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Ibis Aeropuerto Barajas, Madrid:
Stayed here for one night in June 2025
- Pros:
- 1) The location is very convenient if you are flying into or out of Madrid airport. It is a short car ride away from the airport.
- 2) There is plenty of parking.
- 3) There are restaurants nearby.
- 4) The rooms, lobby, bathrooms were are all quite clean.
- 5) The bathroom amenities were modern and in good working condition.
- 6) The front desk is manned 24/7 and the check-out/check-in process was smooth and efficient.
- 7) The WIFI is free with good speed and connectivity.
- 8) The place is very quiet at night and the sleep quality was great.
Cons:
- 1) The room size was small.
- 2) The tariff is bit on the higher side.
Hostal Las Fuentes, Madrid:
We stayed here for four nights in June 2025.
- Pros:
- 1) Location has to be the biggest plus. It is right next to the Opera Metro station. It is a short walk to all the major sights (Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Royal Palace etc.). There are plenty of eating and shopping options nearby.
- 2) The rooms, lobby and bathrooms are clean and neat.
- 3) Front desk staff was very helpful, courteous and spoke excellent English.
- 4) The room was cleaned every day.
- 5) The bathroom amenities were in good working condition.
- 6) The WIFI was free with great connectivity and speed.
- 7) There is a coin laundry facility within a short walking distance from the hotel.
- 8) Although the name says "Hostal", we got private rooms with private toilets.
- 9) The place is very quiet at night and sleep quality was great. The area s safe to walk around at nights and the place is secured.
- 10) They stored our luggage for free after check out.
- 11) The price is reasonable considering the location.
- Cons:
- 1) The front desk is not manned 24 hours.
- 2) The room size is small.
Hotel Pilar Plaza, Zaragoza: We stayed here for one night in June 2025.
- Pros:
- 1) The highlight has to be the location. It is bang opposite to the Basilica. It is with in one minute walking distance to the Basilica, Cathedral, Roman Forum and the Stone Bridge. There are plenty of eating and shopping options nearby. The location alone warrants a five-star.
- 2) The front desk is manned 24 hours and the staff was courteous and helpful. The check-in/check-out process was efficient.
- 3) The place is very quiet at night with great sleep quality. The place is very safe at night.
- 4) The lobby, rooms and bathrooms were all quiet clean.
- 5) The room was of adequate size.
- 6) The tariff was reasonable.
- 7) The WIFI is free with great speed and connectivity.
- 8) They stored our luggage for free after check out.
- Cons:
- 1) You cannot drive to the hotel. It is a short walk away from the closest motorable road. So if you have heavy luggage, it will be a challenge to get to/from the hotel.
- 2) Our room did not have a refrigerator.
Hotel Acta BCN 40, Barcelona:
Stayed here for three nights in June 2025.
- Pros:
- 1) The location is good. It is a short walk to the Placa de Catalunya. The closest metro station is a good 15 minute walk away. There are several eating and shopping options nearby.
- 2) The front desk is manned 24 hours. The staff was helpful and courteous.
- 3) The rooms, bathrooms and lobby were all clean.
- 4) The WIFI was free and great speed and connectivity.
- 5) There is a coin laundry facility close to the hotel.
- 6) The place is quiet at night and the sleep quality was great.
- Cons:
- 1) The room and bathroom was quite small.
- 2) It costs 2 euros for the hotel to hold on to the luggage after check out.
- 3) The hotel area isn't the safest place to walk around at nights. It is not dangerous, but you have to be aware of your surroundings.
- 4) The tariff is on the higher side.
We rented a car for the first day to travel to Segovia and Avila - Alamo. The process was quite smooth and we go an excellent car, pretty much what you would normally expect from Alamo. One thing to be aware of is that they have a fleet of electric cars. So by default they book you an electric car. You need to make sure you specifically select petrol one. Charging an electric car isn't easy on a road-trip.
- The roads are very good in Spain and it is easy to drive at the speed limit. The traffic is quite thin by Indian standards. There is very little honking or rash driving. The only issue is that the speed limit changes often and you have to be constantly watching out for it.
- There are plenty of petrol stations. You should never be far from the next fuel station.
- Madrid
- Must Sees: Prado Museum (4 hours), Reina Sophia (1 hour), Retiro Park, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Almudena Cathedral (1 hour), Basilica San Francisco El Grande, Royal Palace (1 hour; additional hour if you want to include the Royal Collections Museum). Note that photography is not allowed in Prado.
- Should See: Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (2 hours), National Archaeological Museum (1 hour), Puerto del Alcala, Puente de Segovia, Puente Arganzuela, Teatro Real (1 hour), Templo de Dabod.
- Tickets: There is a combined ticket for the three main museums: Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sophia. You can buy it from any of these sites and see the museums in any order. This lets you cut lines in all the three museums and the tickets are valid for a year from the day of booking. You are allowed only one entry to each museum. You will also need to pre-book tickets to the Royal Palace. Book the 10:00 am (earliest available) slot.
- Escorial Monastery: Must See. It takes an hour to get to from Madrid Centro. There is a train every hour.
- Metro/Renfe: As with amy metro, it takes a while to get used to. Metro and Renfe Cercanias are two independent systems having different entry gates. We mostly used Renfe as it was easier to understand and closer to where we wanted to go.
- Taxis: This is true for Madrid and Barcelona: Taxis are expensive and they are not easy to find. Uber works and are cheaper, but they usually have a long wait times (~15 to 20 minute wait on average).
- Barcelona
- Must Sees: Sagrada Familia (1 hour), Arc de Triomf, Cathedral, Tibidabo, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (2 hours), Parc Guell (1 hour), Casa Mila (1 hour), Casa Batllo (1 hour), Palau della Musica Catalana (30 mins).
- Should Sees: Parc della Ciutadella, Santa Maria del Mar, Santa Maria del Pi, Palau Guell, Columbus Monument, Montjuic Castle.
- Tickets: Pre-booking is needed for Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, Park Guell, Palau della Musica and Sagrada Familia. Book the first or the last slot of the day. These are the ones that aren't crowded.
- Metro: Like any big city, it gets time to get used to. It is quite convinient to get around the city. But it is expensive. The rate for a single trip is close to 3 euros no matter what the distance is. There are several cheap (and confusing) options available if you are going to make several trips within a week.
- Zaragoza: Must sees include the Basilica, La Seo Cathedral, Aljafaria, Roman Forum, Roman Theatre and the Roman Baths. The Crystal Rosary Museum is decent there is a combined ticket that allows access to it along with the Cathedral and the Basilica.
- Segovia: Three must-sees are the Aqueduct, the Cathedral and the Alcazar.
- Avila: Must sees include the Mirrador de Quatro Postes, the Cathedral and the Yema de Santa Teresa.
- Toledo: Must sees include the Mirrador del Valle, Cathedral, San Tome, San Juan de los Reyes, Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca, Sinagoga Transito. Should sees include San Ildefonso, El Greco Museum, Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, Santa Cruz Museum, Alcazar, Real Colegio de Doncellas Nobles. There is a combined ticket that includes seven of the monuments.
- Tarragona: Must sees include the Balco del Mediterrani, Amphitheatre (30 mins), Circ Romano (1 hour), Cathedral (1 hour) and the Roman Walls (30 mins).
TRIP ITINERARY