Day Trip to Toledo from Madrid

If your timing matters, you can book the train in advance. The trains leave often, check the AVE Renfe site to see the schedule or buy in advance (www.renfe.com, you can choose to see the site in English). My wife and I just showed up at Madrid Atocha rail station and purchased tickets from a machine. We had to wait about an hour for the next train with available seats, then took the 30 minutes or so train ride to Toledo. We went on a Friday in May and it was very hot, but not overly crowded. Toledo, I think, will always have some tourist crowds during the day (I don't think it matters what day you visit for the purpose of crowds). We do regret that we didn't stay the night in Toledo. Wandering the town during the mid-day heat was fine, but after dark with fewer people (like us, all back in Madrid) would have been worth the effort of staying right in Toledo at least for a night. Toledo itself is walkable, but the main vantage point from across the river where you get the iconic pictures of Toledo's old center is best done by taxi. At the train station, taxis are waiting and for about 15 euros they'll take you on a tour to the best vantage points, and then drop you in the heart of the old town to wander. That was well worth the investment. Otherwise, the heart of the old town is hilly but walkable (especially in October when it is not likely to be too hot). While the Cathedral is the clear star of the show in Toledo, the Museo del Ejército (a fascinating military museum housed in the historic Alcazar castle) is less busy but worthwhile. It is one of the most compact, enjoyable small towns we've had the pleasure of visiting in our trips to Europe, you'll love it.

We purchased our tickets ahead of time, because I knew that we wanted to leave Madrid early in the morning. I do not find the Renfe site to be user friendly. We took multiple day trips during our tour of Spain, so I booked all of our rail tickets through Trainline: https://www.trainline.eu/. One caution...the Atocha station in Madrid is large and can be confusing, so leave plenty of time for yourselves before departure. Not sure the day of the week really matters; it was not super crowded during our late October visit. We did walk from the train station to the village of Toledo. It was a pleasant walk that enabled us to take photographs and if I remember correctly, there is a line painted on the sidewalk that shows you the route. A series of escalators will take you to the village, so you will not be climbing up the hill. While in the Cathedral, we went to the top of the bell tower and felt that it was worthwhile. The city itself is very walkable. Enjoy Spain!

As others have recommended, purchase train tickets in advance. Toledo is a great day trip from Madrid. We arrived about 10 am and spent the day. We took the bus from the train station to the town. Walkable and plenty of sites to fill your day. I found this website helpful: "Day Trip To Toledo-One Mile at a Time." If you have interest in a free walking tour of Madrid we enjoyed "Ogo Tours." If you are heading to Barcelona we recommend "Runnerbean" free walking Tours. Enjoy your time in Spain!

There is no financial reason to buy Toledo train tickets in advance (unlike many other Spanish rail tickets, whose prices tend to increase as the travel day approaches), but trains can sell out--especially the latest trains back to Madrid. Rick specifically suggests buying the return ticket at the same time as the outbound one, so you don't risk being marooned in Toledo when your hotel room is in Madrid. Important: I just checked fares for next week, and the round-trip is cheaper than the one-way fare, so make your best guess about how long you want to stay (I spent 3 nights there), and buy the round-trip ticket.

Unless you're traveling around the time of a holiday, I think you can safely wait to buy the tickets from a machine once you arrive in Spain. If you decide to make the purchase in advance, you can try to use Renfe and pay via PayPal; US credit cards are apparently a problem on that website. Otherwise, go with trainline.eu.

The tourist office in Toledo sells a little bracelet that gets you into 6 or 7 secondary sights (not including the cathedral, the El Greco Museum or the Santa Cruz Museum), with a bilingual tour offered twice a day (as of 2016) at most of them. I loved those sights. It's also wonderful just to wander around the back streets of the very large historic district. Toledo is a bit like Venice in that visitors tend to be concentrated along the path between the usual arrival point (Zocodover Square) and the cathedral. That area can be a zoo, and the cathedral is popular enough that you may need to pick up a timed ticket and wander off for awhile until you can get inside. (This can be a bit of an issue if you're trying to catch the tours at the bracelet sights.) Walk a couple of blocks away and you'll be in medieval Spain. It is really wonderful.

Just wanted to thank you guys again for your help. We have decided to actually stay a night in Toledo due to your feedback.

We bought our tickets to Toledo the day before at the travel agent in the Corte Inglese dept store close to Sol.

That's great, cwall. There's a great deal to see in Toledo.