ll be further away from the river (but closer to some of the cool tile-covered churches), but we actually prefer this location because it’s where you’ll find some of the best food and drinks in Porto.

We’d look to the area to the west of the Town Hall and Avenida dos Aliados, which is where we found ourselves over and over again during our stay.  

We stayed in an apartment at Look at Me, which was an excellent location for exploring the city with nice facilities to come back to at the end of a long day. 

If you’re on a budget, the Poet’s Inn is one of the best values in Porto. It’s a charming little guesthouse with a shared kitchen, breakfast included in the price, and a range of room sizes and types to fit your budget and group size. You can choose from a room with a shared bathroom, which will save you a few Euros, or a room with an ensuite private bathroom. 

Click here to find the perfect place to stay in Baixa

What to Do in Lisbon

Lisbon is a big city, so there’s plenty to do and see to fill more time than you’ve actually got on this itinerary. 

You’re going to have to prioritize with two days in the city itself (the other day being spent in Sintra), and here are our recommendations for what to do with your time. 

• Take an Introductory Walking Tour: We always start our time in a new city off with a walking tour, and Lisbon was no different. It’s an excellent way to get a historical and cultural overview of the city, along with some useful tips you can use over the course of the next few days. We had a group of three, so we did this private walking tour with WithLocals, which has quickly become one of our favorite tour companies. You get to pick your guide and they’ll customize your tour based on your interests and their expertise. We had a lovely afternoon with Isabel (who we’d recommend!) wandering from Chiado across the city to Alfama. 
  
  
• Explore Alfama: Alfama sits on one of Lisbon’s many hills, and is the oldest feeling part of the city, with a maze of narrow cobblestone streets sprawling down the hill from the Castelo de São Jorge, which sits at the top. We like to start at the castle (which has nice views out over Lisbon) and make our way down to Baixa, winding through those narrow streets in the late afternoon. Here’s a map of one version of that route. Don’t miss a stop at Miss Can for some canned fish, one of our favorite discoveries in Portugal. 
  
  
• Soak in the Views: Kind of like San Francisco, which is where we lived and met almost a decade ago, Lisbon is a city of hills. Which means there are incredible views to be had from atop said hills. There are two views in particular that we wouldn’t miss. The first is from Miradouro da Senhora do Monte (here on Google Maps), which is a bit of a trek to reach but is well worth it, with sweeping views out over the river, with the Castle and the rest of Lisbon at your feet. The second is the view from the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara (here on Google Maps), which looks east towards the castle and the larger hills (where the first viewpoint is located), with Baixa in the valley between you and them. 
  
  
• Head Out to Belém: At one point, Belém was a completely separate city from Lisbon. As the city expanded, it swallowed up the riverfront town and it’s now a part of Lisbon. It’s a short tram ride away from the heart of Lisbon (take route 15E from Praça do Comércio to Mosteiro Jerónimos). This is another place where a nice walk is in order, and you’ll start at the furthest point, the Torre de Belém (don’t go inside, which is kind of a waste of time and money, and just admire it from the outside), and make your way back along the water to the towering statue featuring famous Portuguese explorers at Padrão dos Descobrimentos. Finish with the Jerónimos Monastery, which is gorgeous, and a pastel de nata at Pastéis de Belém, which is said to be where they originated (more on that in the food section below). Here’s another map of that walk. 
  
  
• Take a Food Tour: Lisbon is a great food city, and you certainly won’t be going hungry in the Portuguese capital. If you’re serious about diving into Lisbon’s food scene, we’d strongly recommend joining a food tour with a local who will give you cultural context and insight into the history and culture of the city (and how it relates to food), along with taking you to spots you almost certainly would never discover on your own. Matt has Celiac Disease, so food tours tend to be tough and don’t generally make sense (we do like cooking classes, though!), but if we were to do a food tour, we’d choose this highly rated tour. In fact, my mom did that tour on her recent (2023) trip to Portugal and absolutely loved it. 
  
  
• Devour Pastéis de Nata: The first food-related thing you should eat is absolutely the world-famous Pastéis de Nata. An egg custard tart that is the quintessential Lisbon sweet treat. There are a few main outposts that make thousands of them a day, and we collected recommendations from various locals we encountered and did a Pastéis throwdown where we compared the top recommendations. The three places we went to were Manteigaria, a recommendation from our walking tour guide (which ended up being the clear winner, at least for us), Pastéis de Belém – the alleged birthplace of the delicacy –  which took the second spot, and Aloma, the pick of both locals we did walking tours with, was a distant third, but that might have been user error given that the pastéis we got weren’t warm. One thing we would say is that you should do your own hunt for the best pastel de nata in Lisbon (there might be a place we’ve never even heard of that ends up being incredible). It’s also worth noting that they aren’t usually gluten free, so Matt had to watch Alysha and his two brothers devour pastéis with reckless abandon. Sad. 

We have numerous guides for Lisbon that you should absolutely head over and read for more detail on our favorite things to do, see, eat, and drink (and how to fit it all together).

• How to Plan a Perfect 3 Day Lisbon Itinerary
• What to Do with One Day in Lisbon
• The Best Things to Do in Lisbon: A Guide for First Timers

Where to Stay in Lisbon

Lisbon is a bigger city than Porto, so where you choose to stay is going to have a bigger impact on your trip here. 

Again, we have put together an entire (very detailed) guide dedicated to the best places to stay in Lisbon. Read that for far more detail than we’re including in this section. 

At a high level, we’d divide Lisbon into two parts. The lowlands and the hills.

In general, our favorite places to stay in Lisbon are up on the hills, where the views are great, the food and drink options are unparalleled, and the vibes are better. 

However, that does mean walking up and down a hill every time you want to go somewhere, which might be a consideration for you. 

Our top recommendation is up the hill in a very central location – Chiado – and it’s the best location in Lisbon (we think) because it’s a 15 minute walk to basically everything, and the trams run right through the center of the neighborhood. 

Casa do Barao is our number one recommendation here, and we have it saved for our next trip to Lisbon. It’s a little bit of a splurge for sure, but the property is gorgeous and the spacious rooms with terraces overlooking the pool are what dreams are made of. 

Click here to find the perfect place to stay in Chiado

If you want to stay in the lowlands, which is convenient for connecting with public transportation, Baixa is where you want to be.

It’s a grid layout – a much more modern approach to city planning than the rest of the city – and it’s going to be a little less charming than other parts of Lisbon. 

Look at the area around Rossio Square, which puts you in an excellent location for your day trip to Sintra, and is our favorite piece of this neighborhood.

There are two solid midrange hotels here – My Story Hotel Figueira and My Story Hotel Rossio – which would be a solid option. 

Click here to find the perfect place to stay in Baixa

For us, there are three cant-miss sights in Córdoba, along with a handful of other things worth seeing. Those three things are the spectacular Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, a cathedral that was built on the site of a huge mosque that was built by the Caliphate to rival the ones across the Muslim world, the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (specifically, its gardens), and the patios (there are many to choose from). 

Rather than tell you exactly what to do and see here, we’re going to direct you to our guide to planning a day trip from Sevilla to Córdoba, which has all of our recommendations on what to do, see, eat, and drink based on our own experiences exploring the city. 

Where to Stay in Sevilla

Compared to other big cities on this itinerary, Sevilla is relatively compact in its layout. We’d stay somewhere in the center of the city, between the Alcázar (on the southern end) and the Setas, the big mushroom looking structures (on the northern end). 

Barrio Santa Cruz, the old Jewish quarter with narrow cobblestone streets, would be a great option, because it’s a few minutes from most of the main attractions in Sevilla. 

We stayed at Casa de las Especias, which is a set of serviced apartments (like a cross between a hotel and an apartment complex) in the heart of the old town. If you want an apartment, we’d recommend it. 

They also have two other properties in the city, one in Arenal (near the river) and one on the border of Santa Cruz. 

If you’re looking for a boutique hostel – that’s a cross between a hotel and a hostel with private, hotel-style rooms and the social aspects you’d expect from a hostel – look at TOC Hostel. We stayed at TOC in Barcelona and enjoyed it, and they’re known for providing a great experience. 

What to Do in Madrid

Here are some things that we think you definitely shouldn’t miss while you’re in Madrid. 

• Lexi’s Walking Tour: On just about every trip we take, there is a single experience that we look back on as THE experience of the trip. Speaking about the Spain leg of my latest trip, this was that experience. By the time I got around to Lexi’s walking tour, it was my last day in Madrid, and I had been on three other walking tours across my two trips. This tour, which is led by Lexi who is a historian with a focus on Spanish history, weaves a story about what makes Madrid special. Along the way, you’ll cover the history that we find fascinating, get a list of places to eat and drink that you’d definitely never discover on your own, and learn A LOT about Spain and Madrid. Do it on your first morning in Madrid, you won’t regret it. Click here to check prices, reviews, and availability. 
  
  
• The Museo del Prado: The Prado Museum is the crown jewel of Madrid’s museum scene, and it might be our favorite museum in Europe. It’s more focused than somewhere like the Louvre, which is almost just too much to really take in, but has a diverse collection from Spanish, Italian, and Flemish (which is my favorite part!) artists that makes for a fun journey through the museum. I have done the Prado twice, and taken a tour both times. If you’re looking for a comprehensive three hour journey through the museum, go with Jaime’s tour (he’s an art historian born and raised in Madrid), who is the single person who is most responsible for helping me fall in love with Madrid. Three hours isn’t enough time to see it all, but it gives you plenty of time to see the highlights. If you’re looking for a more unique experience (the Prado is very, very busy), I’ve also done the VIP Early Access Tour with Walks, one of my favorite tour companies in Europe. You literally stand at the front door of the Prado as they unlock it for the day, and we were the only people in the museum aside from the security team. It’s shorter – only 90 minutes – so it’s fast-paced, but it ends inside the museum, and the guide can help you figure out what else you should see. 
  
  
• Tapas on Calle Cava Baja: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And, in Madrid’s case, this means tapas! There is a very famous street in Madrid called “Calle Cava Baja” in Barrio La Latina that is lined with an endless number of tapas bars to choose from. A few that have been recommended to me by various people are Taberna Tempranillo, Taberna La Concha, and Casa Lucas. Other nearby options for tapas are Casa Ciriaco (towards the Royal Palace, on Calle Mayor) and La Lina (gluten free options for Celiacs – I’ve eaten here!). 

For more, we’d point you to our 2 day Madrid itinerary, which has all of our favorite things to do, see, eat, and drink in the Spanish capital. 

Add to that the proximity to Madrid (~45 minutes by high speed train), the fact that it’s a beautiful city perched on a hill overlooking a valley and the river, and that it has a pretty excellent military museum, and you have all the reasons why we think it’s worth spending a day of your precious trip here. 

Rather than list all the things to do and see in Toledo, we’ve put together a separate guide with all the information you need to plan an excellent day trip to Toledo (from Madrid) – currently in progress!

Where to Stay in Madrid

Madrid is pretty comfortably the biggest city on this itinerary by population, so this is where choosing a place to stay really matters. 

That being said, Madrid is also a relatively compact city, and staying within the main city center is going to mean that you’ll either be within walking distance of most of the places you’re going, or within a short metro ride of them (and Madrid’s metro system is excellent). 

When we say “Madrid’s City Center,” we’re talking about the area between the Royal Palace on the western end and Parque El Retiro on the eastern end. The northern boundary is Calle de José Abascal, and the southern boundaries are Puerta de Toledo and Puerta de Atocha (the train station). 

This section is meant to help you figure out which areas fit that description. 

Once again, we have an entire guide dedicated to figuring out where to stay in Madrid. Read that for far more detail than we’re including in this section. 

Overall, there are two areas we’d recommend in Madrid, and they straddle Calle Gran Vía, which runs directly through the center of the city from east to west. 

• Our overall recommendation for first timers in Madrid is Malasaña, which is our favorite part of the city. It’s a great central location – I walked everywhere when I stayed here – and it has tons of great places to eat, drink, and shop. Plus, it’s full of narrow streets and bustling plazas, which are peak Madrid to us. It’s the hippest part of the city, and it’s a mix of tourists and Madrileños that you’ll find out and about until the early hours of the morning (it’s not the quietest part of the city). If you want a hotel, look at the beautiful 7 Islas Hotel. If you want an apartment, I stayed at Sonder Malasaña and loved it (and it was quiet!). 
  
  
• If you’re looking for a slightly more affordable and equally convenient area, look at Barrio de las Letras. It’s on the southeastern side of the city, close to both Parque El Retiro and the train station (Atocha), and it’s historically the part of the city where literary figures like Hemingway and Cervantes spent their lives. It toes the line between being central but still retaining a lot of the character that makes Madrid special, with plenty of places to eat, drink, and be merry within its borders. If you want a hotel, stay at Room Mate Alba, a nice boutique hotel right in the middle of all the action. If you’d prefer an apartment, look at limehome Madrid La Bolsa (we’ve stayed at limehome properties before, and this location gets really good reviews). 

What to Do in Barcelona

There is a LOT to do, see, eat, and drink in Barcelona, and that’s why we’ve dedicated a little bit more time here than other places on this itinerary. 

Here are some of the things we think you shouldn’t miss while you’re in Barcelona. 

• The Sagrada Familia: Look, we’re not huge “go into every church” people, but I will absolutely make an exception for this masterpiece in Barcelona, which I have now seen three times and will absolutely return next time I’m in Barcelona. The thing we love about the Sagrada Familia, the basilica (not a church, because it has been blessed by the Pope, not a cathedral because it is not the seat of a bishop) that Gaudí spent several decades bringing to life, is the fact that every single little detail has been carefully considered. My favorite part of the basilica is the fact that the way it is oriented, with the “life” facade facing the sunrise and the “death” facade facing the sunset, mirrors the life of Jesus, with life beginning with the sunrise and ending with the setting sun. The best way to experience it is on a guided tour (we’d choose this two hour tour, which is with a company that we’ve done many tours around Europe with including a tour in Barcelona that included an abbreviated visit to the Sagrada Familia), but if you don’t have the budget for that, we’d definitely get the audioguide, which will give you the information you need to fully comprehend all of the little details that make this piece of art special. Buy tickets well in advance here. 
  
  
• Other Gaudí Sites: There are four other Gaudí sites in Barcelona that are worth considering. The first two are the two private residences he worked on that sit along Passeig de Gràcia, the wide (bougie) street that connects the Ciutat Vella (old town) with the town-turned-neighborhood of Gràcia. Casa Batlló and Casa Milà (also called “La Pedrera”) are a few blocks away from each other, and are both worth doing if you have the time and interest. Our advice would be to choose one (and we’d opt for Casa Batlló, if we had to choose) and go at the earliest possible timeslot (or book this early entry tour) because they both get incredibly busy, with long lines wrapping around the block. The third site is his first private residence, Casa Vicens, and honestly, it would be our top choice of the three residences we’ve mentioned because it’s a little out of the way and, therefore, a lot less busy (but still fascinating, especially considering it was early in his career). Last, but certainly not least, is Park Güell, which is set up on the hill and was not built to be a park, but a neighborhood for rich people (unfortunately, the idea didn’t take off and the only houses there now are for Gaudí and his personal lawyer). All of these attractions are very, very popular, and you’re going to want to book tickets well in advance (and the earlier the timeslot, the better). 
  
  
• Learn to Make Paella: We have personally done this paella cooking class in Barcelona, and can’t recommend it more highly. It’s a lovely afternoon spent in a shady garden oasis meeting a Barcelona local and like minded travelers (read: travelers who also love food) and learning to cook paella. Which is not really local to Barcelona (it comes from Valencia, which is a couple of hours outside of Barcelona), but that’s okay. 
  
  
• Explore a Local Market: One of the things we really love about Spain is the fact that each neighborhood in its big cities generally has its own covered market, which is partially a place to grab groceries with stands selling meat, cheese, produce, etc, and part ready-to-eat food stalls. In Barcelona, we’d skip La Boqueria (the food market on La Rambla) and instead head to either Barceloneta Market (one of the most authentic versions of this phenomenon, here on Google Maps) or Mercado de Santa Caterina (here on Google Maps). Go hungry, and plan to stop at two or three food stalls to try some different small plates. 
  
  
• Cava, Vermouth, and Tapas: Barcelona has its own unique tapas culture that sets it apart from other places you’ve already experienced on this itinerary that is mostly driven by the different ingredients available here. It revolves around cava, a sparkling wine that is made in Catalonia, vermouth (which you’ve already encountered, but you should head to Las Vermudas to try it again), and more seafood-based tapas (including things like grilled sardines and bombas, which are similar to croquettes and something you should try at La Cova Fumada in Barceloneta). For what it’s worth, I (Matt here!) tagged along with some friends to experience tapas at Quimet & Quimet and La Perikete, and although I couldn’t eat (Celiac Disease), my friends enjoyed the food and I think it’s a pretty essential experience to have (there are certainly other places to have that experience, too).

For more, we’d point you to our 4 day Barcelona itinerary (for first timers), which has all of our favorite things to do, see, eat, and drink in the city. 

Where to Stay in Barcelona

While not as big a city as Madrid, Barcelona is a bit more sprawling in terms of the parts of the city that you’re going to want to see as a tourist, which means choosing the right place to stay is just as important to avoid long commutes to and from the various sites. 

Generally speaking, because of that sprawl, it’s not really feasible to walk everywhere in Barcelona, so plan on utilizing the city’s nice metro and bus network to jump around the city. 

You’re going to want to stay relatively central, and we would recommend avoiding staying in the old city near the famous La Rambla, which is easily the least authentic and most overrated street in the entire city (and potentially the entire country). 

Once again, we have an entire guide dedicated to deciding where to stay in Barcelona. Read that for far more detail than we’re including in this section. 

• Our top recommendation is to find a charming hotel or guesthouse in Gràcia, which is far and away our favorite part of Barcelona. Cobblestone streets, energetic plazas, and some of the best bars and restaurants in the city? Sign us up. If you want a nice relatively affordable hotel, stay at Hotel Barcelona 1882. If you want to stay in an apartment for a little more space, look at Be Mate Paseo de Gràcia.
  
  
• If it’s your first time in Barcelona, you can’t go wrong with staying centrally in l’Eixample. It’s right in the center of the city, conveniently located between the Old City and Gràcia, and it’s well connected to just about every place you’ll want to visit over the course of your trip. This part of the city is full of great hotels – we’ve stayed at and would recommend Casa Bonay​ (a beautiful boutique hotel) and Praktik Èssens (a nice mid-range option).

What to Do With More Time in Spain and Portugal

If you have more time to spend on exploring Spain and Portugal, here’s what we would add to your itinerary, in order of our preference. 

Granada (+2 Days)

We absolutely loved Granada, and wouldn’t hesitate to go back for one single second. It’s a beautiful city with a rich history that is definitely our first addition to your itinerary. 

From mosques that have been turned into churches but still retain some unique architectural elements, to countless tea houses (Alysha’s favorite!), Granada is a city worth exploring beyond just the Alhambra to understand how the different cultures have mixed over the centuries. 

For more information on Granada, make sure to check out our guide to 2 days in Granada, which has everything you need to know to spend a couple of days in the city, including how to see the Alhambra. 

An Extra Day in Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon (+3 Days)

Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon are all massive cities with a ton to do and see. 

As written, you’re going to have roughly two and a half days in each, which is a little too fast for our tastes (we’d like somewhere between 3-4). 

It’s worth adding an extra day to each city and spreading it out a bit more and allow you to get a little deeper as you explore what makes each of them special and unique. 

We think you should spend a minimum of three days on the Algarve to make the travel time worth it, and five days or so is probably the absolute maximum amount of time we’d recommend down there given all the other amazing places to see in Spain and Portugal.  

Whatever you do, don’t miss hiking the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail while you’re in the Algarve. 

We have an entire Algarve itinerary that we wrote to help you plan your trip. 

OUR RECOMMENDATION: Portugal and Spain in 12 Days (Sevilla + Madrid)

Here’s what it looks like if you choose to do Sevilla and Madrid, which is our personal preference and recommendation. 

Barcelona is great, don’t get us wrong, but we think Sevilla and Madrid offer more in terms of history and culture that we never really learned growing up, and really opened our eyes. 

• Day 0: Arrive in Porto
• Day 1: Porto
• Day 2: Day Trip to Douro Valley (stay in Porto)
• Day 3: Early Morning Travel to Lisbon
• Day 4: Lisbon
• Day 5: Half Day Trip to Sintra + Lisbon
• Day 6: Fly to Sevilla
• Day 7: Sevilla
• Day 8: Day Trip to Córdoba
• Day 9: Travel to Madrid + Explore
• Day 10: Madrid
• Day 11: Day Trip to Toledo
• Day 12: Madrid + Fly Home

In this scenario, you’d fly from Lisbon to Sevilla, which has plenty of options, train from Sevilla to Madrid, and fly home from Madrid. 

Portugal and Spain in 12 Days (Madrid + Barcelona)

Here’s what it looks like if you choose to do Madrid and Barcelona. 

• Day 0: Arrive in Porto
• Day 1: Porto
• Day 2: Day Trip to Douro Valley (stay in Porto)
• Day 3: Early Morning Travel to Lisbon
• Day 4: Lisbon
• Day 5: Half Day Trip to Sintra + Lisbon
• Day 6: Fly to Madrid
• Day 7: Madrid
• Day 8: Day Trip to Toledo
• Day 9: Train to Barcelona
• Day 10: Barcelona
• Day 11: Barcelona
• Day 12: Barcelona + Fly Home 

In this scenario, you’d fly from Lisbon to Madrid, which has plenty of options, train from Madrid to Barcelona, and fly home from Barcelona.