Iberia by Rail
Templates · 14 days · 7 stops
Lisbon to Barcelona by high-speed rail — five cities, two countries, one overnight.
- London
- Lisbon
- Porto
- Madrid
- Seville
- Granada
- Barcelona
Day 1 · London → Lisbon
London→Lisbon
Day 2 · Lisbon
Day 3 · Lisbon
Day 4 · Lisbon → Porto
Base in Alfama — wake to the *28 tram* rattling past your window
Day trip to Sintra by train (40 min); Pena Palace first, then Quinta da Regaleira's spiral well. Buy palace tickets online the night before
Pastéis de Belém — join the takeaway queue, not the café one, and eat them warm with cinnamon
Lisbon→Porto
Day 5 · Porto
Day 6 · Porto → ON THE TRAIN
Sunset port tasting across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia — Taylor's terrace, then walk back over the Dom Luís I bridge
Livraria Lello early, before the tour buses; the crimson staircase is the whole point
Porto→Madrid
Day 7 · ON THE TRAIN → Madrid
Day 8 · Madrid
Day 9 · Madrid → Seville
Prado on a weekday morning — Velázquez's *Las Meninas* room, then Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights
Chocolatería San Ginés for churros after midnight
Madrid→Seville
Day 10 · Seville
Day 11 · Seville → Granada
Real Alcázar at opening — the Mudéjar tilework and the gardens before the heat
Flamenco in a tiny Triana peña, not a tourist tablao
Seville→Granada
Day 12 · Granada → Barcelona
Alhambra: timed entry for the Nasrid Palaces is non-negotiable — book weeks ahead, go late afternoon for the light on the Court of the Lions
Granada→Barcelona
Day 13 · Barcelona
Day 14 · Barcelona → London
Sagrada Família with a nave ticket midmorning when the eastern windows throw color
Tapas crawl through El Born; end at a vermouth bar
Barcelona→London