Getting from one train station to the other in Madrid

If it was me, from whichever station you arrive at in Madrid, take the metro or cab to Atocha station to catch the train to Toledo. Toledo is about an hour from Madrid so a taxi or private driver is probably fairly costly. The Parador in Toledo is 2 miles from the train station and off by itself, so a cab would be best. You do get a great view of the town from the Parador like in El Greco’s “A view of Toledo.”

Is the Metro easy to figure out?

Partly, because I'm always trying to get the most from my travel budget and partly because the transportation is so easy/great in Spain, I'd use the metro between the stations in Madrid. There are usually lots of taxis at the Toledo train station. If you don't use the train, the Toledo train station is very beautiful so its worth a look inside.

That said, we used a taxi from the train station up to the historic center of Toledo, and the next day ended up using a taxi to get across the river for "the view". We felt, in hindsight, that we could have taken the taxi to the other side of the river before having it take us up to the historic center. There was a hop on hop off bus and other options to get across the river, but the taxi was the least expensive and best suited our needs. So, my point, you are on to something when you say you are combining the private city tour with the transport.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse the issue.

Edited: Not sure what I was thinking, we never used the metro in Madrid. We used the Cercanais train to get around. We used to and from the airport and to connect to Segovia, etc. See Scudder's comment below.

Assuming you’re arriving from Valencia at Madrid’s Chamartin train station, you can take the Metro Line 1 all the way to Madrid’s Atocha train station which has the trains departing for Toledo. Chamartin train station is currently undergoing a massive remodeling project and it was quite confusing due to there being no signage to find our way around last September. Simply look for a Renfe employee when you arrive and ask them how to get to the Metro station at Chamartin train station.
Chamartin is several miles north of Atocha station and the metro ride takes 35 minutes once the Metro train departs from Chamartin. Still, it’s faster than a taxi to take the Metro.
Once you arrive in Toledo, take a taxi to the Parador as it is on a hill that is too much of a hike with luggage.

Very easy to use. If I read correctly, the train from Valencia arrives at the Chamartín station. To get to Atocha you take Line 1 (light blue) directly from Chamartín to Atocha. That normally takes about 30 minutes.

If you don't have a lot of luggage just take the metro to the train station. It's easy to figure out.

Once at Toledo train station just go outside and get a cab. There should be some outside and they aren't expensive.

We did that transfer last year. I did a lot of research about how to do the transfer and still somehow bungled it. There was something about the tickets between the two trains, using the exit turnstile, and the using a ticket for the new train.

I wish I could be more specific. But I can tell you this: I got off my train, got confused, looked for an employee, they looked at my papework and sent me to the right place. We went Segovia to Chamartin, transferred to Atocha, and got on our train no problem for the ride to Barcelona.

Thanks everyone- we had the same thing happen in Paris last year and did miss our train. Luckily they ran every hour. But that’s why I’m apprehensive.

Also, Tarjeta Dorada Card -booking ahead. If you can only buy this in person, how do you book tickets ahead?

The Tarjeta Dorada card can only be bought after you arrive in Spain. And the discount it offers is less than half of what you’ll see in the most-discounted Renfe tickets you can buy 90 days in advance of the train’s departure date. The prices on some routes are 75% less which is why Barcelona-to- Madrid tickets can sometimes be bought for €20 in advance versus €150 close to the departure date. So, for the best prices, most advise forgetting the Tarjeta Dorada card and go online 90 days in advance and buy the deeply-discounted train tix online. If you don’t see the ticket for the date you want on Renfe’s site soon, try The Trainline at www.TheTrainline.com
The Trainline contracts with Renfe to sell its train tickets and Trainline is linked to Renfe’s ticketing system.
Once you know what train departure time works
for you, sign up for Renfe’s and The Trainline’s Apps. You can upload your personal data, passport number and credit card info and you’ll be able to complete ticket purchases quickly the day they go on sale. If you find Renfe’s website is trying your patience, go to The Trainline’s site, which many find is easier to use.
The rock bottom prices— about 75% off regular fares on some routes—are for tickets that are nonrefundable and unchangeable. You also can buy refundable tickets for a markup. You can also
book a train for Toledo that leaves Madrid 30 minutes later than the previous train which might be cutting time a bit tight.

Have fun in Spain!

Train tickets between Madrid and Toledo do not vary in price, so there's no advantage to buying those super-early. However, it's a very popular route, and trains sometimes sell out, so it's not necessarily safe to wait until the day of travel to buy the ticket. I would, at the least, check the renfe website in the days leading up to the trip to Toledo to see what ticket availability looks like. Rick specifically warns about sellouts on the trains returning to Madrid, so that's another ticket you might want to purchase somewhat ahead of time.

I would NOT take the Metro to connect Atocha and Chamartin when any part of the journey is on a high-speed or long-distance train. I'm kind of surprised anyone would suggest that route.

Cernanias. If you take Cercanias, the commuter train, you'll just change platforms at Charmartin and ride any one of the 5 lines frequently going to Atocha in just three stops. At Atocha you'll be let out just a few platforms from the train to Toledo. (You'll have to do security again in Atocha.)

Even better, the Cercanias ride is free, included with your long-distance train from Valencia. Redeem using the Cercanias ticket machine with the bar/QR code on your ticket from Valencia.

(Also—Getting between the Chamartin platforms and Metro 1 is an 'over the river and through the woods' transfer.)

@scudder - Since I’ve never taken it, I didn’t even think about the cercanías. Good suggestion.

Scudder is right, the Cercanias is a much better option. Just as an FYI, the Cercanias trains are included in ticket purchased from RENFRE. We had purchased tickets from Trainline because the RENFRE website was being surly. I specifically asked in the RENFRE office at the Chamartin station and they told me I couldn't buy tickets from a 3rd party and still get the Cercanias tickets included. Now that was about 4/5 years ago, so perhaps RENFRE now has a closer relationship with Trainline. Still, after the runaround I got from Trainline trying to get a refund during COVID, I would only use them as a last resort.

And Acraven is correct as well about the trains between Madrid and Toledo potentially selling out. We stood on our train from Madrid to Toledo, it had sold out, and due to a train cancellation in Cordoba, we got to Atocha at rush hour. RENFRE begrudgingly let us on the train, but told us we'd likely have to stand, which at that point was fine with us.

jules— Interesting point about only getting Cercanias when buying direct—I didn't know that.

I don't know when it was overhauled, but my Spaniards tell me the Renfe site is much better than it used to be. It has its UX quirks, for sure, but in the past two years, the only problems I've had have been credit card security issues when making consecutive bookings with the same card.

Yes, Take the Cercanias train! Atocha and Chamartin were not linked by rail lines when we were there in September. The big dig around Atocha interrupted their rail connections. Of course- that’s not the case now and using the Cercanias commuter trains cuts the transfer time down to 15 minutes.
Happy New Year 🎊

@Scudder, RENFRE has always worked pretty well for me. I just recall a couple times during that trip, I had payment issues. Maybe it had something to do with purchasing tickets on my ipad.

@Jules: Spain’s national train company is called RENFE.

Thank you SO much everyone!

Kenko, thanks, all the times we've used it and I never realized I was spelling it wrong!

Thanks for the info, also, what is the best transport to the airport from a downtown hotel?

geovagriffith- That can depend on the arrival terminal and the hotel location. There have been recent discussions on the topic, so a search or a scroll could give you an overview.