Madrid or Barcelona?

Question

I am starting to plan a self-tour with my friend through most of western Europe. If I could only choose one where should we go, Madrid or Barcelona? Why?

Answer 1

Madrid it's bigger than Barcelona but not greater. Madrid is good for job or business opportunities maybe, but is kind of chaotic, noisy, etc. of course there are parks, museums, bars, shops, etc. but it's not specially beautiful, obviously not a single seashore in 500 miles around!

Barcelona is a very very beautiful "small" city (bigger than Helsinki, Marseille, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Francfort, Rotterdam, etc and similar in size to Milan or Munich) and with lots of attractives: weather, architecture, beaches, streets, people, etc and lots of things that you can't touch but you can feel...

My reccommendation is B A R C E L O N A, of course!

Answer 2

Barcelona is more beautiful and historic, and has fascinating architecture.  Madrid's main attraction are its three world-class art museums.  I would recommend Madrid if you are very interested in art and Barcelona otherwise.

Answer 3

Depends on what you want to do and what you want to see... I've lived in both cities and both are wonderful.. Basically, I'll tell you what's best in both cities and you can decide:

Madrid: Much more Spanish than Barcelona, unbeatable for art musuems (Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen), rocking hardcore nightlife (wow), delicious food, and beautiful sites.To be honest, most people who say they didn't like Madrid and prefer Barcelona simply just pass through Madrid for 2-3 days and barely experience it at all.  The sites aren't as beautiful as Paris nor is the scenery as gorgeous as Barcelona, but Madrid can't be beat.

Barcelona:  Ridiculously beautiful, much more "European" than Madrid, and a pretty good nightlife (although its no Madrid).. If you're looking to hang out at the beach, see beautiful mountains and see jaw-dropping architecture, go to Barcelona. It also has it's fair share of museums, the Picasso museum is esp. nice.

If you're just passing for a few days, I'd suggest Barcelona.  It's got more to see(given that you arent big into art museums), it still has nightlife that's better than any US city except miami, and its beautiful.  However, if you want to really see what Spain is like and enjoy a true-world class city with a nightlife that leave even Paris Hilton shocked, go to Madrid.