Barcelona/Madrid/Toledo

I loved Toledo, but you don't have a great deal of time in Madrid. If you are an art-lover who wants to squeeze in the Big 3 museums, you won't have much time left for a day-trip after trying to see a bit of Madrid itself. If you aren't into art, I'd recommend a day in Toledo.

You can get from Barcelona to Madrid by train in 2-1/2 to 3 hours, so that's the way to go. The Renfe website isn't working for me at the moment, so I can't tell you how cheap the advance-purchase/non-refundable/non-changeable ticket can be. It will be relatively inexpensive if purchases soon after tickets for your travel date go on sale and a great deal more expensive if you wait until you're in Spain to buy the ticket. I don't know exactly when tickets for late September will go on sale; I'd start looking in early May, I think, just to be safe.

I'm not into art that much. So I think ill be fine. So Toledo is worth the day trip? Its an hour away right?

Thank you for pointing out about the train stuff. I will make a note of that.

Can you recommend good areas to look at for an apartment in Madrid?

Thank you so much!

Toledo is a very atmospheric, historic city. Walk away from the direct path to the cathedral so you aren't surrounded by swarms of other tourists, and you'll feel like you've stepped back in time.

I'm not an expert on Madrid, and what you want to see will affect the most convenient areas to stay in. I liked wandering around the Plaza Mayor / Puerta del Sol area (Plaza del Sol has the large red marker on the map) , and the nearby San Miguel Market is a great place to pick up tapas if the extremely late Madrid dinner hour does not agree with you.

Atocha Station, where you will arrive from Barcelona and from which you will take the train to Toledo is a bit over one mile (1.7 km) southeast of Puerta del Sol, so you might like to look for a place between the station and Puerta del Sol. Madrid can be expensive (by Spanish standards), though, so see what you can find that's near a Metro station. That way, you can get around easily if you don't want to walk.

Thats perfect info. Thank you. I just snagged a deal to fly into barcelona and leave out of madrid yesterday. It Was really inexpensive which is why i have that itinerary.

For Madrid accommodations, I don't know your budget or how fancy a place you want. If you want inexpensive and don't need fancy (but insist on safe and pleasant), I had a great stay at the Hostal Acapulco. Note that in Spain, a hostal is not a hostel - it's a modest hotel. I paid €55 a night for a single, and it's right in the center, a few block's walk from several Metro stations. Here's their website; if it's in Spanish, click the British flag to get English: http://www.hostalacapulco.com/

I think a good convenient location is the 'la Latina' district. Look around the Anton Martin metro stop, about half mile walk from Atocha station. This is also handy for Plaza Santa Ana, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor.

It's hard to know what to recommend if you don't want to make art stops. Picasso's Guernica (Reina Sofia) and Velázquez' Las Meninas (Prado) are 2 of the most famous paintings in the world.

Normally I would say Reina Sofia and Retiro Park on your arrival afternoon. The next day start at the Royal Palace, then Plaza Mayor, P. Sol, Gran Via/Metropolis, P. Cibeles, P. Alcala, Prado Museum.

Thanks guys for the info! Im adding all of your suggestions to my list of things to look into.

i checked the hostal alcapulco, very cheap and in a nice area... Im debating i didnt want to go over 150 a night... The airbnb options were ranging from 118 to 300 a night . so if i can save a bit would be great too... This might be a winner..

€118-300 for one person is way more than I've ever spent in Spain except for a splurge in Sevilla at high high season in a nice hotel, and that was "only" €180/night for a double room.

If you aren't especially interested in the art museums of Madrid (the main attraction), spend an overnight (or two) in Toledo. I stayed at La Posada de Manolo (ask for the 10% Rick Steves discount). It's a 1/2 train ride from Madrid. I'd go straight there after Barcelona. Toledo is well worth 1-2 days to explore its medieval streets, scenic views and cathedral.

So better to go directly from Barcelona to Toledo?
To be perfectly honest ive never been to an art museum(I know sad) but this is my first trip to europe. Toledo sounds like it might be a better fit. I guess I'm just concerned about flying back home on that Saturday. I have a 430 pm flight. So if Toledo was an option Itinerary would be to spend weds night and Thursday night in Toledo and then Madrid Friday into saturday? Just thinking here how far is the Madrid airport from Toledo? I love exlporing, trying new foods, i'm really into fitness stuff so I'm not sure if there is any hiking stuff scenic views. I'm hoping to learn some history while I'm there. I'm waiting for rick Steve's book so i can plan my itinerary and learn what options i have to explore.

The only thing ive booked was my apartment in Barcelona. Staying Saturday into weds. Hoping La Merce festival will occur during my stay in Barcelona. Ill be there from Sept 23 to the 27. Then the 27 to 30 trying to plan because I leave out of madrid.

"I guess I'm just concerned about flying back home on that Saturday. I have a 430 pm flight. So if Toledo was an option Itinerary would be to spend weds night and Thursday night in Toledo and then Madrid Friday into saturday? Just thinking here how far is the Madrid airport from Toledo?"

With a 4:30 PM departure, even my risk-averse self would willing to spend the night before the flight in Toledo. To get from Toledo to the airport, you take an AVE train from Toledo to Madrid Atocha station, then a cercanias (local train) from Atocha to the airport. As long as you've pre-booked the AVE (some of them sell out), you should be fine; if there's a problem with the AVE, there are also buses between Toledo and Madrid.

Between Madrid and the airport, in addition to the cercanias there is a shuttle bus. A taxi from the "center" (defined as a large area) is €30, and there is no need to tip beyond this. I'm listing all these options because, with a high stakes flight like one back to the US, it's important to have back up plans so you don't miss it.

That said, I think you should certainly spend at least one night in Madrid. It's a large and dynamic city which I liked, beyond its amazing art. In addition to walking around La Latina (hipster and South Asian, walk detailed in Rick's book), I enjoyed walking around Chueca (gay) and Salamanca (purring with wealth), which are not in Rick's book but are very close to the center. Retiro Park is also great.

Chani's right - outside of Barcelona, Spain is quite inexpensive for accommodations, so there's no need to go with an apartment just to save money. If you're looking for budget (but still very nice) accommodations in Toledo, look at the Hotel Santa Isabel. It's a bit removed from the most central part of Toledo, but only a 5-10 minute walk to attractions, and its roof deck has great views. I paid €30 plus €5 for breakfast. https://www.hotelsantaisabeltoledo.es/Inicio/w/en-US

Incidentally, the best way I have found to book these kinds of places is directly, by email. I title each email with details, for instance, "Reservation Inquiry - Hotel Santa Isabel in Toledo." That helps keep the replies straight, since I'm often emailing several hotels in several cities at once, and it's easy to get confused. In the email, I specify that I want a single room with shower and toilet, as well as my dates, and ask if they have room for these dates and what the price would be.

"So better to go directly from Barcelona to Toledo? "

I forgot to address this part - the answer is yes. You will connect in Madrid Atocha station; the trains from Toledo only go to Atocha and back to Toledo (it's a spur line that doesn't go anywhere else). But it's not hard to change trains in the station; just allow about a half hour. Trains from Barcelona arrive at Atocha's upper level, but trains to Toledo depart from the lower level. To connect the levels without having to go through security, ask for the elevator that connects the departure lounges (it's outside the lounge, near the high number tracks).

When I did this in reverse, I had trouble finding connections on Renfe's website. It only showed two options for the whole day, but when I went to the Bahn (German rail) website, I found many. So, I had to book this as two tickets - a round trip between Madrid and Toledo, and a separate one-way between Madrid and Barcelona. It's too early to book these tickets, but when you do, note that the Renfe website is tricky. You will need to use Paypal, and need this tutorial from Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html.

For the Bahn website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, here's Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules

In the end I realized it took FIVE websites to book the tickets - Renfe, Bahn, Paypal, Tripadvisor - and Rick Steves to tell me about the other four! But, in the end it worked fine.

So if i stayed in madrid.. Is staying at a hostal ok? I kinda dont wanna go so cheap but want to be safe comfortable and enjoy my time.. Im looking at things near the atocha station ... 400 dollars and up for those nights(combined) but if i do like hostal alcapulco which is 14 min from the station its 55 a night.. Almost thinking an airbnb here might be better to but barcelona was so much easier finding a placelol

There's nothing wrong with hostals. There's probably some technical difference between a hostal and a hotel. Perhaps hostals don't serve breakfast?? The trick is to look at pictures and read reviews (which you'll probably find on booking.com even if you don't reserve through that website). You can also check TripAdvisor.

I found Spanish hotels generally well-run. If there's an elevator, it works. Ditto for the air conditioning and Wi-Fi (though Wi-Fi can vary with the location of your room). But size of the room can be very, very small in the inexpensive hotels, so consider whether that will bother you, and if reviews say the rooms are small, believe them. And in some cities the budget hotel rooms tend to have windows onto air shafts, so you may not have a view. Such locations tend to be quieter, though.

FOR INFO

In Spain, there are officially four types of serviced accommodations:

• Hotel: from 1 to 5 stars. Private rooms with private bathrooms.
• Hostal: similar to a hotel but with basic services. Bathrooms might be shared. Normally cheaper than hotels. This type is inherent to Spain and some South-American countries.
• Hostel: community-type establishment. Rooms are mostly shared -albeit private ones can also be available. It tends to be the cheapest form of accommodation.
• B&B and guesthouses: single flats/houses where rooms are rented, other spaces are shared with other guests.

Bear with me as this is just a rough description of each type

Location is not necessarily determinative, in Barcelona for example, there are several hostals and b&b in (or around) one of the poshest avenues in the city, in Passeig de Gràcia, literally door by door from luxurious hotels.

Note however that since Spain is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, the competition among these is very fierce and the market has become very sophisticated. These days the differences between one and the other might hit some blurring in practical terms (ie. many hostals do offer private rooms with private bathrooms, some hostels are as comfortable and as luxurious as 2 or even 3-star hotels. etc...). In fact, these days sometimes the differences are more 'technical' -to do with the type of license of the establishment or the tax group under which they've been filed, etc.- than practical so, for the customer, the "label" being used might not necessarily be useful to discern what sort of services should be expected. Better check the individual websites for that :))

So, say for Barcelona...,
Some examples of hostals: AnticEspai, Hostal Goya, Mare Nostrum...
Some examples of b&b: BarcelonaBB, Anna's Guesthouse, CasaMaca...
Some examples of hostels: Generator, Urbany...