What to see in Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo and Lisbon?

We'll be in Spain and Portugal from Dec 22 - Jan 1, any recommendations as to what we should see?  I'm especially interested if anyone has been before during Christmas.  We'll be in Madrid on the 24 & 25 and am wondering if anything will be open.

Of the places you mentioned, I've only been to Barcelona.
I liked seeing all the Gaudi stuff , the Familia Sagrada, and people-watching on the Ramblas.

Oh, and i was able to get ampicillin over the counter (no prescription) in a farmacia in Barcelona.   I just asked for something for a sore throat, thinking along the lines of Strepsils or Lockets... and they threw a box of ampicillin in front of me!   Well, if you're offering, how can i refuse? 

If it is open, go to the Prado in Madrid. The Goya paintings are amazing and you can see Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights... incredible. Also, go to the Reina Sofia to see Picasso's Guernica. It is incredibly moving.

I liked seeing all the Gaudi stuff , the Familia Sagrada, and people-watching on the Ramblas.

Agree with Q-G on Barcelona

I went to Lisbon years ago and can't remember much about it except that it was going through some major refurb accross the city for some reason...city of culture maybe?...and the one place I wanted to go was closed!  So, if you can, head for Cafe Nicola...steeped in history, I believe it was the meeting place for the resistence during the war or something similar?  It's a beautiful city.

Lisbon is great- a very walkable city.  I'd recommend going to the
azulejos museum- blue tile museum it's great and has a great little cafe.

The Alfama is the very old part of the city- narrow streets, very hilly, great old buildings where you can see old portuguese guys listening to football at the little cafes.

Torre de Belem-  where Prince Henry the Navagator's ships sailed from when they went off to discover the world.

Castelo de Sao Jorge- restored castle w/ amazing view of the city.

Elevador de Santa Justa- it's in the Baixa  and was built by an apprentice to Eiffel again great views.

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos - great architecture and it's near the Torre de Belem.

There's also a main square, I think it's called Rossio- very pretty lots of cafe's and shops.

You can do a quick and dirty tour of the entire city in about 2 days, very walkable.

Don't forget to go to a Fado club where you can listen to women sing 'portuguese blues'. 

I also went to the Port Institute, I think that's what it was called- great ambiance.  We just had a glass of really nice port and a pasteis de belem- a yummy custard pastry.  You can't leave Lisbon w/out having one of those- yummy

I love Lisbon, have been there a couple of times and hope to go back again soon.  Let me know how you make out! 

There's also a very trendy area by the river- bars and restaurants.  I think John Malkovich owns a couple of resturants/bars there.

Ooops don't forget to go to the the aquarium- it's the largest one in Europe and in the world there is only one larger one in Japan.  And if you're a football fan there are 3 football stadiums and well worth a tour.  I'm a Benfica supporter so I took a tour of the Estadio da Luz- it was GREAT! 

  And if you're a football fan there are 3 football stadiums and well worth a tour.  I'm a Benfica supporter so I took a tour of the Estadio da Luz- it was GREAT! 

Oh yeah, good one, Lindyloo.
When we went to Barcelona we toured the Camp Nou and it was really good!

http://www.stadiumguide.com/noucamp.htm

Very helpful, thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Karis

Just wanted to update this thread with my suggestions in case anyone searches back on it.  We had a wonderful time in all the cities we visited!

Barcelona -
We didn't like Barcelona as much as we thought we would.  We found two days to be sufficient.  The Gaudi stuff was very cool, especially Casa Mila which we toured.  We also enjoyed the Martime Museuma at the bottom of Las Ramblas.

Madrid -
We really liked Madrid.  Our hostal (Hostal Cruz Sol) was just between Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, so it was incredibly convenient.  The room was quite small and a bit run-down, but the price was great (50 euros).
http://www.hostels.com/en/availability.php/HostelNumber.1274

The best part of our stay in Madrid was definitely the tapas tour we did.  Our guide was an expat from San Diego and was incredibly helpful and informative!
http://www.adventurousappetites.com/

One thing we didn't enjoy was the Tauro Tour at the bullfighting arena (Plaza de Toros).  The small bullfighting museum inside was the only worthwhile part. 

Toledo -
The hotel we stayed at was great, especially considering the low price (56 euros).  Hotel Santa Isabel is a block away from the cathedral.  We requested room 214, as suggested in trip advisor reviews and were very happy with it. 

The Zoco Tren (tourist train) was an excellent way to see the from the other side of the river.  Gorgeous views of the gorge!  It picks up on the hour from Plaza Zocodover, but you have to buy tickets first from a shop on Calle Sillería.  It's marked as a TI on the map, but looks like a souvenir shop, so it's easy to miss.  We found the staff to be incredibly unhelpful.  Rick Steves' describes them as incompetent in his guidebook.  Luckily that was a rare occurrence during our trip through Spain & Portugal, most often people were very friendly and helpful.

Lisbon - We loved the hotel we stayed at.  Great neighborhood.  Two metro stops from the main area and next to Campo Pequeno (huge bullring with a shopping mall underneath, including a supermarket).
http://www.hotelalif.pt/

We did a Sintra-Cascais daytrip with Inside Lisbon and it was so enjoyable!!  We had a fantastic guide name Edgar.  The places we visited were all very interesting and the pace was perfect.  They even dropped everyone off at their hotels upon returning to Lisbon. 
http://insidelisbon.com/EN/en_passeios_sintra.htm 

We also did a walking tour with the same company, which was really good as well.  Our guide wasn't great (very informative, but dry), but the places we visited were so interesting!
http://insidelisbon.com/EN/en_passeios_lisbon_walk.htm

I'd highly recommend hearing Fado sung at Canto do Camões.  We also ate dinner there and both the food and music were superb!
http://cantodocamoes.com/