Feedback for my Madrid/Toledo itinerary

A few thoughts:

1. Not sure where you are flying from, but if it's transatlantic, I doubt you will have the energy to see (or even remember) the Reina Sofía on your arrival day. I would stick to Retiro Park/walking around the area if at all.

2. Friday is doable but will be a very demanding day, be prepared to drop more than one thing.

3. Have you considered going directly to Toledo once you land on Wednesday, stay for two consecutive days, then go to Madrid and spend 2 consecutive days before moving on to Barcelona? I think it will be better than two 1 night stays in Madrid plus you will already be in the traveling mode on Wednesday.

4. The AVE high-speed train is by far the best way to get from Madrid to Barcelona, it takes you from city center to city center, no need to go through stressful airports.

5. Be prepared to get lost in Toledo, after all that is the charm of the town, just remember that up-hill gets you back to the Alcázar. By late afternoon the streets will be noticeably less congested with day-trippers from Madrid.

Thanks for the feedback Carlos! I have considered doing Toledo 1st, but this would require a fair amount of navigating trains and timetables, if our flight is delayed we could miss our train... While I am pretty alert after a night of no sleep, being tired will make me short tempered. I thought I would be better off with a short sight seeing day and an early night than raging at large confusing train stations. In the past I've done okay with sight seeing while jetlagged, as long as I can turn in by 7PM.

Do you think Friday would be better planned if we put off our visit to Santo Tome and marzipan shopping onto Saturday?

We are in Granada right now. We travelled directly to Toledo after landed at Madrid. Went through passport control at Paris CDG so there was no wait at Madrid airport. We then took the airport shuttle to T4, bought tickets from Renfe office, trained to Atocha and then to Toledo. It was not too difficult though we had to ask for help a few times. : )

We landed around 4pm and caught the 5:50 pm train to Toledo.

If it is pretty simple I'd be willing to do that instead, I can figure out signage in spanish as long as I know what to look for. I'd heard that the main train station in Madrid was quite confusing so I was apprehensive about navigating that with our bags when we're tired.

Now thinking about it, the good thing about your Friday afternoon is that Sinagoga del Transito, Santo Tomé Church, Obrador Santo Tomé and Mariano Zamorano swords are all in the same area. If you don't make it to the Obrador Santo Tomé close to Santo Tomé Church, they have other locations around the town and Mariano Zamorano swords can be done on Saturday morning just in case.

The Alcazar military museum is quite extensive, you are right to portion at least 2- 3 hrs to it.

Do some prep work on websites or or youtube for getting a sense of Atocha Station or to get from Airport to Toledo. If you can do it first day, it could be advantageous.
I was in Madrid Nov 9-14, 2017. I didn't prebook any museums and did the Reina Sofia later in tje afternoon on free Sunday. Yes, there was some crowd but mostly young adults wjo looked and moved faster than I. It didn't really impact my experience.
The Almudena Church is literalky beside the Palace. Consider a granola bar to tide you over and hit the Mercado afterwards.

While I still remember I will write down what we did.
We arrived at T2, followed sign outside to take the free airport shuttle to T4.
Took elevator downstairs to Renfe office to get both Crecania ticket to Atocha and ticket to Toledo.
Once at Atocha station, exit Crecania area and cross to Renfe train area. We didn’t see (maybe we just didn’t understand) signs but we just showed our tickets to Renfe workers who were very helpful. Go through security check then there is the waiting area.
We only speak very very basic Spanish so I am sure you will do great. Hope this helps.

The good thing about train tickets from Madrid to Toledo is that they are always the same price, so you don't lose any money by waiting to buy them until you arrive in Madrid. Getting the tickets at the airport is great because that's one step you'll be able to skip at Atocha. If in doubt, buy tickets for one train later than the next train, and you'll have time to forage for snacks at Atocha before boarding.

It seemed to me that when I went to the Reina Sofia in May 2016, the only painting people were interested in was "Guernica". If it's mobbed when you first reach that room, wander around a bit and return to it when conditions may have improved. Similarly, in the Prado there were clots of people only in front of "Las Meninas" and Bosch's "Tree of Life" (I may have the name of that one wrong).

I love art, but your Sunday hitting two giant museums would overwhelm me. I did the Thyssen (wonderful) and Reina Sofia on a Sunday free afternoon - the latter was very crowded, but I only wanted to see the Picasso and that is all I saw in the entire museum. I agree that art on your arrival day is not a good idea - keep it to the outdoors. The Prado and Reina are open on Monday, why not go to one of them in the morning before you catch the train to Barcelona?

I don't think you need more than 4 hours to see a lot at the Prado. For example, we spent 4.5 hours at the Prado, and that included a light lunch at the Prado cafeteria, and browsing through its gift shop. We saw a lot of paintings in those 4 hours, and we didn't rush through them either. I love art, but i agree that after 4 or 5 hours I need to leave because at that point I am not appreciating or understanding what I am seeing. We did spend 3 hours at the Reina Sofia, which I enjoyed more than i thought I would because I am not a huge fan of modern art. Of course, we loved Picasso's Guernica, which is amazing and depressing, and I also enjoyed many of the other art works we saw. The museum was also showing short film clips related to some of the paintings to give a historical context. We didn't have time to visit the Thyssen.

And i agree with other posters that on your day of arrival you will be much better served walking through Retiro Park and getting some fresh air. If you get tired, you can also sit outside at a cafe and have something to drink. The sangria is awesome! But that might make you sleepy :-)

If you are a senior citizen, the museums give you a discount (50%, I think)!