Spain and Portugal in a week?

as far as i can tell, you are just supposed to sit around and drink like zappa

Sounds ambitious but I'm sure it can be done. Just might not to see as much as you'd like.

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as far as i can tell, you are just supposed to sit around and drink like zappa

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I post on here as well. We spent 4 days in Lisbon and 4 days in Barcelona this trip......also 4 days in Porto and.......well.....I'm still here.......so you could do 2 of your 3 in a week IMO but you won't see it all. I would say if seeing sites is your thing, do 3 days Lisbon and 4 Barcelona.

We've got a trip in the works that is 3 nights in Barcelona, 2 nights in San Sebastián and 4 in Madrid. We've traveled across most of Western Europe but this is our first time to Spain. It seems there isn't nearly as much to see in Barcelona as there is in Rome/Florence/Paris/London, etc.

My favorite trips to Europe are the second and third times to see a city, after you've "checked all the boxes" and can just sit back and enjoy the city. It seems as if the pressure to "see everything" isn't as intense in Spain. Is that accurate?

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It seems there isn't nearly as much to see in Barcelona as there is in Rome/Florence/Paris/London, etc.

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Depends on what you're interested in. We spent way more time seeing typical tourist stuff in Barcelona than we typically do. Gaudi stuff can fill a few days plus the Miro museum/ Mies Barcelona Pavillion......and then we took an overnight trip to Cadaques to see Dali's house.....Cadaques is a really nice Mediterranean costal town.

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seems there isn't nearly as much to see in Barcelona as there is in Rome/Florence/Paris/London, etc. 

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I've never been to those places so I can't really compare. I guess it depends on what you like to do.

I'm more of a wander around kind of person. I walk and walk and walk and try to stumble upon cool stuff, with some of the main sights sprinkled in. So I guess if you had a more direct itinerary you could cover most stuff in a short amount of time. I'd rather the former.

For instance, the gothic cathedral in Barcelona. Sure you can "see it" in a matter of minutes. It's free. There's no line. Just walk in and walk out. But is that really the experience you're going for?

For me I sat at a nearby cafe/bar for hours, looking straight at the cathedral while the sun went down, drinking wine and sangria as the square filled and emptied with people, listening to and watching the street performers. The was a much more memorable experience for me rather than just checking it out and leaving.

Good notes, thanks. We are going at a severe off-peak time, so hoping the tourists aren't as plentiful.

Just got back from Lisbon-Madrid-Barcelona trip that was 16 days (2 travel/14 on ground). That was almost too short. I'm fairly young and in really good physical shape, but I was beat at the end of every day because we did so much. That, and the fact that I was there during a heat wave with every day in Madrid over 100*.

It really depends what you're into and what you want to do. What do you want to see, what do you not want to see? Will you hire guides or go at it by yourself?

I think one week is way too short. Either do Lisbon/Porto or Madrid/Barca. You can bullet train from Madrid to Barca in 2.5 hrs. I think my ticket was 100 euro.