planning a eurotrip... London & Paris are the first two stops but trying to decide between these two cities to complete a 2 week trip

4/8/2011 11:45:43 AM

Well if you want to get out of Western Europe (although I'm sure Spain's amazing), you should come to Budapest. This place has a ton of character and a personality all it's own. Plus there's some AMAZING stuff around here.

Regardless, my vote would be Madrid. From what I understand Barcelona is pretty "only go here" as far as tourism goes. What I mean by that is only go where the tourguides tell you, otherwise... you'se gonna die.

4/8/2011 11:52:22 AM

Madrid looks like there will be alot more sights but the locals just aren't as friendly. We'll also be going in March 2012 btw so Barcelona's beaches will be cold

4/8/2011 11:56:44 AM

Barcelona was probably the "coolest" city I went to while in Europe (hit a ton of places on a 2-month backpacking trip). Hate to use the cliche words...but it was definitely the "hippest", "funkiest" city. There's a thread about a 1/3 of the way down this page that talks about it...but from people I know that have toured a lot of Spain, Barcelona is a lot funner than Madrid.

4/8/2011 12:44:13 PM

i visited Madrid in 2001

sat down in a restaurant to grab some lunch, and had a very odd server

she wouldn't give me my food until i told her my opinion on GW Bush (i was like 17 and didn't give a shit, i was starving)

4/8/2011 12:44:20 PM

Do you speak Spanish? If so go to Madrid, it'll be easier getting around. If not, you won't understand what they're saying at either place so go to Barcelona.

4/8/2011 1:15:16 PM

^I feel like that's a myth.

I speak some broken Spanish and I was able to understand a ton of the basic stuff in Barcelona as well as ask questions to get around that the locals were able to answer.

Just because they don't speak regular Spanish, doesn't mean they don't know it. And it's not like Catalan is a completely different language than Spanish...they have a ton of similarities.

4/8/2011 1:29:19 PM

My opinions are generally in line with what has been posted.

Madrid feels more adult, more serious, compared to Barcelona, which does have a more artistic or Bohemian feel. As a tourist, the main draws in Madrid will be public areas, like Plaza Mayor and Buen Retiro, or museums, like the Prado. Compare this to Barcelona, where the public areas of interest are Parc Guell and Las Ramblas - which I believe still includes an erotica museum emblazoned with a giant phallus - and the differences are well illustrated.

I would note that Barcelona is likely to be more temperate. Madrid can get rather cold in March, but the proximity to the water makes Barcelona a bit more predictable. The food is great in either city, but I found Barcelona's restaurants to be more relaxed. I'd say you might be expected to use Spanish more often in Madrid, but American's are easily identified and most people won't bother to watch you sputter along, instead responding in English.

4/8/2011 1:43:39 PM

make sure to try telepizza while you're there.

4/8/2011 1:54:51 PM

Personally, I liked Madrid more than Barcelona. Then again, I actually enjoy bullfights so I spent most of my day at the bullfights. Barcelona is nice, lots of cool places. However, if I had to choose one, it would be Madrid. Also, Madrid is a great jumping off point for day trips to Sevilla and Toledo.

I agree with the comments on Budapest, great city and even further out is Istanbul which is the coolest place I've been.

4/8/2011 2:00:14 PM

Quote :

"i visited Madrid in 2001 sat down in a restaurant to grab some lunch, and had a very odd server she wouldn't give me my food until i told her my opinion on GW Bush (i was like 17 and didn't give a shit, i was starving) "

wow i get up and go somehwere else immediately. You give the wrong answer and she's spitting in your food

4/8/2011 2:58:16 PM

^i would have gone somewhere else, but it was the only place open during "siesta"...my options were that or chew on styrofoam

she seemed happy when i told her i wasn't old enough to vote and didn't have anything to do with his presidency, so i think i dodged a bullet

4/8/2011 5:12:45 PM

I didn't meet a European my whole trip that didn't ask me about GWBjr. I was never a fan, so it didn't bother me much. But holy shit did that guy give America a black eye.

4/8/2011 5:26:26 PM

he is not a jr.

4/8/2011 5:50:54 PM

Keep in mind that the Embassy is in Madrid... so if the locals start acting up it will be easier to escape... But ETA typically prefers bombing Madrid, so it's a mixed bag at best.

If you like museums, Madrid is nice. Barcelona is nice, but I haven't been there too often. Food is best in Bilbao -- and you can take a Ferry to London.

4/8/2011 7:13:20 PM

i'm most interested in architecture.. my wife could really care less and will be happy regardless but i think she'd like to experience some culture & food. Madrid appears to have lots more to offer with their opulent fountains, arches, and parisian style buildings. I do speak spanish so that will be a plus for Madrid. food is about the same i'm assuming? One of the biggest reasons i considered Barcelona instead of Madrid in the first place is it was closer to Paris (on a 3 leg trip)

4/9/2011 12:57:42 PM

over a two leg tie I favour Madrid

All because of Jose Mourinho

He will come with the same game plan he did with Inter last year to knock out Barcelona

4/9/2011 1:12:02 PM

I too believe in the Jose Mourinho method

4/9/2011 2:13:53 PM

Quote :

"i'm most interested in architecture.. my wife could really care less and will be happy regardless but i think she'd like to experience some culture & food. Madrid appears to have lots more to offer with their opulent fountains, arches, and parisian style buildings."

Mmmmm...Gaudi?? His stuff is incredible...and it's all over the place.

And yes...the closer to Paris thing was the only reason I was able to hit Barcelona. I wanted to see a lot more of Spain, but it was on the last leg of my trip and Barcelona was the only place that allowed me to get to Paris in time for my flight out.

4/9/2011 3:16:56 PM

Quote :

"Do you speak Spanish? If so go to Madrid, it'll be easier getting around. If not, you won't understand what they're saying at either place so go to Barcelona."

not true. almost everyone speaks Spanish as well as Catalan. I don't speak the latter and had absolutely no trouble getting around with just my Spanish

4/10/2011 1:38:03 AM

Barcelona is a party city. One of the premier party cities in the world. Its by far a better place to go to relax and have a good time. Madrid is much more of a historic city. Many more sites to see and way better architectural wonders.

Most people I run into backpacking say Barcelona is the best city in Europe but they are all partiers and drinkers so they find cities like Madrid boring. This would be like comparing American cities Washington and Philly to cities like Miami and San Diego. Way more fun stuff to do in the latter two but obviously much more history to experience at the other two.

It sounds like Madrid would be better for you.

4/10/2011 10:36:17 AM

excellent feedback. we've decided on Madrid... these shots below have sold me and i've heard the flamenco shows and tapas bars are unrivaled here as well







if it were a bit warmer and i was still in my twenties, Barcelona would have been a no-brainer

4/10/2011 9:43:09 PM

I ♥ paella

4/11/2011 2:06:35 AM

I visited both back around 2001. Madrid seemed kind of stale to me. Barcelona on the other hand was one of my favorite cities. It seemed vibrant and alive.

So basically, i'll mirror what someone said earlier. Older crowd - Madrid. Young crowd/Energy - Barcelona (has its own air port if that matters. Convenient to get in and out of.)

4/12/2011 12:56:54 AM

i mean madrid is ok and all....but barcelona is one of the top 5 cities I've been to in 30+ countries

4/12/2011 11:27:15 AM

it's a shame we only have less than 2 weeks to work with because i've heard so many good things about barcelona..

4/12/2011 11:08:44 PM

always good to have a reason to go back!

4/12/2011 11:36:28 PM

Why not just spend about 4 days in each? do you really need to spend 2 weeks in one city?

4/12/2011 11:42:53 PM

were spending the first full 3 days in London, the next 4 in Paris (with a daytrip to brussels), and the last 3 in Madrid. the rest of the time was to account for travel

4/14/2011 1:20:24 PM