6 days in madrid

I’d argue that only 2-3 days would short change the capital city, and lots of day trips would necessarily make for “taking it easy”.

You are correct. Albarracín Is too far away and not easy to get to using public transportation with limited time. I believe you’ve listed plenty of towns to fill the time you have. If you needed another city near Madrid, you could go to Alcalá de Henares, but my guess is you’re going to get tired of day tripping.

You should be able to visit Ávila and Salamanca on the same day. Ávila should only occupy a couple hours. Its main draw are the walls. Cuatro Postes offers a good view of the town.

Edited: Salamanca is 1.75 hours from Madrid by train. Zamora, a nice smaller city is the same distance. Burgos is also less than 2 hours by train from Madrid. You have plenty of options.

In my view Avila is the least interesting of your options by a considerable margin.

You're right that Albarracin doesn't fit into your current itinerary unless you have a rental car. For future reference, this is how I got there in 2019 via public transportation:

• Train to Teruel--possible from either Valencia or Zaragoza; this is a secondary rail line. Teruel itself has some very interesting architecture.

• Bus from Teruel to Albarracin, arriving late afternoon. Only one bus a day.

The return bus leaves Albarracin early in the AM (around 8 AM, I think), so you have to spend at least one night in Albarracin, and a one-night stay gives your precious little time there.

Toledo and Segovia are must sees.

Salamanca is almost in Portugal, a bit too far for a day trip from Madrid.

I find Alcala de Henares at night sth I would do before Avila.

We have just competed two months in Spain... I've said this about people's opinions on this forum: we all have different opinions and interests. So with that said, I couldn't have been more disappointed in Toledo. The cathedral was fine. The military museum is in nearly complete alteration so free to see mostly just the ruins. I suggest that you use your toledo day for something else. But that is only my opinion.

thank you all for your insights! seems like i have more than enough options to fill my time!

I’ll throw in El Escorial as another day trip option - it is some impressive architecture. Visiting is also straightforward, a direct bus ride from Madrid (Moncloa bus station which is on the metro). Rick’s guidebook has good detailed instructions.

Maybe I was lucky but when I visited several years ago it was nearly empty and I could take the time to look around without feeling rushed. It also doesn’t require a full day so you can join it with something back in Madrid before or after.

The brand new Royal Collections Gallery is supposed to open today in Madrid. It is located by the Palacio Real and the Almudena Cathedral.

thank you all for the additional input! much appreciated!

hello all,
one last question about traveling in spain! i would like to go to segovia from madrid tomorrow for a day trip. what's the best way to do it? train looks good but terminates at guiomar. too far to walk but i suppose i can take a city bus to the center. alternatively is there a bus from madrid? i looked at the alsa website and they list 4 places under segovia as stops. which one is the closest to the center?

thanks and much appreciated!