There is so much to see in Spain that it can be overwhelming when planning a week trip to this amazing country! There are tons of cities, beaches and things to see it’s impossible to hit everything. Here is our 7 day Spain itinerary through Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona so you can see how to visit multiple places with a short amount of time! Even though there is definitely a lot we missed, don’t underestimate the amount you can do with just 7 days.
Of course there is so much in Spain and we know this isn’t the only way to spend a week there but hopefully it goes to show that you can do a lot in a short timeframe! You can tweak this itinerary at any point to include a different place that you know you want to see or you can add or take out days based on your schedule!
Travel Truth: In general though we have found that 2 nights or less in one place is a bit too quick. It makes it hard to see more than one neighborhood or explore anything farther away. That’s just our personal preference and what we’ve found works best for us!
Picking Where to Go
When planning any itinerary, picking where to go is often times the hardest part. Even once you’ve narrowed the trip down to 7 days in Spain, there is still so much to consider. Do you want to go to urban Madrid, south to Gibraltar, up to the north, or perhaps to one of the islands?
Sometimes the places you go are determined slightly by flight times, prices and transportation options. For us we were coming from Portugal so our options were to take a train from Lisbon, Portugal to Madrid, Spain or to take a bus from Lagos, Portugal (down south) to Seville, Spain and then work our way across the country.
We knew we wanted to spend time in Barcelona so we chose an overnight train from Lisbon to Madrid. That way we would work our way across more slowly.
Transportation in Spain
We traveled exclusively by trains throughout Spain and found it to be very easy! There are flight options within the country depending on where you’re going but for our stops the train made much more sense! For example, a direct train from Madrid to Valencia costs $25 USD while a flight costs $40-$90 USD depending on time.
In all three of the cities we visited in Spain we found really great public transportation. We had no problem figuring out the tram and the bus in Valencia and became pros at the Metro in Barcelona. If you’re willing to take a few minutes to try to figure out how it works, it was all very easy to use!
7 Day Itinerary
During our 7 days in Spain, we arrived in Madrid, Spain and spent 2 nights in the capital city. Then we took a short train ride to Valencia where we spent 2 nights in this quieter coastal city. We ended our time in Spain by taking another train to Barcelona for 3 nights before leaving.
Days 1-3: Madrid
Madrid is a convenient place to start your time in Spain as the airport is large and there are multiple train stations. Madrid is a large, urban city with beautiful architecture, lots of great food options and beautiful streets! Even if you’re not usually a city person, Madrid is somewhere that surprised us so much! It was really clean and was so pretty to simply walk around.
What To Do in Madrid
Explore Retiro Park
Retiro Park is a slice of nature in the otherwise bustling city of Madrid! It is a large park located in the center of the city. There are countless paths to walk down or benches to sit and simply enjoy. It was so nice and relaxing we even contemplated coming back and working out!
It just has such a nice feel to it as people exercise, families walk together, and visitors pass through. It’s large enough that you can easily find quieter areas with less people or a nice spot to sit for a while. You could easily spend a few minutes or a few hours in Retiro Park! Either way we were really pleasantly surprised by this urban park and would definitely recommend checking it out!
Walk into the Plaza Mayor
Plaza Mayor is the main square in the center of Madrid. It’s impressively large with lots of open space inside. There are some restaurants inside the Plaza Mayor but they generally tend to be more expensive. We went around sunset and the sky was the prettiest pink and blue colors above the remarkable building!
Eat at Mercado de San Miguel
Mercado de San Miguel is a food market in the center of the city. Not a food market to buy fresh produce and groceries but stalls of different types of tapas, olives, sandwiches, seafood and so much more. We saw so many people grabbing some food and a glass of wine and sitting and hanging out. It seemed like the norm was to grab something and then enjoy in one of the eating or standing areas. It’s a great spot to visit for lunch or dinner if you want to try something in a more casual setting. Even if you don’t want to eat anything, it’s interesting to walk through the aisles and see the different types of foods.
It’s about a 5 minute walk from the Plaza Mayor so you can definitely do them together. The prices of food within the Mercado de San Miguel were not the cheapest. We actually found it to be a little on the expensive side compared to the rest of Madrid. But it has a very energetic vibe to it that we really liked so we tried a few things!
Wander Around the Center of Madrid
One of our favorite things in Madrid was just walking around the city. The architecture of so many of the buildings is beautiful. The Cibeles Palace, once the post office, is a seriously amazing building in itself! The charm of all the buildings reminded us a lot of Buenos Aires, another place that we underestimated!
We walked through Retiro Park to the Plaza Mayor and it was a really nice walk. It took us about 25 minutes and is easy to navigate. It wasn’t overly crowded, we got to see so many interesting buildings and passed so many food options along the way!
Day Trip to Segovia
We spent the day going to Segovia, which sits about an hour drive from Madrid. Segovia, as well as Toledo, are both popular day trips from Madrid and have lots of historic charm!
You will quickly see the enormous Aqueduct of Segovia as soon as you arrive. It’s a symbol of Segovia showcasing over 180 arches and is extraordinary given how long ago it was built. A day trip to Segovia would be worth it just to see the sheer size of the aqueduct!
Other highlights within Segovia include the Cathedral of Segovia in the Plaza Mayor as well as the Alcazar of Segovia, a medieval fortress that was used as inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella Castle.
While there definitely were other tourists there (it is a popular day trip), it was really nice to see an area of Spain outside of Madrid that holds so much history!
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Day 3-5: Valencia
Valencia is located on the east coast of Spain and is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona. It has lots to see and do while having a much quieter, coastal feel to it! A train ride from Madrid to Valencia takes under 2 hours which gives you plenty of time on the first day to get out and explore.
- The main train station in Valencia is Valencia Joaquin Sorolla which is located about 1.7 km from the Old City. You can walk in about 20 minutes or take the bus.
- We found the buses in Valencia to be some of the best we have ever used! You can buy a ticket on the bus for 1.50 Euros and the incoming trains are listed on a digital screen at most stations so you know when to expect it.
What To Do in Valencia
Try Paella
Valencia is thought to be the birthplace of Paella and is definitely worth trying! Generally people eat paella for lunch so plan ahead as it’s traditionally not served for dinner. Many of the paella restaurants in Valencia, at least the ones most highly rated for their paella, are open until about 3-4 in the afternoon. It’s something to call and reserve ahead of time as the restaurants fill up and then close!
There are so many options in Valencia. We tried calling to reserve a table (and indicate we wanted paella) at a few restaurants, a couple that were closed for summer vacation and then a few more that were already full for the next day. We ate at Casa Isabel which is on the coast and was really good! Paella is sold per person (for a minimum of 2 people) and cost us 16 Euros per person so about $35 USD total.
Travel Truth: It’s definitely one of the most expensive lunches we have ever had but in the place where paella was created, we had to try it! And it did not disappoint, it was really delicious!
Explore the Ciutat Vella (Old City)
Walk around the Old City and you’ll find the Valencia Cathedral, El Miguelete Tower, Santa Catalina Church, and lots of plazas to sit and relax! We spent a few hours walking around the Ciutat Vella looking at the historical buildings and found it really wasn’t all that crowded. A bit farther from the bigger plazas we found streets where we were the only ones!
Visit the City of Arts and Sciences
The City of Arts and Sciences is an incredibly cool place to visit! We completely underestimated it thinking it would just be modern buildings but it is so much more than that. It’s like a large park with modern structures and reflecting pools all around. We got there around sunset and with the soft colors of the sky, it was really beautiful!
We both found it quiet and relaxing to walk through. It’s definitely not something to skip if you’re in Valencia! It’s a bit far away from the Old City but you can easily take the bus or we walked and it took us about 40 minutes. You can walk from the Old City through the park the whole way that leads into the City of Arts and Sciences and the entire walk you’ll see people walking, running and just enjoying being outside.
Relax at Playa de Malvarrosa
Playa de Malvarrosa is a popular beach in Valencia with plenty of space to lay your towel down and relax. You can opt to bring your own or rent a chair or umbrella. It is a very large beach so you’re bound to find a spot to set up. There is a large promenade where you can find toilets, restaurants and cafes as well as nearby parking.
- From the Old City you can drive and park near the beach or take the bus which will take about 30-40 minutes.
Walk through the Central Market
The Central Market of Valencia is one of the biggest markets in Europe and is housed in a beautiful, colorful building. It’s open until 3:00 PM every day, expect it’s closed on Sundays, so if you’re planning on going definitely go early in the day! It’s located right in the Old City so you can easily do it along with other highlights nearby.
How Much Does it Cost to Travel in Spain? Budget Breakdown
Day 5-7: Barcelona
The train from Valencia to Barcelona takes about 3-4 hours depending on the type of train you take. Most trains will come into the Barcelona Sants train station which is a large station and easy to transfer to another line if needed.
- We stayed a little farther away from the main center of Barcelona so we bought a 10 journey ticket. It’s valid for 10 rides within one zone. You can use it between two people so for us it gave us both 5 rides which was perfect and by the time we left we had used them all! The 10 journey card cost 10.20 Euros, however, a single ride costs 2.20 Euros. So we actually ended up saving about 12 Euros by buying it!
What To Do in Barcelona
Marvel at the Sagrada Familia
The Sagrada Familia is an enormous basilica in Barcelona that has been under construction for over 130 years. It still remains unfinished today and is now projected to be completed in 2026. It’s taken over 130 years to complete as Gaudis original design has been changed time and time again by his predecessors.
It is one of the most visited sites in Barcelona so you absolutely have to plan your visit ahead if you’re looking to go inside. Tickets often sell out in the busier summer months. A ticket just for the basilica costs 17 Euros while the basilica with an audio guide costs 25 Euros. There are other options too including a guided tour, the Gaudi House Museum and the Towers.
- As you walk up to the Sagrada Familia you can see all the people taking pictures, waiting to go inside or buying tickets. It attracts so many visitors and can be very crowded depending on when you go.
- That said, the size of it is remarkable especially considering it’s not even finished yet! The fact that it’s also taken so long is truly unique. We didn’t pay to go inside but it is worth walking up to as you can get views of the whole exterior as you walk around the perimeter.
Skip La Rambla
La Rambla is a popular street in the center of Barcelona known as being one of the most iconic streets in the city. It goes from Placa Catalunya and connects the Gothic Quarter with the El Raval neighborhood.
It was so incredibly crowded when we visited that it was hard to actually enjoy it. Pictures online depict it as a beautiful, tree lined street but it looked more like a street with lots of souvenir shops. We were very underwhelmed and would say to skip La Rambla and walk down a prettier, quieter street with more charm like the ones above!
Walk By the Barcelona Cathedral
From Placa Catalunya and La Rambla you’re a close walk to the Barcelona Cathedral. It has a similar gothic style as La Sagrada Familia. It’s beautiful even just from the outside but if you’re looking to go inside it costs 7 Euros and is open for tourists only after 12:30 PM so plan accordingly.
Eat Lots of Tapas
Tapas basically just means a small portion of food and there are so many varieties. We found them in Madrid as well as Barcelona but regardless of where it’s a really nice way to try a few things without getting too much of it. We tried patatas braves, croquettes, pan con tomate (tomato toast) and anchovies of course with a glass of sangria!
Enjoy Parc Guell
Parc Guell is another one of the top things to do in Barcelona. It is a large park designed by Gaudi about 4.5 km from the Gothic Quarter. You can walk in just under an hour or take the Metro in about 25 minutes.
Parc Guell is very large and while most can be accessed by anyone for free, there is also a Monumental Area that is restricted and requires tickets. The Monumental Area features the mosaics, most likely what you’re thinking of when you look up anything about the park. Tickets costs 10 Euros to enter that area. If you are going to visit definitely buy tickets beforehand as they do sell out!
Travel Truth: We contemplated visiting Parc Guell but ultimately decided against it. Although it looks beautiful, for us 20 Euros is quite expensive to walk around a park. We debated going to the free part of the park to see what we could but it’s quite far from everything else so we decided to skip it.
Day 8: Leave or Continue on!
That wraps up our 7 day Spain itinerary. At the end of day 7 you can easily fly out of Barcelona back home or continue on to another destination. If you have more or less time, this rough itinerary can easily be modified based on your time as well as what you’re looking to do. Hopefully you’ve been able to see that you can still cover so much ground in a relatively short amount of time!
