Spain is the land of history, architecture, Anton Gaudi, cobble-paved streets, tapas, paella, sangria…the list goes on! Any number of days in Spain can’t do justice to what it has to offer; you can literally spend months here, and will still feel as if the time was too short. Read on to see how you can experience 10 days in Spain!
Nothing beats Spain during summer (and I am sure it is as beautiful the rest of the year), where you get to enjoy the sights all day long, and can still have a great time with your family during the evenings and late into the night. Read our blog post to learn about the best time to visit Spain before you start planning your vacation. Read on to see how you can experience 10 days in Spain, this itinerary would work with you if you are first-time travelers, or want to go back to explore it in summer.
How We Structured The 10 Day Spain Itinerary
We structured this in a ‘U-shaped’ route, starting at Barcelona and ending at Madrid, which let us visit the famous locations of Seville and Pamplona (“bull-run” festival happens here) as well. If you can spare a few more days, this route will give you an opportunity to visit Valencia too, without having to do a detour of sorts. Scroll down for the Google map that highlights our Spain trip.
For this 10 day Spain itinerary to work for us, we booked an open-jaw ticket, wherein we flew into Barcelona from San Francisco, and returned home from Madrid. You can totally reverse your route and start at Madrid and end with Barcelona, if your flights are better that way!
How To Get Around During Your 10 Days In Spain
Very easy. Just use their outstanding train service that connects all major cities; you don’t need to rent a car at all, unless you are doing a day trip to a remote location. Getting around with their train service is fun and hassle-free, since it is a very well managed system.
You can choose to ride on their high-speed trains (more expensive but faster), or just use their slower regional train service. Even within a city/town in Spain, you don’t need a car. You can walk everywhere in their cobble-paved streets and absorb the beauty that each location has to offer.
Architecture, Tapas, Sangria – The Best 10 Day Spain Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Barcelona and start sight-seeing.
Once you have arrived at the Barcelona international airport (airport code is BCN), be sure to keep your eyes open and absorb the surroundings as you head to your hotel. The buildings are filled with cultural marvel, and you will be surprised that they are not even some famous church or building, they are perhaps just normal shops and grocery stores.
After you have checked-in and freshened up, head to the Barcelona city center, also known as Plaça de Catalunya in the Catalan language or Plaza Cataluña in Spanish. The metro and bus services in Barcelona are extremely well-connected to all parts of the city, so you will not have a problem traveling to and from your hotel. Plaza Cataluña is the largest, busiest and the most famous square in all of Barcelona.
Start day 1 of this 10 day Spain itinerary by consuming one of Gaudi’s greatest masterpieces, the Casa Batlló, which is right at the city center. If you want to go inside the Casa Batlló, you will need to purchase tickets to do so. We didn’t go inside as we wanted to enjoy the outdoor scenic beauty that the Casa and the Plaza had to offer.
Stroll around the square, grab a bite or a coffee from one of the countless cafes in the area and do some people watching. After spending a couple of hours at the square, head over to Park Güell, which is yet another stunning creation by Gaudi. It is a quick 20 minute bus ride from the square. This is a huge park which is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and is now being privately maintained, so you would need tickets to enjoy all that it has to offer.
Check here for tickets and more info on Park Güell. After spending an hour or so, we were already tired and needed a break. If you are traveling with younger kids, be mindful that there is going to be a bit of walking around that’s needed.
Head back to Plaza Cataluña to grab dinner from one of the restaurants. The choices are endless; depending on your budget, you can dine at one of the cute restaurants, or at a fancy one. Irrespective of what you choose, they all provide an extensive list of tapas (meaning small plates) to choose from, so go ahead and try them to your heart’s fill. Spain is known for its sangria, so don’t forget to try that too. We visited in July which was super-hot, so all the more enjoyed the chilled sangria and had more than a couple!
After dinner, you can choose to stroll around the square and return to your hotel using either the metro or bus service. It almost feels as if Barcelona (and all of Spain) doesn’t sleep, so there will still be a lot of hustle bustle in your surroundings, and the transportation services run till late into the night, so do not worry about missing a train or bus, you will always find the next one.
Day 2: Visit the crown jewel of Barcelona – La Sagrada Familia.
We were certainly jet lagged after our long flight from San Francisco, so had to gulp down quite a few cups of coffee along with some croissants, to charge us up for what we had planned for day 2 in Barcelona. You can choose to have the spanish omelette (tortilla de patata) for breakfast as well, but it’s quite a filling dish, so I would recommend it for another day when you probably aren’t in a rush.
After breakfast, head over to La Sagrada Familia, which is THE sight that you absolutely cannot miss when in Barcelona, and is one of the highlights in this 10 day Spain itinerary. This is yet another marvelous creation by Gaudi. It is an unfinished church (and a UNESCO World Heritage site), with construction continuing for well over 140 years.
Like us, if you want to know everything about the history of the church and its architectures, I strongly recommend you book a guided tour to truly enjoy the experience. There are several tour operators in the area that you can choose from, which may overwhelm you, like it did to us. I suggest you pick an operator that runs these tours in smaller groups (a bit more expensive but totally worth it), so that you can actually get to hear the history without too much disturbance from your fellow tour travelers.
You should expect to spend around 2-3 hours here, during which the tour operator will take you through the inside sections of the church, and give you ample opportunities for you to take a lot of memorable pictures with your family.
You can then head over to the Gothic Quarter or Barri Gòtic, which is the historic city center of Old Barcelona. It is filled with narrow medieval streets and old Roman architecture everywhere that you can lay your eyes on. The streets are lined with shops and cafes, so have your fill, whatever it is that excites you the most. We were certainly starving so decided to grab lunch at one of the cafes out here, with the usual – lots of tapas, paella and sangria!
If you are still up for it and aren’t tired already, do plan a visit to San Sebastian Beach, which should take you about 30 minutes to get to from Barri Gòtic. This is Barcelona’s longest beach, and a good area to stroll around, or just sit at one of the beach-facing restaurants and enjoy people watching. Warning: This isn’t officially a nudist beach, but you might end up seeing some people completely off of their clothes.
You can choose to hang around at the beach area for dinner, though we found them to be quite expensive (understandably), or return to your hotel and have dinner close by over there. Plan to call it an early night, since you will be heading over to Seville next morning, which is a good 5.5 hour journey by train.
Day 3: Head south to Seville.
Catch an early morning express train from Barcelona to Seville, which is going to be around 5-6 hours of journey time, depending on the train that you book. I highly recommend you book your train tickets at least a month in advance to be able to buy your tickets in your preferred seating class.
Once you arrive at your hotel and have settled in, head out to visit the Cathedral of Seville. This is another World Heritage Site and entrance is free. After absorbing the beauty of this place, stop by at one of the cafes for a much-needed lunch break. Post lunch, head over to the Royal Alcázar of Seville. This is a historical palace, and tickets are required to enter. This palace was used in the Game of Thrones, specifically to represent the Water Gardens of Dorne and the seat of House Martell.
After spending a couple of hours here, you can choose to go back to the hotel and catch up on some rest. The rest of the day is for you to explore on your own, by walking through the local streets, and finding a nice spot for dinner for you and your family.
Day 4: Explore Seville.
Start your day by visiting Plaza de España, the biggest and most famous square in Seville. For the Star Wars lovers, the plaza was used as the Theed Palace in Episode II – Attack of the Clones. It is magnanimous and will give you several photo opportunities. After spending an hour or so here, you can visit Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla which is the only bullring in Seville. You can plan to watch a bull-fight if desired, so more of this on day 5 in our 10 day Spain itinerary.
Now will be a good time to relax a bit, have some nice lunch and sangria, since we felt it was much hotter in Seville than in Barcelona.
No trip to Seville is complete without watching Flamenco, the most famous Spanish dance form, another highlight of this 10 day Spain itinerary. I highly recommend purchasing tickets well in advance from a reputed operator, since these tickets get sold out very quickly. Tip: Most of the operators do not have reserved seating, so for the best seats, arrive way early!
We perhaps got the worst seats since we arrived just before the show began! The show is generally an hour long, so pick something that works for you in terms of timing towards dinner afterwards. Head back to the hotel and grab some rest, since the next day is packed with more fun!
Day 5: Day trip to Setenil de las Bodegas and Bull-Fight.
Setenil de las Bodegas is a small town roughly around 2 hours south of Seville. Its uniqueness lies in it being a town full of white-washed houses, and more significantly, the entire town is built within the cliffs. You must see it to believe it! You definitely need a car to get here, and booking one is very easy.
The drive to the town itself is very scenic as you will pass through other towns that are also completely white-washed, so feel free to stop for a quick photo! Visiting this town and returning to Seville will consume the main half of the day, so I would suggest returning to the hotel and grabbing a nap before your next adventure!
There is a string of cafes right underneath a giant boulder within the town, but don’t be scared! That is one of the best places to grab a coffee or a drink if that’s what you prefer.
Disclaimer – If you are someone who wouldn’t enjoy a bull-fight, then by all means you can spend your evening wandering the cobble-paved streets of Seville and soaking up on their history and culture.
Watching a bull-fight at Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla is an experience at a whole new level. More than watching the actual fight, you must experience the crowd, the cheers and the food and drinks which you can carry along from outside. A typical bull-fight will last late into the night, however, you can still get dinner at many of the cafes that continue to remain open till late.
Day 6: Travel north to Madrid.
We are now halfway through our 10 day Spain itinerary. Today, travel to Madrid from Seville in a train which is roughly around 3 hours. Again, do not forget to book your train tickets well in advance. Madrid is the capital of Spain, and expectedly is highly populated. This doesn’t mean that it is less worthy of sight-seeing, absolutely not! I would recommend staying in the city’s historical center, also known as Centro. This will keep you close to the major tourist attractions, shops, cafes and nightlife too.
Start your trip in Madrid by having lunch at one of the bustling cafes in Plaza Mayor. Head to the Royal Palace of Madrid, which is the official residence of the Spanish royal family. Tickets are required to visit the palace. You can easily spend a couple of hours here, appreciating the grandeur of the palace.
Visit the nearby streets, or head to Centro and check out the local shops and cafes. Remember that Madrid is very populated, so the feel of Madrid is completely opposite to that of Seville.
Day 7: Explore Madrid.
Today you will get to visit the main Spanish national art museum, Museo Nacional del Prado, and this is a MUST visit in Madrid, another highlight on this 10 day Spain itinerary. Tickets are required to visit the museum, but thankfully, you dont have to buy them too far ahead. This is a huge museum, so it can easily take up to 4 hours if you want to enjoy the museum thoroughly. We were quite tired after 2 hours, so spent some time outside the park visiting the nearby streets.
You can go visit the San Miguel market which is very close to the Plaza Mayor, before having dinner by the plaza. The market is a 100-year old establishment that houses vendors selling Spanish food and wine – a great place to try some local Spanish food! The plaza is a very busy area so you can choose to hang around after dinner or head back to the hotel as you choose.
Day 8: Head west to Pamplona.
Catch an early morning train and head to Pamplona. The distance isn’t too bad, just around 3 to 4 hours. Since you are going to most probably get in before regular hotel check-in timing, drop your bags and head to the main square, where all the action is. We had gone to Pamplona only to experience the “bull-run” during the San Fermin festival, and the entire town was completely packed!
If you do plan to go there during this festival, you MUST book your hotel months in advance. Spend the entire day roaming around the town, people watching and enjoying the crazy festive mood of the festival. To be honest, if you travel with toddlers or younger kids, this may not be the best place to take them, and you could instead choose to spend the extra day in Madrid. Have an early dinner and get some sleep, since you will have to wake up very early the next day to do what you came for – watch running with the bulls!
Day 9: Watch running with the bulls in Pamplona.
You will need to wake up really early in the morning to watch the people running with the bulls in the San Fermin festival, another highlight of this 10 day Spain itinerary.
Now, while watching the bulls is free, since the entire town is fully packed, you will need to book a local’s balcony along the bull route in order to see the activity. Locals rent out their balconies during the festival for tourists to come and enjoy the run. There are many websites that will help you rent a balcony, but this also needs to be done months in advance.
Once you get to the local’s balcony (plan to get there by 6:30 AM local time), depending on what you have booked, they may also offer some coffee and cookies or pastries. Enjoy the view from the balcony while the bull run is happening, and don’t forget to take a lot of pictures! This festival happens once a year, so grab as many memories as you can!
Once you have experienced watching the running of the bulls, there is nothing much to do at Pamplona really. Check out of the hotel and catch a train back to Madrid, which will be your last stop before returning home. Depending on when you get to Madrid, you can spend your time at Centro or Plaza Mayor for the rest of the day.
Day 10: Catch some more sights in Madrid and say goodbye.
Today is the day when you will be wrapping up your Spain trip. While we felt sad leaving this beautiful country, we were happy about returning home. Depending on the amount of time you have, you can visit El Retiro Park, or head to Puerta del Sol, another bustling square with a giant clock.
However you choose to end your trip, it is now time to say goodbye to Spain, until next time! There’s plenty in store for you throughout the year, so check out this post if you want to know when is the best time to visit Spain! Read our comprehensive guide to learn how much does it cost to go to Spain.
Your 10 day Spain Itinerary Map
Need Help Planning Your 10 Day Spain Itinerary?
If you have been putting off your trip thinking this is all so daunting, fret not ‘coz it isn’t! You just need to lay it out on a plan by following our unique 10 day Spain itinerary. If you still need help in planning your trip, we can create a perfectly custom itinerary for you depending on your taste, right from leaving from home, and returning back. If you want us to book all of your travel, hotels and tours, we can do that too! Email us if you need our help experiencing 10 days in Spain with all your senses like never before!