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How Long Should You Spend in Each City in Spain?

By Damian Corrigan, About.com

Question: How Long Should You Spend in Each City in Spain?

When planning your Spanish vacation you need to work out how long to spend in each city. There are few things more frustrating than trying to kill days in a city that you've already 'done' just because you've got accommodation booked there, when you'd rather move on.

Answer: Every major city in Spain has a number of smaller towns and villages around it that you should also visit. The number of days listed below takes into account the number of days you need to enjoy the city itself, plus a couple of the day trips.

Here is my estimate of how long you should spend in each city in Spain. If you find you don't have enough time to see all the cities you wanted to see, leave some out and see them next time! Spain will always be here.

Seven Days or More

    Barcelona Barcelona is a vacation in itself - you could spend at least a week in the Catalan capital just taking in the sights the city has to offer and then a second week seeing the countryside and towns around Barcelona.

Six Days

Five Days

Not only are these cities two of the best in Spain, they each have a number of excellent day trips that should add a couple of days to your stay.

Four Days

  • Bilbao Bilbao has a number of great things to do and is also perfect for day trips to La Rioja, Santander and San Sebastian.

Three Days

None of these cities have a huge amount to do in them, but they are all excellent bases to see the wonderful towns and countryside surrounding them.

Two Days

Most of these could be seen in a single hectic day or a more leisurely two.

One Day

Some of these cities could be visited in half a day, en route from one city to another.
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