Best Spain Road Trip: Barcelona, Seville, & Madrid

Spain is a magical country, home to legendary artists like Picasso and Dali, explorers such as Hernan Cortes and Juan Ponce de Leon, visionary saints, and mythological heroes like Don Quixote. When Layton and I had the chance to explore southern Spain, we couldn’t resist, turning the end of our Mediterranean trip into an unforgettable road trip.

Driving through Spain reveals stunning landscapes, from Mediterranean beaches and the Montserrat mountains to the rolling hills and Sierra Nevadas. Our route from Barcelona to Seville and Madrid included iconic UNESCO World Heritage sites like Alhambra and the works of Antoni Gaudí. While Spain’s train network is excellent, a road trip offers unmatched flexibility, allowing you to visit cities and hidden gems off the beaten path on your schedule.

Road trips let you explore at your pace, experience diverse cultures, and enjoy time with loved ones, offering unique freedom planes or trains can’t match. Luckily, driving in Spain is straightforward, with well-paved highways and right-side driving. While major cities like Barcelona and Madrid can be busy, experienced drivers will manage just fine, making a Spanish road trip both practical and rewarding.

If you want to see the “real” Spain, drive, don’t ride or fly.

You probably want to know what the “real” Spain offers. Our road trip itinerary was based on starting in Barcelona, exploring Seville, and ending in Madrid. If you look at a map, this is not the fastest way to get from Barcelona to Madrid. However, if you want to see some of Spain’s coolest sites and places, this is your itinerary.

We loved exploring Spain, and we hope you enjoy this Spain road trip itinerary, which will take you from Barcelona to Seville and Madrid.

You won’t need a car to explore Barcelona. The city is highly walkable and has many public transportation options and taxis. You could spend a week in Barcelona and never get bored of sightseeing. However, not everyone has the luxury of doing this.

If you only have time to see one thing in Barcelona, you must visit the Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia was designed by Antoni Gaudi. It was intended to represent the Church, which Catholics believe to be the earthly representation of God’s Kingdom on Earth. La Sagrada Familia is a must-see because it is such an iconic building, and it will be the best opportunity to see Gaudi’s work. It was commissioned as a project during Spain’s cultural flourishing in the late nineteenth century and has been under construction for over one hundred years, with completion estimated in 2026. Reservations are required, and they sell out fast, so book at least 3 months ahead.

Speaking of Gaudi, the famous architect has helped design some of Barcelona’s most intriguing tourist destinations. La Sagrada Familia is the most impressive, but you can also visit Park Guell or Casa Batllo to see a good representation of his work. Park Guell is the more popular option, but we opted for Casa Batllo during our trip. 

Casa Batllo is a UNESCO world heritage site. Gaudi changed the façade of the building and converted the inside into a Dr. Seuss-esq representation of art. Funnily enough, the building is quite functional and modern. It is now operated as a museum; you can visit it relatively easily. I suggest you make reservations to be safe, but you can also try to walk up if you are in the neighborhood.

You’ll also find some other notable buildings outside of Gaudi’s unique architectural style. Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter is rich in architecture and history, with many buildings dating back to the 13th century, preserved as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. El Pont del Bisbe (aka Bishop’s Bridge) was one of my favorite architectural works of art. There are also a ton of little bars and restaurants throughout the Gothic Quarter, so feel free to time your visit around lunch. 

Word of warning about eating in Spain: siestas are real. I am sure you have heard of the Spanish siesta, a break during the day for Spaniards to rest. Most siestas take place in the afternoon between 2 PM and 5 PM. While not everyone will take a siesta, we found that most places did close their doors to patrons during the afternoon. We tend to eat a late lunch if we wake up late or an early dinner if we wake up early. Given the many beautiful sites in Barcelona, we woke up early and were starving at 2 PM but couldn’t find anywhere open. While we may have just gotten unlucky, I suggest you plan on eating at noon and then 6 PM or later during your time in Spain.

Exploring Gaudi’s work and the Gothic Quarter could take up an entire day. If you want to see a few more amazing places in Barcelona, head to the Cathedral of Barcelona just north of the Gothic Quarter. The Torres Romanes (Roman Tower) and Palau de la Music Catalana can also be seen. Be warned, the Palau de la Music Catalana closes at 3:30 PM on most days. It is a beautiful music hall. Montjuïc Castle is also a popular tourist destination. The Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar is a must-visit if you like churches. If you like parks, try out Plaça de Joan Fiveller.

If you want to know more about parks around Barcelona, click here. 

“Years ago, when I was backpacking across Western Europe, I was just outside Barcelona, hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo. I was at the end of this path and came to a clearing. There was a lake, which was very secluded, and there were tall trees all around. It was dead silent. Gorgeous. And across the lake, I saw a beautiful woman bathing herself. but she was crying…” – Joey Tribbiani, Friends.

Joey wasn’t the smartest guy in Friends but somewhat geographically gifted. Mount Tibidabo is outside of Barcelona. However, there aren’t any lakes around. Mount Tibidabo is actually home to the Tibidabo Amusement Park, Spain’s longest-running amusement park and Europe’s third-oldest. While it doesn’t quite rival Six Flags over Texas, it does have some charm and offers a beautiful view of the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

From Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, where many tourists stay, Mount Tibidabo is only a 40-minute drive. 

Luckily, Montserrat is just an hour from Mount Tibidabo or the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona if you aren’t a Friends enthusiast. Montserrat is a multi-peaked mountain range near Barcelona best known for the Benedictine Monk retreat built into the mountain. The monastery grotto offers remarkable mountain range views, and hundreds of pilgrims visit it each year.

However, the real road trip hasn’t begun yet. After you spend your morning exploring Tibadabo and Montserrat, it is time to head west to Valencia. From Montserrat, Valencia is a four-hour drive through rolling hills in southern Spain on a beautiful, well-maintained highway named AP-7. 

Layton and I live in Texas, so a four-hour drive is practically a trip to the grocery store. However, not everyone is used to these drives. So, if you want to break up the drive, Tarragona, a port city in the Catalonia region of Spain, is a hidden gem. It is one of the oldest cities in Spain and full of Roman ruins, which make a great siesta-timed pit-stop!

Valencia is the natural destination for the day, precisely, Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences. Recently, the City of Arts and Sciences was the backdrop for many futuristic scenes in HBO’s Westworld. It is a beautiful set of buildings. The museum and aquarium are worth the price of admission, but you can also appreciate the entire area by just walking around the gorgeous grounds. The location is beautiful during the day, at sunset, and at night due to the unique architectural features and use of water and lights. The perfect time to arrive would be around 4 PM and then stay until 8 PM. 

Further south along the Spanish coast, you will find Almeria. Almeria is famous for its beautiful beaches, most of which are in the Cabo de Gata Natural Park. Cabo de Gata is the most extensive protected nature reserve on the Mediterranean coast, making it a beautiful day to spend.

Almeria is another four-hour drive from Valencia. To be completely honest, I don’t really remember this drive. It must have been uneventful, so wake up early and fast to our first stop, Los Genoveses beach!

Los Genoveses is a pristine beach with no buildings, power, or bars. It is accessed by an unpaved road past the town of San José. Look for the sign at the entrance of San Jose on your right, pointing you to Los Genoveses Playa. If you look for the Google Maps location “Parking Playa de los Genoveses,” you will find the best parking for the beach.

The beach is beautiful. It has shallow, calm, and cool water, large and soft sandy beaches, and some large cliffs that provide shade during parts of the day. Given the beach’s remote location, bring snacks, drinks, and your own towel or umbrella.  

Even though Los Genoveses is beautiful, don’t spend all day there. We have one more beach to visit today: Monsul.

Monsul Beach is the most famous beach in the Nature Reserve. It appeared in movies like Indiana Jones, the Last Crusade, and various commercials. Created through an ancient lava flow, this beach has a unique landscape with jutting rocks, soft sands, and beautiful clear water. To get to the beach, continue down the dirt road to the location in Google Maps titled “Parking Playa de Mónsul.” Like Los Genoveses, Monsul has no shops, bars, or electricity, so pack in and pack out what you need for the day.

Spend as much time as you want at Monsul beach; it gets a beautiful sunset. Almeria is a great city as well. It is most likely where you will sleep tonight. One of the coolest aspects of Almeria is that it is one of the last places in Spain that offers free tapas when you order a drink. Not every bar does it, but most do. If you want a light dinner, find a bar offering free tapas and enjoy the evening.

Read our blogs here to find out where your next beach destination is. We hope we help you decide!

The Alhambra is a palace complex initially built on the orders of the Moorish leader Al-Hakam II. Construction began in 966 and continued for three centuries. It symbolized the city’s wealth during its time as an independent kingdom.

The Alhambra is one of the most important architectural monuments in Spain. Many cultures, including Moorish, Roman, Christian, and Byzantine, have influenced it. It is also one of Spain’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Alhambra is one of the most amazing places in southern Spain. We spent four hours at the palace complex, and I wish we had spent more time. It is beautiful and full of picture-perfect locations. From a distance, the Red Castle sticks out above the skyline of Granada. It is even more pronounced in the Sierra Nevada’s snow-covered mountains in winter. Beautiful from afar, the Alhambra is even more impressive up close. With immaculate gardens and exquisite palace interiors, it is hard to leave. 

While La Sagrada Familia was the most impressive site we visited on our Spanish road trip, Alhambra was a close second.

Alhambra is only about two hours from Almeria. An early wake-up in Almeria will get you to Alhambra at its opening hour (8:30 AM). If you spend much time in Alhambra, you still have a whole afternoon free!

While we did not make it to Ronda, drive to the lookout for Puente Nuevo outside of Ronda if you have time. Puente Nuevo is a bridge built over the chasm between the two sides of Ronda. Ronda is a beautiful cliff-side location. It is the third most-visited destination in southern Spain and the birthplace of the Spanish bullfight. If you have the energy, you will not be disappointed in visiting this amazing Spanish area.

However, at the end of the day, head to Seville, just 2 hours from Alhambra or Ronda. Seville is where you’ll spend the night and all of tomorrow for your Spain road trip!

Seville was my favorite city in Spain. It is highly walkable, has a lot of culture, a laidback nightlife, and welcoming locals. 

We ate a lot in Seville, so I want to cover this list of places before we get to the main sights. While all the bars and restaurants were great, these are the places you need to visit for food and drinks.

First up is Bar Americano, the upscale bar inside the Hotel Alfonso XIII. It was not cheap, but the atmosphere and bar were fantastic. Commissioned by the King of Spain to host international dignitaries during the 1929 Exhibition, Hotel Alfonso XIII is located in the historic quarter next to Reales Alcázares and Seville Cathedral. 

Next, La Terraza de EME is a rooftop bar overlooking the Cathedral. The bar is on the top of Hotel EME Catedral Mercer in the heart of the Santa Cruz District. Once the sun begins to set, this bar starts popping. It is a great place to drink as the sun goes down and the clock tower lights up.

Last but certainly not least is Bar Baratillo. This side-walk bar has a great atmosphere. We visited it twice because the locals and bartenders were so much fun. It is just off the main area of the Cathedral and makes for a perfect place for a nightcap. Make it your last stop for the day, and you will not be disappointed.

Now that you’ve had your fill of Sevillian food and drink, it is time to focus on what to see between meals!

Seville is famous for three “huge” sights: Plaza de Espana, Réal Alcazar, and Catedral de Sevilla. All three are must-visit locations. Plaza de Espana was built in 1928 for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 and highlights various architectural styles and representations from across Spain’s history. It is also any Star Wars nerd’s most recognizable landmark in Seville. 

If you aren’t a Star Wars fan, maybe you are a Game of Thrones fan. Réal Alcazar is one of the central filming locations for Game of Thrones. Alcazar is a royal palace built for the Christian king Peter of Castile. It is right near the Cathedral and does require a reservation. It will remind you a lot of Alhambra and has a unique beauty. 

The Cathedral of Seville is in the heart of all the action. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site between the Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies makes for a perfect exploring location. One of the most unique aspects of the Cathedral is that it holds the OFFICIAL tomb of Christopher Columbus. Other cities claim to have the remains of Cristobal Colon, but recent DNA tests proved that this tomb does hold Columbus. Many tourists come to visit the tomb of the great explorer. The tower of the Cathedral is called Giralda and lights up every night for all of Seville to view.

Other than these three world-famous backdrops, you should make time on your Spain road trip to explore the General Archive of the Indies, which is free, and Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla. The General Archive of the Indies has a lot of historical documents on Spain’s initial exploration of the New World. Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballeria de Sevilla is a bullfighting ring with an awesome tour! I have never explored bullfighting and didn’t know much about it. This tour provided me with the history of bullfighting and the status of the sport in the modern era.

For more information about tours in Seville, click here.

Despite a fast itinerary, this is the day you get to sleep in. Anticipating a long night out in Seville, feel free to sleep till whenever. The plan for this day is to make your way from Seville to Madrid with a quick stop in Cordoba. The excellent news is that Seville to Cordoba is only about a two-hour drive. The bad news is that Cordoba is a four-hour drive to Madrid. Six hours in a car isn’t much fun, but Mezquita de Cordoba in Cordoba is 100% worth the visit.

Mezquita de Cordoba was once a church, then a mosque, and then a church again. Abd ar-Rahman I bought the Visigothic church in AD 784. Then he extended the mosque’s size to how big it is today. Then during the 16th century, Christians built a cathedral right in the middle of the mosque. It offers a unique religious experience from an age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in southern Spain. You can explore both the outside and inside of the mosque for hours. It offers unlimited photo opportunities. 

The city of Cordoba is also a lot of fun to explore. Cordoba is world-renowned for leather manufacturing and silversmiths. Cordoba was a famous Roman city when Rome dominated Spain. At one time, Cordoba was the world’s largest city, with over one million residents. Funny enough, it was where the Roman philosopher Seneca was born. You may walk around old Cordoba and the Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir River just outside the mosque to make the most of your Spain road trip.

After exploring Cordoba, prepare for a long drive through the land of Ferdinand the Bull. Cordoba is in the northern portion of Andalusia, where many bulls are raised on various grass-covered farms. This drive is relatively pretty and easy, so do it during the day to capture the full landscape.

As you get close to Madrid, the driving gets more hectic. However, it is no worse than Chicago and nowhere nearly as stressful as LA or NYC. Once you are in Madrid, you don’t need a car, so feel free to drop off your rental tonight.

Madrid is the capital of Spain and one of the easiest places to get to by plane, which is why we end our road trip in this beautiful city! Madrid is famous for its excellent restaurants, bars, and parks while remaining a large metropolitan area. 

My favorite part of Madrid was Retiro Park. Retiro Park is similar to Central Park in New York because it acts like the city’s “Green Lungs”, providing a beautiful piece of nature in the middle of a concrete jungle. In Retiro Park, you must visit the Palacio de Cristal! Palacio de Cristal is a stunning glass pavilion built in 1887 to house exotic plants for an exhibition in the Philippines. Now, it is a photographer’s favorite background.

Other than Retiro Park, Madrid has several grand plazas. Puerta del Sol is a square at the center of the network of Spanish roads containing the famous clock whose bells mark the eating of the Twelve Grapes, where Spaniards start the New Year by eating 12 grapes to the twelve chimes of midnight struck by this clock. Plaza Mayor is only a few blocks from Puerta del Sol and was once the center of Old Madrid. It is a fantastic place to visit after your time at Puerta del Sol.

If you feel hungry after walking these plazas, don’t worry—I have a solution. Not far from both of these plazas is the San Miguel market. While the market isn’t a traditional Spanish market, it has over 30 vendors offering tapas, hams, baked goods, beer, wine, and champagne!

Two more places you should visit in Madrid while on your Spain road trip are the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Temple de Debod. The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish royal family. You can tour it daily for a small fee, but reservations are recommended. It is beautiful on the inside and outside Temple de Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple that was dismantled and rebuilt in the center of Madrid. It is one of the only places outside Egypt to see authentic Egyptian ruins. The Templo goes back to the 2nd century BC when it was created to worship the Egyptian god Amun near Aswan in Egypt. Spain helped Egypt move the Abu Simbel temples, and in return, Egypt gave them the Temple de Debod as a token of their gratitude. Not a lousy gift, huh?

Our  Spain road trip was an unforgettable adventure. From the lively streets of Barcelona to the historic charm of Seville and the bustling energy of Madrid, every stop offered something unique. Driving gave us the freedom to explore at our own pace, visit hidden gems, and soak in the stunning landscapes along the way.

If you’re planning a trip to Spain, consider hitting the road. It’s the best way to truly experience the country’s beauty, culture, and history. 

We hope this guide helps you plan your own adventure. Spain is a country full of magic and surprises—so get out there, explore, and make the most of every moment! Safe travels!

 As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Angie xoxo