Weekend in Southern parts of Europe - Where??

Hoping to gather some out of the box but realistic ideas for a weekend in late September.

Working in Milan until Friday afternoon. Need to be in Madrid monday morning for work.

I don’t want to spend it in Milan or Madrid… and i recently spent a weekend in Piedmont…

Options I was thinking:

  • 2 hr train to venice for the weekend… sunday evening flight to Madrid
  • 2 hr train to cinque terre - same idea
  • Fly to seville friday… 2 hr train sunday evening to madrid.

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

I guess it would depend on what you want to do. Tour, Eat/drink, just relax… Since you can get just about anywhere pretty easily a lot is on the table.

I might pick a city that you may not have an opportunity to easily get to again.

George

Granada, Almeria? If you decide to go to either, let me know.

Nola, is Granada Better than Seville? Alhambra obviously. Is there the tapas and flamenco business as well? Thanks!

Gattinara / Ghemme are very close to Milano Malpensa, and a weekend wouldn’t leave you feeling like you’d need another week to get what you’d want out of it. If you want a town/city, then Novara is pleasingly under-touristed, yet with fine architecture / easy to stroll around.

Maybe there is an equivalent location at the Madrid end?

They are both exquisite! You have monuments in both places. I know there are Flamenco places in both Granada and Seville. Granada has some of the original gypsy caves in the Sacromonte, the Royal Chapel, Cathedral, the Albaicin and others. More than a couple days in each place is suficiente.

Another very easy option from Madrid would be Toledo. Lots of incredible stuff to see there and only an hour away at most.

South France ? Maybe too much in terms of logistics ca time?

Lisbon with Sintra, Estoril and Cascais nearby. My vote, however, would be Cinque Terre having been there 3 times. Love it.

Barcelona is a slam dunk.

I really liked Segovia which is north-north-west of Madrid. There is a fair bit to see there. Suckling pig is also a big thing there (which may have contributed to my enjoyment of the city). I also liked Ronda in the South. San Sebastian would also be on my list of options

It is only a short flight to Lisbon or Porto from Madrid as well if you haven’t been. I’m not sure how easy it is to get to either from directly from Milan