So much to see in only 10 days!

Hi Sandi,
That's a tough decision, north or south. I'm having the same dilemma right now. For beauty, history and good food/wine, I would choose northern Spain and include the following places:

• San Sebastian
• Bilbao
• Santiago de Compostela

Drive from Madrid to San Sebastian , San Sebastian to Bilbao and Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela . On your way back to Madrid, stop in Salamanca . WineTourismSpain.com has a 12-day itinerary that you may want to check out for ideas. 

We took a road trip in Southern Spain and stayed in Paradors along the way. These lodging were in castles, churches and many other renovated places of interest. I would highly recommend doing this. The Parador booking site can plan your trip to fit your itinerary.

My husband and I were visiting our son in Barcelona a couple of years ago when he was studying there. From there we took him and our other college age son to Madrid for 4 nights. Because it was late November, after Madrid (which they loved) we sent the boys back to school and headed south. We loved our itinerary! We first went to Seville ( it will not mark on map for some reason) by train and stayed a few nights then rented a car and drove to Ronda and spent 1 night. After that we headed to Granada for 2 nights. We turned in the car at the train station there and headed back to Madrid for our last night before we caught our flight out the next day. All of our hotels were fantastic. Although in Madrid we rented a beautiful apartment right on Plaza de Santa Ana.Big mistake, the crowds partied all night long and we needed ear plugs to sleep :) It was a great location but I would recommend staying on a side street instead of on the actual plaza. Let me know if you want anymore details on places to stay, etc...happy to help.