Madrid, Barcelona with After-Hours Options

Getting around

• Day 1: Madrid-Barajas airport to central Madrid with your licensed driver.
• Day 2: Madrid to Segovia by road, about 1 hour 30 minutes each way.
• Day 3: The Prado and the Retiro on foot, with your licensed driver for the evening flamenco.
• Day 4: Madrid to Barcelona by high-speed train, about 2 hours 30 minutes, met at Sants.
• Day 5: A walking day in the old city, with your licensed driver for hotel transfers.
• Day 6: The Sagrada Família to Park Güell with your licensed driver, with booked entry to each.
• Day 7: Hotel to Barcelona-El Prat airport, about 30 minutes.
• In Spain, a licensed guide leads each visit and a licensed driver handles every transfer.

Is 7 days enough for Madrid and Barcelona?

Yes, seven days gives Madrid and Barcelona three nights each, enough for the main sights of both cities plus a day trip to Segovia, at a pace of one guided outing a day. In Madrid the week covers the old Habsburg center, the Royal Palace and the Prado. In Barcelona it covers the Gothic Quarter, La Boqueria, the Sagrada Família and Park Güell. It leaves out Andalusia, Toledo and Montserrat, and it leaves room for lunch or a free evening in each city. If your list also holds Seville and the Alhambra, ten days or more serves you better.

How do you get from Madrid to Barcelona?

The high-speed train is the simplest way from Madrid to Barcelona, about 2 hours 30 minutes on direct services over a line of about 621 kilometers. The line runs from Madrid Puerta de Atocha to Barcelona Sants, both in the city, so a licensed driver takes you to the station in Madrid and a second licensed driver meets you at Sants in Barcelona. Trains in regular service run at up to 300 kilometers an hour. Our guide to Madrid’s Atocha station explains the station layout in more detail.

Segovia or Toledo: which day trip from Madrid?

Choose Segovia for Roman engineering, a hilltop castle and roast suckling pig, and Toledo for the city of three cultures and El Greco. Segovia’s aqueduct, its Alcázar above two rivers and its 16th-century cathedral make a varied day about 1 hour 30 minutes from Madrid by road. Toledo, about 1 hour away, holds the synagogues, the cathedral and the Christian, Jewish and Muslim history UNESCO recognized in 1986. This route runs to Segovia. Our team swaps Segovia for Toledo on request, and the rest of the week stays the same.

This 7-day route, or a 5, 10 or 12-day Spain journey?

Choose this route if you want Madrid and Barcelona in one week with a Roman and royal day trip between them. With five days and Barcelona alone, the 5-day Barcelona and Catalonia journey stays in one hotel and adds Montserrat and Girona. If Andalusia matters more to you than Barcelona, the 7-day Madrid, Seville and Granada journey trades Gaudí for the Alhambra in the same seven days.

With more time, the 10-day Highlights of Spain journey adds Seville and Granada between Madrid and Barcelona, and the 12-day private luxury tour of Spain adds Ronda, the white villages and Montserrat. Both serve first-time visitors who want the whole country better than a week does. All of them start from the Spain destination page, and our team adjusts any of them to your dates.

Who this journey suits

Couples on a first trip to Spain with one week to spend. Families with teenage or adult children, who share a guide and driver and set their own hours. Friends traveling together as a private party, who want one plan and one point of contact. American travelers who come for art and architecture, from Velázquez and Goya to the Gothic Quarter and Gaudí. Visitors adding Spain to a European trip, who want two cities done well rather than five done quickly. Your guide is glad to advise on suitability before booking for anyone who prefers shorter walking days.

The people behind the route

Our team selects top guides based on their experience, knowledge and engaging personalities, not egos. In Madrid, where your dates allow, Ana, an art historian, leads our Prado visits. She builds the morning around the painters you care about, whether your party favors Velázquez and Goya, the El Greco rooms or the Flemish galleries with Bosch, and she keeps the visit short enough to leave time for El Retiro afterward. Our guide to highlights of the Prado gives a sense of the collection before you go.

What the 7-day journey costs and what it includes

The 7-day route starts from $6,188 per person, double occupancy. The from-price covers six nights in deluxe four-star properties selected for comfort, location and service. Five-star luxury properties are available by request. It includes licensed guides for the visits described and a licensed driver for airport, station and road transfers.

Four things move the price: the season, the hotel category, the size of your private party, and added experiences such as the afternoon at La Granja, a tower visit at the Sagrada Família or a cooking class in Barcelona. Magical Private Travel maintains excellent ratings on Trustpilot and Google’s independent review platforms.

To shape this route around your dates and your party, speak with our team about your week in Madrid and Barcelona.

Frequently asked questions about the 7-day Madrid and Barcelona tour

How much does the 7-day private tour of Madrid and Barcelona cost?

This 7-day route starts from $6,188 per person, based on two people sharing a room. The from-price covers the route as written: six hotel nights, licensed guides for the visits described and a licensed driver for airport, station and road transfers, with the full list of inclusions set out in your written quote. Four things move the price. The season matters most, since hotel rates rise and fall through the year. Five-star hotels raise it. Party size changes it, because the guide and driver serve the whole party, so larger private parties pay less per person. Added experiences, such as the afternoon at La Granja, a tower visit at the Sagrada Família or a cooking class in Barcelona, add to it. Our team sends a written quote for your dates and party before you commit.

When is the best time to visit Madrid and Barcelona?

April to June and September to October suit this route best. Spain’s weather agency, AEMET, records average daily highs in Madrid of about 18°C (65°F) in April, 28°C (83°F) in June, 26°C (80°F) in September and 19°C (67°F) in October. Barcelona, on the coast, averages about 18°C (64°F) in April, 25°C (77°F) in June, 26°C (79°F) in September and 22°C (72°F) in October. July brings Madrid’s hottest stretch, with average highs of about 32°C (90°F), and summer departures work well with early starts, lunch indoors and evening walks. Winter brings cooler days, shorter light and the quietest hotels of the year, a good fit for a week built around museums and churches. Our team plans each day around the season you choose.

Do we need to book the Sagrada Família in advance?

Yes, and our team handles it. The basilica sells its tickets online only, and its own ticket office advises visitors to buy in advance to make sure of entry. For this reason our team books your entry to the Sagrada Família and to Park Güell as soon as you confirm your dates, and your licensed guide plans day six around both visits. The same approach applies in Madrid, where a booked entry to the Prado and the Royal Palace keeps the morning on schedule. If you want to add a tower visit at the Sagrada Família, mention it early so our team includes it in the booking. Your licensed guide leads the visit inside the basilica and in the park, and your licensed driver handles the transfer between the two sites across the city.

Are the guide and the driver the same person?

In Spain they are two different people. A licensed guide leads the visits, and a licensed driver handles the vehicle and the road transfers. Your licensed guide changes from city to city, so your guide in Madrid differs from your guide in Barcelona, and each knows their own city in depth. In Segovia a licensed guide meets you for the day while your driver waits with the vehicle and takes the party on to La Granja where it suits you. On day four one licensed driver takes you to the station in Madrid and a second meets you in Barcelona. This split lets your guide focus on the site and your driver focus on the road. Where your dates allow, Ana, an art historian, leads the Prado visit.

Which airports should we fly into and out of?

Fly into Madrid-Barajas and home from Barcelona-El Prat. An open-jaw ticket of this kind avoids doubling back across Spain at the end of the trip. Madrid-Barajas lies about 13 kilometers northeast of Puerta del Sol, and Barcelona-El Prat about 15 kilometers southwest of the city center. Your licensed driver meets you at arrivals in Madrid and takes you to the airport in Barcelona on day seven. Our team arranges VIP airport assistance in Madrid and Barcelona on request, covering meet-and-greet and help through the terminal. Our article on flying into Madrid or Barcelona compares the two airports, and our team aligns the itinerary with your flight times once you have them. The route also runs in reverse, from Barcelona to Madrid, if your flights fit it better.

Does the route work with Toledo instead of Segovia?

Yes. Day two works as either Segovia or Toledo, and the rest of the week stays the same. Toledo sits on a rock above a bend of the Tagus River, about 1 hour from Madrid by road, and UNESCO inscribed the historic city in 1986 for the way Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities shaped it. A Toledo day brings the cathedral, the synagogues and El Greco, where Segovia brings the Roman aqueduct, the Alcázar and roast suckling pig. Both days run with a licensed driver and a licensed guide. Some parties add an eighth day and see both.

What should we eat in Madrid, Segovia and Barcelona?

Each stop on the route has its own table. In Madrid, a first evening of tapas usually brings croquetas and tortilla de patatas, and the iron and glass Mercado de San Miguel beside Plaza Mayor makes an easy grazing stop. In Segovia, cochinillo asado, roast suckling pig, comes to the table with skin crisp enough to carve with the edge of a plate, a ritual Segovia’s restaurants keep alive. In Barcelona, pa amb tomàquet, bread rubbed with tomato, olive oil and salt, opens most meals, and La Boqueria on La Rambla holds stalls of jamón, olives, fruit and fish. Where it suits your party, our team arranges a market visit or a cooking class in Barcelona. Our guide to tapas and informal dining in Barcelona has more ideas for free evenings.

Does this journey suit families or travelers with limited mobility?

Families travel this route often, because a private guide and driver set the pace around the youngest and the oldest in the party. Teenagers tend to respond to the Segovia aqueduct and the Alcázar, the flamenco evening and Gaudí’s columns and mosaics, and the three-night bases leave room for a slow morning. Several days involve walking on cobbled streets and slopes, especially in old Segovia, the Gothic Quarter and Park Güell, which sits on a hillside. Your guide is glad to advise on suitability before booking, and our team adjusts walking routes, adds vehicle time between sites, or shortens days where it helps. Our page on accessible travel in Spain sets out how our team plans for travelers who need step-free routes or extra support.

Does the route extend to Andalusia, Portugal or Morocco?

Yes. The most common extension adds Andalusia between Madrid and Barcelona, with Seville and Granada for the Alcázar and the Alhambra, the shape of our 10-day Highlights of Spain journey. Travelers who add Portugal often finish with three or four nights in Lisbon and Sintra. Where your dates allow, Luisa, one of our licensed guides in Lisbon and Sintra, leads those days alongside a licensed driver. Travelers who add Morocco usually cross from Andalusia and add Tangier, Fez or Marrakech. Our Spain and Morocco private journey shows one way to combine the two, and our multi-country journeys page collects the other combinations. In Morocco our team works with private drivers and licensed guides as separate roles. Your planner prices the extension alongside the 7-day route so you see the full cost at once.

Who do we contact if something goes wrong or we want a change?

Your planner designs your journey with you and stays in touch after you land. For the fastest response at any hour, message your private WhatsApp group, where our 24/7 support team works alongside Rachel or Dan. Because we begin no more than five journeys per country each week, peak spring and fall dates fill early, and that limit is what lets us stay this close to every trip.