Multi-city itinerary · first-timers
Three days of Gaudí and the old city, a high-speed morning to Madrid, then three days of the palace, the Prado and a slower museum corridor. Direct AVE trains take 2 hours 30 minutes. Add Seville if you have a second week.
3 Barcelona · 3 Madrid · trains and tickets checked September 2026
The trip at a glance
Open a day for the stops, the walk and the ticket that belongs to it. Each city day has a full map on its own page.
Day 1 · Barcelona
See the Sagrada Família in the morning light, ride up to Park Güell, walk down through Gràcia for lunch, then finish on Passeig de Gràcia with Casa Milà and Casa Batlló.
Morning
Antoni Gaudí took over the design in 1883 and worked on it until his death in 1926. The basilica is still being built, and its central Tower of Jesus Christ has made it the tallest church in the world. Inside, stained glass colours the forest of tree-like columns blue and green on the east side and orange and red on the west.
Planned as a garden estate for wealthy families, Gaudí's hillside development became a public park instead. The Monumental Zone holds the mosaic dragon on the entrance steps, the columned hall once meant as a market and the long serpentine bench above it, with views to the sea.
Midday
Afternoon
Gaudí's last private house, finished in 1912, earned the nickname La Pedrera, 'the stone quarry', for its rippling stone front. The rooftop, with chimneys shaped like helmeted warriors, is the highlight of the visit.
Gaudí remodelled this townhouse between 1904 and 1906, giving it a facade of coloured glass and ceramic, balconies shaped like masks and a roof that curves like the scaly back of a dragon.
Evening
Sagrada Família and Park Güell timed tickets. Both sell out days ahead in busy months.
Day 2 · Barcelona
Start at La Boqueria market on La Rambla, see Gaudí's Palau Güell and the cathedral, eat in El Born, then the Picasso Museum, the Palau de la Música and a walk in the Ciutadella park.
Morning
Barcelona's most famous food market opens off La Rambla under an iron-and-glass entrance, with stalls of fruit, ham and seafood and small counter bars inside. Go in the morning, before the tour groups arrive.
Gaudí built this mansion just off La Rambla in the late 1880s for his patron Eusebi Güell. Inside, a central hall rises to a dome pierced with small openings, and the roof terrace is crowded with colourful mosaic chimneys.
The Gothic Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia was built mostly between the 13th and 15th centuries, although its main facade was only finished in the late 19th century. Its cloister is home to thirteen white geese, one for each year of the young martyr Eulalia's life.
Midday
Afternoon
Set in five linked medieval palaces in El Born, the museum follows Picasso's formative years in detail, from his student work in Barcelona to his series of variations on Velázquez's Las Meninas.
Lluís Domènech i Montaner's Catalan Art Nouveau concert hall was completed in 1908. Its auditorium is lit through a huge inverted dome of stained glass; see it on a guided visit or, better still, at a concert.
Laid out where an 18th-century fortress once stood, the park hosted the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Enter under the red-brick Arc de Triomf and look for the Cascada Monumental, a grand fountain on which the young Gaudí worked as an assistant.
Evening
The old city is a walk. Palau de la Música is the interior that needs a ticket if you go in.
Day 3 · Barcelona
Ride the cable car up to Montjuïc Castle, walk down through the gardens to the National Art Museum of Catalonia, have lunch in Poble-sec, and end the afternoon on Barceloneta beach.
Morning
The fortress on the summit of Montjuïc, rebuilt in the 18th century, looks over the port, the sea and the whole city. The Montjuïc cable car climbs to it, and paths lead back down through the gardens.
The Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 International Exhibition, houses one of the world's finest collections of Romanesque church murals, rescued from Pyrenean village churches. The terrace in front of it looks straight down the avenue to Plaça d'Espanya.
Midday
Afternoon
The city's best-known beach runs along the old fishermen's quarter of Barceloneta, with a wide promenade, beach bars and seafood restaurants. Swim, walk the seafront at sunset, and keep your belongings with you on the sand.
Evening
Montjuïc uses a taxi, metro or cable car for the climb. The beach is the easy finish.
Day 4 · Madrid
Renfe's first AVE from Barcelona Sants to Madrid Puerta de Atocha leaves at 05:50. Direct AVE trains take 2 hours 30 minutes, station to station. That puts you in Madrid in time to keep the palace day intact — check access, because the Royal Palace is also used for official functions.
Direct AVE in 2 hours 30 minutes. First Barcelona departure 05:50.
Source: Renfe · checked Sep 2026. Fares change with the date — buy on the operator site.Morning
State rooms and ceremonial spaces reveal the scale of the Spanish monarchy’s official palace. Choose a focused interior visit; the vast complex rewards a little time rather than a hurried circuit.
Facing the Royal Palace, Madrid’s cathedral combines a comparatively modern interior with a monumental exterior. Treat the cathedral as the stop here; the museum and dome would add a separate visit.
Midday
Afternoon
An intimate square of historic civic buildings interrupts the busy streets of old Madrid. Its scale makes a useful contrast with the palace and the grand arcades of Plaza Mayor.
Arcades enclose a broad square that has served Madrid as a market and ceremonial gathering place. Walk through more than one archway to see how it connects to the lanes of the old centre.
Evening
Royal Palace ticket once you know the palace is open that day.
Day 5 · Madrid
Give the Prado a full morning. After lunch, walk through Retiro and leave the park by Puerta de Alcalá for Cibeles.
Morning
Velázquez, Goya and other European painters anchor Spain’s great national collection. Pick a manageable route through the paintings and leave time to pause; trying to see every room makes the afternoon harder.
Midday
Afternoon
Tree-lined paths, gardens and a broad boating lake offer a change of pace after the Prado. Follow the paths north toward Puerta de Alcalá instead of crossing the park repeatedly.
A monumental stone gate stands at the northwestern corner of Retiro. View it from the pavements around Plaza de la Independencia; there is no reason to cross into the traffic island.
The fountain and former communications palace create one of Madrid’s grandest streetscapes. This route uses the square as an exterior stop; a rooftop or exhibition visit needs its own time and ticket check.
Evening
Prado morning. Retiro is the outdoor half of the same day.
Day 6 · Madrid
Start on Puerta del Sol, then visit the nearby San Fernando academy. After lunch, follow Calle de Alcalá toward the Thyssen for a focused afternoon collection visit.
Morning
This busy meeting place is the heart of everyday central Madrid, with the clock associated with Spain’s New Year celebrations. Use it as a short outdoor stop before continuing into the surrounding pedestrian streets.
The academy’s museum places paintings and sculpture inside an institution central to Spain’s artistic life. Its position near Sol makes it a manageable morning visit before the larger Thyssen collection.
Midday
Afternoon
The collection follows European and American painting across several centuries, offering a different range from the Prado. Choose a focused route through the galleries and use the rest of the afternoon for the surrounding streets.
Evening
Thyssen hours are shorter on Monday. Check before you lock the day.
Day 7 · Madrid
Six walking days are already spoken for. Use the seventh to linger in Retiro, to catch a museum you skipped on Monday, or to take the AVE south and start three days in Seville.
Only if you continue to Seville: the Real Alcázar timed ticket.
Before you fly
Questions
Yes for a first trip: three clustered days in each city and a 2-hour-30-minute AVE between them. It does not include Seville, Granada or the Basque Country. Seville already has its own 3-day plan if you add nights.
Sagrada Família and Park Güell first. Then the Royal Palace and the Prado. Buy the AVE Barcelona Sants–Madrid Atocha on Renfe; the first train is 05:50.
Yes. Three days in Seville is the natural add-on after Madrid. That is the 10-day Spain trip.
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Ticket, train and opening notes name an official source and the month we checked it. Hours and fares change — open that source before you buy.
Places and coordinates: Wikidata and Tripwoa's open-data place catalog (Overture Maps Foundation, © OpenStreetMap contributors). Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each image. Checked September 2026.