7-Day Spain Itinerary: Your Gateway to Cultural Diversity and Avant-Garde Architecture
Written by Sofia Recto | Edited by Bianca Versoza
Spain is one of the most popular destinations in Europe, and for good reason. With a landmass vast enough to contain four different biogeographical regions and a history spanning over 35,000 years, Spain offers a wide variety of attractions, both natural and man-made, from the Moorish fortresses on the Sierra Nevada to the avant-garde architecture of Barcelona to the historic streets of Madrid.
With so much to see, condensing the entire country’s essence into a seven-day trip is a difficult task. To ensure you don’t miss out on the best the country offers, we’ve outlined an itinerary covering the highlights: Barcelona, Madrid, and Granada.
Spain itinerary summary
Day |
City |
Attractions |
Day 1 |
Barcelona |
|
Day 2 |
Barcelona |
|
Day 3 |
Barcelona → Madrid |
|
Day 4 |
Madrid |
|
Day 5 |
Madrid → Granada |
|
Day 6 |
Granada |
|
Day 7 |
Granada |
|
Day 1: Arrival in Barcelona
Barcelona is the capital and largest city of Catalonia, an autonomous community located in northern Spain. It is known for its cultural diversity, avant-garde architecture, and proximity to beaches and mountains. The wide array of attractions available makes it a great entry point to the country.
After checking into your hotel, the best way to start your trip is to orient yourself with a walking tour. With pedestrian-friendly streets and a comprehensive public transport system, Barcelona is easy to navigate on foot. A good walking tour would help you get a sense of where everything in the city is located.
A good option is Free Walking Tours Barcelona. The tour lasts two to two and a half hours and is available in English every day at any hour between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Guides discuss the history of the city while also providing personal tips about what to do and where to eat.
However, if you prefer doing it yourself, hitting the same locations is an easy task. Here are the best stops for an introductory Barcelona walking tour.
Plaça de Catalunya
Plaça de Catalunya is considered the heart of Barcelona, dividing the historic Gothic Quarter from Barcelona’s modern neighborhood. With a surface area spanning 50,000 square meters, it is one of the largest squares in Spain.
Aside from being a good place to orient yourself in the city, Plaça de Catalunya is a prime shopping location. Multiple shops and department stores surround the area.
Las Ramblas
If New York City has Times Square, Barcelona has Las Ramblas. This 1.2-kilometer pedestrian street stretches out from Plaça Catalunya and overflows with restaurants, souvenir shops, and other tourist establishments. Its status as Barcelona’s most famous street makes it a magnet for tourists, so be prepared for large crowds, especially during the peak season.
Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi
A few streets south of Las Ramblas lies the Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi, a massive Catholic church built in the 14th century. The exterior, with its stone facade and intricate stained-glass window patterns, is a sight to behold, but if you have time to step inside, consider checking out the church museum’s collection of historic silverware and goldware, or climbing up the bell tower for a view of the city.
The Gothic Quarter
Formerly a Roman village, the Gothic Quarter is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. Most of the buildings lining its labyrinthine streets date back to the medieval era or earlier. Like Las Ramblas, the Gothic Quarter is very tourist-centric, teeming with tapas restaurants, cafes, museums, and souvenir shops.
If you have time, consider stopping by one of the following:
- The Picasso Museum
- Museo d’Historia del Barcelona
- Mercat de La Bouqueria
- Plaça Sant Jaume
- The Cathedral of Barcelona
Day 2: Gaudi Highlights
The second day is the best time to venture off Barcelona’s city center. We’ve listed a few locations you should consider.
Park Guell
Park Guell is another one of Gaudi’s masterpieces. Originally conceived as a housing project, it is now a private urban park that spans 170,000 square meters and contains modernist buildings, artistic sculptures, and other architectural structures designed by Gaudi.
The park is open from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Like most attractions, it is best visited in the morning when crowds are sparse. Regular tickets cost $10, with lower fares for children, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia is one of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Designed by famed architect Antoni Gaudi, the cathedral began construction in 1882 and remains unfinished. It is celebrated for its avant-garde style, with crowds of symbolic statues adorning its facade and intricate stained glass windows lining its many towers.
The Sagrada Familia is the least populated in the mornings. However, if you don’t mind crowds, consider an afternoon visit. The high sun strikes the glass windows at an angle that casts their bright colors into the cathedral interior. No photo can do the sight justice.
Regular tickets cost €26.00, but discounts are available for children, persons with disabilities, seniors, students, and adults under 30. If your visit coincides with a Sunday, you can attend a Catholic mass in Spanish and enter the cathedral for free.
Day 3: Transfer to Madrid
The easiest way to get from Barcelona to Madrid is by high-speed train, which takes around two and a half hours. Tickets cost approximately €13.93 when purchased in advance. The trip starts at Barcelona Sants station and ends at the Puerta de Atocha Station.
Madrid is the capital and largest city in Spain. It is a bastion of culture and the center of most of the country’s government activity. Expect museums, parks, palaces, and grand government buildings.
Like with Barcelona, it’s best to start your visit with a walking tour. You’ll want to cover the following stops:
Puerta del Sol
In English, Puerta del Sol translates to “sun’s gate.” This plaza originated as a gate and was named for its sun-facing orientation to the east. As the intersection point between Madrid’s most significant roads, Puerto del Sol has become one of the city’s busiest squares. It is a very popular meeting point for locals and tourists alike!
Plaza Mayor
At the heart of the city stands the Plaza Mayor, the center of public activity in historic Madrid. Constructed in 1580, this square has seen everything from public executions to bullfights to markets. These days, it mainly hosts special events, such as workshops, concerts, festivals, and Madrid’s famous Christmas market.
As a famous landmark, Plaza Mayor teems with tourist-centric establishments, including restaurants, souvenir shops, and other stores. You’re likely to encounter street performers busking for tips.
The Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of Spain’s royal family. It is the largest royal palace in Europe, spanning approximately 135,000 square meters and comprising over 3,000 rooms.
Two of the palace’s gardens, namely the Sabatini and Campo del Moro gardens, are open to the public year-round. They’re popular picnic spots for tourists and locals alike.
Entering the palace proper might cut your walking tour time, but if you’re interested, tickets are €12, with discounts for seniors, students, and children. We recommend booking a guided tour to gain deeper insights into the palace’s architectural details and history.
Almudena Cathedral
Compared to many religious structures in Europe, the Almudena Cathedral is one of the younger buildings, having been built in 1883 and finished only a century later. Still, it remains one of the most important churches in the city, serving as the seat of the Archdiocese of Madrid.
While not as avant-garde as the Sagrada Familia, the Almudena Cathedral’s interior is still worth visiting for the intricate stained glass artworks lining the ceilings and windows.
Day 4: Madrid Immersion
Once you’re done hitting the landmarks, it’s time to dive into some more immersive activities. Two stand-out options are the Museo Nacional del Prado and El Retiro Park. Del Prado is just a few hundred meters away from one of Retiro Park’s western gates, so it will be easy to tackle both locations in a single day.
Museo del Prado
The Museo del Prado is one of the largest art museums in the world. It houses a comprehensive collection of paintings from some of Europe’s most iconic artists, including Francisco Goya, Diego Velasquez, Hieronymous Bosch, and Caravaggio. Some famous works include:
- Las Meninas (Velasquez)
- The Black Paintings (Goya)
- The Garden of Earthly Delights (Heironymous Bosch)
- The Knight with His Hand on His Chest (El Greco)
- The Cardinal (El Greco)
The museum is so massive that viewing the entire collection in one day is nearly impossible. A guided tour can take you through the museum’s highlights while shedding light on the lives of the artists, their unique techniques and artistic choices, the historical context of each piece, and common interpretations of their work.
It is best to visit the museum in the morning. Popular paintings, such as the Las Meninas and The Garden of Earthly Delights, attract particularly large crowds later in the day. Opening hours run from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM from Monday to Saturday and 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Sundays. Admission is free two hours before closing, but this gives you limited time to appreciate the museum.
General admission tickets cost €15, while reduced admission tickets (for individuals over 65, youth card holders, and members of large families) cost €7.50. You can also refer to the official Museo del Prado website to see if you qualify for free entry.
El Retiro Park
A stroll through El Retiro Park can provide well-needed rest and relaxation after days of non-stop activity. This UNESCO Heritage site spans 350 acres and houses multiple zoological gardens, sculptures, fountains, and other monuments. It is also home to an artificial lake, where boat rentals are available, and two exhibition halls: the Glass Palace and the Velasquez Palace.
Many restaurants, bars, and terraces surround the park premises. Outdoor cafes are also available inside the property, making it an excellent location for picnics.
You can enter the park free of charge. Despite its popularity among tourists and locals alike, the park’s vastness prevents crowdedness from becoming an issue, which means there’s no ideal time to visit. We recommend stopping by late in the afternoon to avoid the Spanish sun.
Day 5: Transfer to Granada
No trip to Spain is complete without visiting Granada. Home to the seven-hundred-year-old Alhambra, the city is renowned for its distinctive atmosphere and architecture, which it owes to the rich blend of cultures—including Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Romani people—that have settled there throughout history.
The best way to get from Madrid to Granada is by train. The trip, which starts at Madrid’s Atocha Station and ends at the Granada railway station, takes about three and a half hours and costs upwards of €40.
Between arriving in Granada and checking into your hotel, you may not have time to pay the Alhambra a comprehensive enough visit. Therefore, it’s best to spend your first day touring the mountain areas. A guided night hike will give you both a workout and a deeper understanding of the city’s history.
Most night hikes will take you through the following locations:
Albaicín
Before the Spanish Inquisition, Granada was a place of religious and cultural tolerance. Christians, Jews, and Muslims coexisted peacefully in the Albacaín barrio, a neighborhood built on the Sierra Nevada during the 13th-century Moorish rule. These dwellings remain available for viewing today.
The neighborhood consists of cobblestone streets sloping up between tightly packed apartment buildings. Because it rests on the Sierra Nevada, requires a moderate degree of physical fitness. However, there are many bars, restaurants, and outdoor cafes available if you need to rest.
Sacromonte
Further up the Sierra Nevada lies Sacromonte, a neighborhood established in the 15th century to house Granada’s Roma population. Following the expulsion of non-Christians from the Albacaín, many Roma migrants settled close to the neighborhood, carving dwellings into the mountain’s many slopes and caves.
Sacromonte is famous for being the birthplace of Flamenco. If you have time, it is worth catching a Flamenco show in one of Sacromonte’s caves.
Generalife Meadow
The Generalife Meadow is a nature reserve that offers good views of Granada and the Alhambra. If you’re not taking a guided tour, consider stopping by to rest, have a picnic, or simply bask in nature after a long day of hiking.
Silla del Moro
The Silla del Moro, also known as the Santa Elena Castle, is a surveillance lookout built during the Moorish rule. Like the Generalife Meadow, it offers good views of Alhambra and the city of Granada.
Paseo de los Tristes
A great place to end your hike is the Paseo de los Tristes. This street borders the Darro River, dividing the hills of the Alhambra and the Albacaín. At night, its restaurants and bars are alive, and tourists are looking up at the illuminated Alhambra.
Day 6: Explore the Alhambra
Finally, we arrive at the Alhambra. Resting on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada, this seven-hundred-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site spans 100 acres and houses some of the grandest architectural monuments Spain has to offer.
Following its completion in 1358, the Moorish military fortress has seen multiple repair and reconstruction efforts throughout history. Like the Albacaín, the Alhambra boasts of a unique blend of Islamic and Christian influences, making it unique from typical European palaces.
Since the destination is so popular, it’s best to buy tickets at least two months in advance. We also recommend booking a guided tour if you want to gain deeper insight into Alhambra’s history.
Should you choose to navigate the Alhambra alone, we recommend the following sites:
- The Palace of Charles V
- The Alhambra Museum
- Patio de Los Leones
- Sala de los Abencerrajes
- Palacio el Partal
Day 7: Departing Granada
It might be best to reserve your last day for flight preparations. However, if you’re not in a rush, you may still have time to explore Granada’s old town. The historic center lies at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and houses multiple plazas, religious buildings, and craftsman stores. The marketplaces sell unique wares, including jewelry, bronze, fabrics, pottery, and other handicrafts.
If you’re exiting Spain through Barcelona, book a taxi to the Federico García Lorca Granada Airport. Getting from Granada to Barcelona via plane takes approximately an hour and a half, but it’s best to make a few hours allowance in case of delays. You can also take a train from the Granada railway station to Barcelona Sants station, which takes a little over six hours.
Discover the best of Spain in 7 days
Spain has something for everyone: architecture, nature, food, history, nightlife — you name it. A well-planned itinerary can help you see it all in just seven days. We hope our recommendations can help you plan your ideal Spain trip.