Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer:
Well I think both my wife and I decided that it's too stressful to visit large cities in foreign countries, and I prefer smaller cities and towns. Though we both still love Paris.
Madrid reminded me of Rome, though I haven't been to Rome in perhaps eight years. The sidewalks were very packed with people. Just too much activity and too many people packed too tightly together. And people walking in slow motion.
And it was quite tough being a staunchy anti-smoking vegetarian.
That being said, I think we preferred Barcelona. Though Madrid had the best museums and park, Barcelona didn't seem as crazy. And Barcelona seemed to have better vegatarian options. Madrid seemed to be more old school Spain, which was interesting, but Barcelona was more cosmopolitan in vibe, which fit our taste better I think.
How would YOU compare Madrid and Barcelona? It's really difficult to compare two cities you've only spent a few days in.
Originally posted by Barcelona:
Now that you have visited the two largest cities in Spain, which one do you prefer? good to know the view of people from other countries to see what needs to be improved.
nkotb, I agree about Segovia, it still might be my favorite small sized old city in the country.
The basque country is also great.
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I can't give an objective comparison, was born in Barcelona and lived there for over 25 years until I moved to the US and then to Latin America.
I prefer Barcelona, it is a coastal city and decent mountains are two hours away driving. Madrid is flat and the surrounding areas are pretty flat as well with no sea nearby. Architectonically, I also prefer Barcelona, Guadi and the modernists of the late XIX century left the city with some astonishing buildings (one of my favorite things in Barcelona is to walk at nights by the modernist areas of Barcelona).
However, people tend to see Madrid as much more vibrant, nightlife in Madrid is said to be much, much better than Barcelona's, which could perfectly be the case. As for recent developments, the Olympic Games in 92 changed Barcelona and allowed it to rediscover some of the best parts in the city, the old neighborhoods that had been a bit neglected in recent decades. On the other side the right wing government in the mid and late nineties in Spain did its best to put Madrid ahead of Barcelona with all its excellent museums. Two different cities, but have always liked the fact that Madrid has been historically tied to Franco while Barcelona was one the main opposition center, along with the Basque Country, to the dictatorship.
However, I hate all the nationalism in Barcelona right now, I just don't care anymore whether my passport says that I am from Spain or Catalonia, couldn't care less. The fight over whether Catalonia can be called a nation in its "constitution" is becoming one of stupidest things to argue about. Both the right wing and catholic church in Madrid and nationalists in Catalonia are acting as true assholes, which is what they are. In general, I like to hear people's criticisms of Barcelona to see what needs to be improved.
