The main route in this 8 days in Spain itinerary described by an expert traveler
If you do not know Spain and don’t have time, we recommend you start and focus on the main cities of Spain with this 8 days in Spain itinerary to get to know Madrid and Barcelona.
In this post we are going to explain the main places to visit and know for the 8 days in Spain itinerary. If by area connection you are better off starting from Barcelona, no problem, you can also do the reverse route. We are going to write it starting from Madrid, since there are a greater number of international flights but we can arrange with the inverse itinerary.
Day 5: Arrival in Barcelona and visit of the city
Day 6: Barcelona and the Work of Antonio Gaudi
Day 7: Girona and the Costa Brava from Barcelona
Day 1: Arrival to Madrid
Madrid airport is called Adolfo Suarez airport, it is one of the busiest airports in Spain and consists of 4 Terminals and is located 30 minutes from the city. Here begins your 8 days in Spain itinerary! Continue reading for the details!
How to get to Madrid from the Airport?
We recommend you take our Private Transfer Option, our driver will be waiting with a sign with your name, at all times we control the landing time so that if you are late you do not have to worry, we are attentive and when you land there the driver will be waiting.
Day 2: What to see in Madrid
After the previous day, long hours at the airport, tiredness, and once you had recovered your strength and eager to start getting to know a new city, we recommend you get up early and if you can find a bar near your hotel to have some churros with chocolate for breakfast (very typical breakfast in Madrid) and start to know the city. This is the first day of your 8 days in Spain itinerary!
- Prado Museum: It is considered one of the most important in the world and the most visited in the world, its main attraction lies in the wide presence of Velazquez, El Greco, Goya, Tiziano, Rubens and Bosco, it has the best and most extensive collections that exist in the world, to which there are so many important authors such as Murillo, Ribera, Zurbarán, Fra Angelico, Rafael, Veronese, there are many more, for this reason we consider a Mandatory Visit in Madrid.
Puerta del Sol: It is the most famous square in Madrid and a meeting point for many people from Madrid. - Plaza Mayor: It is located near the Royal Palace and the Puerta del Sol.
- Gran Vía: It is the best known and most popular street in Madrid.
- Retiro Park: It is the largest park in Madrid, you can go for a walk, and enjoy the lake and a boat ride.
- Puerta de Alcalá: It is one of the 5 royal gates of Madrid and one of the most important monuments in the city.
- Plaza de Cibeles: Where Real Madrid celebrates victories
Callao Square - Neptun Fountain: Where Atlético de Madrid celebrates victories
- Plaza de Oriente
- Royal Theatre
- Royal Palace: It is the residence of the Spanish Royal Family. You can visit the official salons, royal armory and royal pharmacy
Spain square - Almudena Cathedral: One of the first churches consecrated by the Pope outside of Rome.
- Santiago Bernabéu Stadium: The field of the Real Madrid Soccer Team.
- Bullring of Las Ventas
- Mercado San Miguel: Although it is a very touristy place, it is worth going for lunch or dinner.
- Much more! Wow there’s so much to do and see in this 8 days in Spain itinerary!
Recommended tours of Madrid:
Day 3: Day trip to Toledo
Upon arrival in Toledo, you cannot miss one of the most spectacular views of the Spanish Medieval City. That is why I recommend you either go in your own car or book our Tour to Toledo from Madrid, so you can take the panoramic view and then the tour of the center, if you go with your car the guide can also wait for you directly in Toledo and get in your car and start the Panoramic tour for this day 3 of your 8 days in Spain itinerary.
Located in a privileged environment and surrounded almost entirely by the Tagus River, the longest in Spain, which surrounds it as if it protected it within a horseshoe arch, it appears majestic to us, located high up , the City of the Three Cultures.
From the Mirador del Valle del Río Tajo, we can contemplate magnificent views of the Imperial City.
To the right at the highest point, we will see the Alcázar de Toledo, an old Arab fortification that served as a defense at the entrance to the city, the Kings Palace, a military building and currently the National Army Museum.
In the center, with its 92-meter-high bell tower, the unmistakable Cathedral of Toledo, considered the Primacy or first, for residing right in front, in the Archbishop’s Palace, the First Archbishop of Spain, is impressive.
The Cathedral of Toledo is the second largest Cathedral in Spain and probably the one with the most wealth inside.
A building, which apart from its religious importance, stands out for the immense architectural, sculptural and pictorial heritage that it houses inside, such as the small Museo del Greco that is located in the Sacristy.
The wonderful Altarpiece ordered to be built in the 16th century, by Cardinal Cisneros, spiritual confidant of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I of Castile, the Catholic Queen, is a jewel of flowery Gothic art made of larch wood, aromatic wood and durable covered in golden bread, located on the High Altar.
The largest and most spectacular Custody of Spain, made with 18 kilograms of 24 carat gold and 183 kilograms of gilded silver with 5,600 precious stones, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, pearls and emeralds, owned by most of Queen Elizabeth, we can find in the treasure and here I will tell you in more detail how they teach it in procession through the streets of Toledo, all adorned and flowered, to all citizens once a year on the day of Corpus Christi.
On the left, we will see the views of the old Jewish quarter of which was the capital of the ancient Sephardic, the small Jerusalem, as well as the Sephardim or Sephardim who lived in its streets for eight hundred years, in perfect coexistence with Arabs and Christians in the known as the City of the Three Cultures, an example of coexistence and tolerance in the world.
We will say goodbye with a photo to immortalize that moment seeing in front of us a Roman city of more than 2,000 years, cradle of kings and civilizations, with a Roman Bridge at the entrance of the River to the city and another at the exit at the other angle, Gothic style built in the fourteenth century, which gives access to the old Jewish quarter of Toledo.
Then we will continue our tour by car, to forget about it until we return to Madrid and we will begin to walk through those dark, winding streets, many with no exit and all cobbled and we will experience the sensation of finding ourselves walking through a medieval city in the Spain of the 16th century.
We will think that at any time and in any alley we will look like a Christian Knight on horseback covered with his armor, threatening us with his unmistakable Toledo-made sword.
Stroll through a magnificently preserved medieval city, full of history and art, considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1986, with the second largest historic center in Europe after Rome and with more than 100 places declared a Site of Cultural Interest, it is simply a pleasure for the senses.
Day 4: Day trip to Segovia
On the fourth day of your 8 days in Spain itinerary, we are still in Madrid and this time we are going to the unique city of Segovia. Another city worth visiting and enjoying its gastronomy, the best known, is the Suckling Pig from Segovia. I recommend you book in advance, as restaurants are usually full and you have to order the suckling pig.
What to see in Segovia?
- Aqueduct: One of the main monuments of the city and perfectly preserved, it is a Roman aqueduct built in the 2nd century.
- Alcázar de Segovia: It is located in the old city of Segovia, declared a Unesco World Heritage.
- Segovia Cathedral: Known as the Lady of the Cathedrals and located in the Plaza Mayor
- Puerta de San Andrés: Old wall that surrounds the city.
- Jewish Quarter: The Old Jewish Quarter resided a large Hebrew community, today it has become one of the most charming corners of the city.
Day 5: Arrival to Barcelona and visiting the city
How to get to Barcelona from Madrid?
To go to Barcelona from Madrid we can go by various means of Transport: Car, Plane or AVE (Train). The fastest is the AVE, it is a high-speed train and we can reach Barcelona in a maximum of 3 hours, also it is not necessary to arrive at the station two hours in advance, we can arrive 30 minutes before the train departs. We will continue with our route through Spain to get to know the city of Barcelona. This is the middle of your 8 days in Spain itinerary and when you get to go from Madrid to Barcelona.
What will we see?
Once you arrive in Barcelona, we recommend you book a private 4-hour tour of the city from the station, instead of booking a transfer to go to the hotel, the same driver and guide will pick you up from the station and we will begin the tour of the city from Barcelona to get to know as much of the city as possible. You have to take advantage of the day, so we recommend you leave Madrid early to arrive in Barcelona at noon.
This first day we will focus on the city, leaving Gaudí’s history and monuments for the next day, since GAUDI deserves a day and we have to enter its main monuments: Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.
- Barceloneta: It is one of the most famous neighborhoods in the city
Olympic port - Montjuic: excellent viewpoint to contemplate the city and is full of tourist attractions (Magic Fountain, Montjuic Castle, Spanish Village, Montjuic Olympic Ring …)
- Gaudí Monuments: Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera …
- Gothic Quarter: One of the oldest neighborhoods in the city
- Las Ramblas: Main arteries of Barcelona and one of the best known places in the city. It is a pleasant 1.3 kilometer walk that connects
- Plaza Catalunya with the old port of the city.
- Camp Nou: Barcelona Club Soccer Field
- Much more
Private 4 Hours Tour of the city of Barcelona
Day 6: Barcelona and the works of art of Antonio Gaudi
Antoni Gaudí was possibly the most revolutionary architect of modernism and of architecture in general. We cannot miss this in our 8 days in Spain itinerary. Gaudi is a total must! We are going to focus this day on its History and its 4 main monuments: Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Batllo and La Pedrera.
Antonio Gaudi’s most important works:
- Sagrada Familia: Catholic basilica of Barcelona, designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí. Started in 1882, it is still under construction. It is the masterpiece of Gaudí, and the greatest exponent of Catalan modernist architecture
- Park Guell: Park Güell is a huge garden with many architectural elements made by the architect Antonio Gaudí.
- Casa Batlló: It is a building by the architect Antoni Gaudí, maximum representative of Catalan modernism
- La Pedrera: Another great monument of the architect Antonio Gaudi and his last great work.
Recommended Gaudi Tours:
Private walking tour of Casa Batlló and La Pedrera
Day 7: Girona and the Costa Brava from Barcelona
We cannot leave Barcelona and this route through Spain without knowing Girona and its beautiful coast, most towns have a special charm, so if we have to choose by proximity we recommend: Tamariu, LLafranc and Calella de Palafrugell.
We would start the day early in the morning for the last day of your 8 days in Spain itinerary and in Girona will be your stop. We have left behind the beautiful white villages for last to eat in a typical place and to take a bath in the afternoon and relax before returning to Barcelona.
What to see in Girona?
- Historic Center of the city: The most important places in the old town are the Rambla de la Libertad, the Plaza de la Independencia and the Jewish quarter known as “El Call” which is one of the best preserved medieval towns in all of Europe.
- Girona Cathedral: Cathedral was built between the 11th and 18th centuries. Three architectural styles can be seen in its architecture: – Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque.
Arab baths
Girona walls
Hanging houses of the Oñar river - Much more!!
Once we finish Girona, we are going to go to the coast to LLafranc, Tamariu and Calella de Palafrugell.
Recommended Costa Brava Tour:
Private Tour of Girona and Costa Brava 10 Hours
Day 8: Departure transfer
I hope you liked the POST of the 8 days in Spain itinerary through Spain. My goal was to explain one of the most important routes in Spain and the most recommended if it is the first time you travel to Spain. If you are interested in contacting us so that we can quote for you a private itinerary, we are at your disposition.
Here is our contact form bellow. If you want a specific Tour, please let us know and if you want to visit on your own you have the route that we recommend for the 8 days in Spain itinerary.
