Barcelona. A great favourite with the Cruises and a great favourite with us.
Having done the organised tour from Lloret three times, and the bullfight, I didn't get too excited when we first went there on a Cruise. I should have done! The organised trips from Costa Brava Resorts did not give us enough time in La Rambla (a LONG Avenue with a pedestrianised centre full of stalls, cafes and human statues which seem to proliferate each time we go there, stretching from the Columbus Statue to Catalunya Square, which is also impressive). I don't remember seeing a lot of Gaudi architecture on the early trips (Gaudi is like Marmite, love it or hate it. I love Gaudi, hate Marmite!). We did the organised City tours from the Cruises (which are better because you don't have the long journey to the City) and the open top bus tours (more than one, it's a big City) and loved them. The last couple of cruises we've just done La Rambla (for the bustle and the shopping) and the Cathedral (for the sheer Majesty).
Not the Capital of Spain but wow, can Madrid be better?