Hi - all, we will be in Madrid on Dec 28, 2017 and like to plan a day trip to Madrid.
I would like to cover the most essential in Toledo and how long does it need?
Is there any guide available?
I presume the best way is to get the fast train. Leave as early as possible and we still like to cover Madrid in the afternoon. Thank you.
In my view, Toledo needs at least a full day. In truth, if you're not big art fans, I thinks there's more to see in Toledo than in Madrid. And it's certainly a more atmospheric place.
In 2016 one could buy a wristband that provided entry to 6 or 7 secondary sights, most of which included tours offered once or twice a day. With less than a full day you would be scrambling to catch all the tours; it's not easy to do even over the course of a full day. I enjoyed the sights themselves (several known for their mudejar architecture) but the tours definitely added something. I don't know whether the tours will be offered on December 28, however.
The major sites (including the Cathedral, the El Greco Museum and the Santa Cruz Museum) are handled separately in terms of entry fees, but just walking the streets of the very large historic district would be many people's #1 attraction. I'm not sure which offer guided tours, but many major attractions have English-language audioguides these days.
In the old town there is train with audio tour that takes tourist to all of the sites
Toledo TRAIN Vision
https://www.facebook.com/toledotrainvision/
I forgot about the bracelet when I was there in November but it is a reasonable deal if you will visit 4 of these sites. http://www.toledomonumental.com/touristbracelet.html Entries are pretty inexpensive in Toledo, however. I am an art fan, so ran out of time in a day and a half. That including the fact the el Greco museum was closed while I was there. I also don't rush my visits.
Check the opening times of things. Hours are short in winter, so go early and return after closing hours. Toledo is very quiet in the evenings in winter and restaurants do not open until 8. There are a few tavernas open, but winter is not a time I would suggest hanging around to have dinner in Toledo. If you you feel you want to return to Madrid before your ticket time, you can cjange for an earlier train if there are seats available.
I usually don't do excursions, but I liked the tram mentioned. It got me by places I wouldn't have walked to....Toledo is hilly! It was a reasonable audioguide and plenty of time for photo opps at the lookout stop.
We stayed overnight in Toledo two nights last September and really enjoyed the town. If you’re only in Madrid one day, I would recommend deciding whether your priority is Madrid or Toledo; otherwise, you’re short-changing both of them. Part of the charm of Toledo is leisurely walking the medieval lanes, walking through the cathedral, and taking the tourist train to obtain some nice photos from across the river. If you like photography, there’s ample opportunities throughout the town.
For Madrid, we enjoyed the Prado, the Mercado, the Royal Palace and garden, and the plazas.
We just did a day trip two weeks ago from Madrid to Toledo. We would have preferred an overnight, but I have an aversion to one night stays. The fast train to Toledo was great. Nicer and quicker than a daily commute I used to have on the Long Island Railroad to NYC. (I think it only took 33 minutes.)
The only day of rain we had over our entire 15 day trip was on our Toledo day, which sort of put a damper on things. We walked into town taking the escalators (it wasn't pouring yet) and slogged up the hills (it started to pour when we got into the Zocodovar). We still managed to get in the Cathedral, several museums, and have a really nice two hour lunch where I had the best white bean soup of my life.
