madrid or alicante

[jordielaz]

thinking of going for a short stay - 3 nights - can anyone give me some advice which is probably the best for this late jan early feb, dont know either place...
Ta!

[Lil O'lady]

I suppose it depends on if you like city breaks or seaside. Other than boh being in spain there aren't many similarities between the 2.
For 3 days in Feb I'd go to Madrid as later in the year it gets very hot. Stay as near as poss to the centre, which is quite easy to walk around. The prado art gallery and the reine sofia gallery (with Picasso's painting Guernica) are fantastic and window shopping / real shopping are really satisfying. Lots of tapas bars and restaurants around the placa mayor. Public transport is excellent. One side of town has a lot of street tarts after dark but no aggressive soliciting when I was there. It was Noember when I went and it absolutley poured down all the time (the rain in Spain?) but was not cold.

[jno]

Madrid's on a high plateau so in February it won't be a whole lot warmer than southern England. Great place but wrap up well. And be prepared for late dinners; they often don't start till 10pm

[Brent pigeon]

Madrid is cold at that time of year, Alicante would be warmer but not that warm. The warmest part of Europe is the Canary Islands and there is a lot of choice among them. Madrid would be good for galleries and culture but if you do not mind the cold, you might as well go to Paris.
As a comprmise there is the south of France. The bus from Nice airport makes for a swift arrival there, if you want to have as short a journey as possibe. If warmth matters then look on line for information about the weather at whichever destination you have in mind