In March, with the planner's pick for each leg; you can switch any leg in the plan. Flying into Spain and home from Portugal; the legs that cross a border are marked.
Delhi → MadridFlight · 17h · One stop via the Gulf, Istanbul or Europe (Emirates / Qatar / Etihad / Turkish / Lufthansa / Air India with a partner) (one stop)
Madrid → SevilleTrain · 3h 6m · AVE / Ouigo / Iryo high-speed train, Madrid Atocha–Sevilla Santa Justa
Seville → LisbonBus via Faro · 7h 30m · FlixBus / Rede Expressos coach, Sevilla–Faro (direct) to Faro, then trainInto Portugal
Lisbon → DelhiFlight · 17h · One stop via Istanbul (Turkish / IndiGo codeshare), the Gulf (Etihad / Emirates / Qatar) or Europe (Lufthansa / Air France-KLM) (one stop)
About this circuit
Two capitals and the heart of Andalusia: three days in Madrid for the Prado, Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofía and the Royal Palace; the high-speed train to Seville for the Real Alcázar, the cathedral and the Giralda, and flamenco; then the coach to Faro and the train up to Lisbon for Belém, Alfama and the yellow Tram 28. Fly into Madrid and home from Lisbon.
Why it matters
Vasco da Gama, who reached Calicut in 1498, is buried in Lisbon's Jerónimos Monastery, and Lisbon has Portugal's largest Indian community, with Goan restaurants and the Radha Krishna temple in Lumiar. Seville is the home of flamenco, and the Prado holds Velázquez and Goya.
Stop by stop
How the 9 days split across the 3 stops, and what each one costs on the ground for two.
Spain's capital and its main arrival airport: the Prado, the Reina Sofía (Picasso's Guernica) and the Thyssen on one boulevard, the Royal Palace and the Almudena cathedral, the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, and the Retiro park. Madrid eats late: tapas from 20:00 and dinner from 21:30. It is the hub of Spain's high-speed rail, with Toledo and Segovia half an hour away and Seville, Barcelona and Málaga 2.5-3 hours. Indian restaurants are easy to find, many in the Lavapiés district. Summers are very hot.
Don't miss: Velázquez and Goya at the Prado · Picasso's Guernica at the Reina Sofía.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), 13 km
3 days for two from ₹53,798 · ₹1,11,675 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
Andalusia's capital: the Mudéjar palaces and gardens of the Real Alcázar, the vast Gothic cathedral with the Giralda tower (a former minaret), the Santa Cruz quarter's lanes, the Plaza de España and the Metropol Parasol. The home of flamenco, Holy Week processions and the April Fair. About 2.5 hours from Madrid by high-speed train. July and August reach 40-45 °C: sightsee early and late. Book the Alcázar for a timed slot.
Don't miss: Real Alcázar palaces and gardens · Cathedral and the Giralda ramp climb.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Seville Airport (SVQ), 10 km
3 days for two from ₹48,397 · ₹1,01,745 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
Portugal's hilly capital on the Tagus estuary, and its main arrival airport from India (there is no non-stop: one stop via the Gulf, Istanbul or a European hub). Belém has the Jerónimos Monastery, where Vasco da Gama, who reached Calicut in 1498, is buried, with the Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries beside the river; Alfama's lanes climb to São Jorge Castle, and the yellow Tram 28, the miradouros (viewpoints), fado houses, the Oceanário and the LX Factory fill the rest. The metro's red line runs from the airport. Lisbon has Portugal's largest Indian community, with Goan restaurants, the Hindu Community of Portugal's Radha Krishna temple in Lumiar, and South Asian grocers round Martim Moniz. Many national monuments close on Mondays. The city tourist tax (€4 a person a night) is in the stay prices.
Don't miss: Jerónimos Monastery and Vasco da Gama's tomb · Belém Tower and pastéis de Belém.
How long: 3 days, which is the recommended stay.
Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), 7 km
3 days for two from ₹47,193 · ₹94,452 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
What it costs
from ₹1,52,379 a person
The whole 9-day trip as the planner prices it in March, for two sharing at budget stays: flights from India and back, travel between the stops and across the borders, stays, food, getting around, entry fees and the planner's buffer.
The visa for an Indian passport, about ₹11,290 a person, is on top.
When to go
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March to June and September to November suit the route, Seville best in spring and in October and November; July and August are fiercely hot inland, 38-42 °C in Seville, and June and September are hot too
Entry rules
Schengen visa: Spain and Portugal
Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹11,290
One visa covers both: apply to Spain, where the route spends the most days, under its rules; the days allowed count across them.
Apply for a Schengen short-stay (type C) visa at a BLS International Spain visa centre in India (Spain uses BLS, not VFS), 4-8 weeks before you fly, and at least 6 weeks ahead for trips from April to July, when appointments are scarce (no earlier than 6 months). Apply to Spain if it is your only or longest stay in Schengen, at the centre for the state you live in. The fee is €90 (about ₹9,600; €45 for children 6-11) plus the BLS service charge of about ₹1,500-2,000, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused.
·Indian passports need one Schengen visa for both countries: apply to Spain, the longest stay, at a BLS International centre (Spain uses BLS, not VFS), 4-8 weeks ahead and at least 6 weeks ahead for April to July
·There is no through train from Spain to Lisbon: Seville to Faro is a direct coach of about 2 h 30 (FlixBus five a day, Rede Expressos three), then the train to Lisbon
·Book Seville's Real Alcázar for a timed slot; in Holy Week (21-28 March 2027) Seville's rooms cost double and sell out months ahead, and the April Fair makes them the dearest of the year
·Madrid eats late: tapas from 20:00 and dinner from 21:30
·Many of Lisbon's national monuments close on Mondays, and around 12 June the Santo António festival fills Alfama with street parties until dawn
