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Itinerary help for Toledo and Madrid

Posted by (Chicago) on

Need a one day itinerary for Toledo, and need the links for the places to buy tickets to. I know we should see the Cathedral, but I am not finding a website to buy tickets or the hours. I am trying to plan our trip in Madrid and since we want to do a daytrip to Toledo, I need to first know what sites in Toledo have restricted hours or days. We arrive in Madrid on a Tuesday afternoon, leave Sunday morning. We are planning to see the Royal Palace, Prado, and the Rena Sofia on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday, and thinking to go to Toledo on a Friday. But please, advise what would be best concerning crowds, etc. Our plan right now is:

Wed - Prado
THurs - Rena Sofia
Fri - Toledo
Sat - Royal Palace

This is not an exhaustive list, just the one major item we definitely want to see that day.

Planning to take train roundtrip between Madrid and Toledo. Seems like any day works.

In Toledo, I need to know about the hop on hop off bus, (where to catch it, cost, how to pay, hours), and where are some good places to stay cool (meaning inside air conditioning) during the afternoon heat. We won't have a hotel there, so we need some places we can take refuge in for a few hours.

Lastly, what are the sights in Toledo to see in the evening/nighttime?

Your responses are very much needed as I need to buy tickets, train tickets, etc. tomorrow. Greatly appreciate your help

Posted by
6792 posts

I would urge you to reconsider your plans. Doing Toledo as a day trip is a serious mistake IMHO.
Why? Everyone does Toledo as a day trip from Madrid. And that changes it from a delightful, dream-like experience to a crass, grim competition for a space to stand. From 10 am to 3 pm, Toledo is jammed with tourists, you have to literally squeeze through the crowds. It's hot, everyone's grouchy, it ruins the experience.

The solution is easy: be there when the other 99% of tourists are not there. Take the train to Toledo mid afternoon, arriving 3 pm or so. Watch as the mobs board their tour buses, all get on the trains to Madrid, and the town empties completely. By 5 pm, it'll just be you and the echo of your footsteps on the cobblestones. The place is all yours in the later afternoon and evening. Enjoy a lovely dinner, wander a bit after dark, and spend the night in the old center - it's magical when the human tide has gone. Get up early, enjoy a few more hours with the old city all to yourself, then head for the train station to depart around 10 am, as the stream of humanity fills the town back up.

Just my 2 cents. You'll see. Good luck.

Posted by
5294 posts

Dg,

I agree with David 100%!
If you can spend at least an overnight in Toledo you'll experience what David described:

it's magical when the human tide has gone.

The first time we visited Toledo years ago, we were on a whirlwind type of trip, so we only spent an afternoon there and we promised ourselves to return.
So in October of 2015, my mom and I enjoyed 5 wonderful nights in beautiful Toledo.

When you buy your train tickets, make sure you also buy the return tickets, especially if you plan to depart Toledo in the evening, as some trains sell out.

Here is the website for Toledo's Cathedral

You may want to refer to Rick Steves Spain book for more information about the "must see" sites in Madrid as well as in Toledo.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Posted by
28102 posts

Although Rick is not a great fan, I was glad I had bought the tourist office's wrist band that gets you into 6 or 7 minor sights. As I recall, there's a former synagogue, a town gate, etc. At least four of them had included tours offered at least once a day. They were not overrun with tourists, and they were lovely. The cathedral and the path to the cathedral were very busy even in the second half of May, that is true, but if you wandered off that direct path you could leave the other tourists behind.

Posted by
7175 posts

With four full days (Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat), I would look at a day trip to Segovia as well as Toledo, still leaving 2 full days for Madrid itself.

Day 1
am...City Walk

Temple of Debod
Plaza de Espana
Plaza de Oriente
Plaza Mayor (morning coffee)
Puerta del Sol
Metropolis Bldg
Plaza de Cibeles
Puerta del Alcala

Perhaps lunch in the Salamanca district before a stroll thru Retiro Park.
pm...Prado Museum

Day 2
am...Royal Palace
Visit San Francisco el Grande, then explore the historic La Latina district.
Perhaps lunch on Plaza Santa Ana.
pm...Reina Sofia Museum

Posted by
7175 posts

Avail yourself of FREE MUSEUM ADMISSION times during your stay ...

Museo del Prado
Tuesday to Saturday
6pm – 8pm

Reina Sofia
Wednesday to Saturday
7pm – 9pm

Remember that dinner time in Madrid STARTS from 9pm.

Posted by
21 posts

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think what David wrote makes sense, but I do not think we can do an overnight. We were thinking to arrive in Toldeo in the afternoon, but I thought, since it will be so hot, better to go in the morning, see what we can, then hide out in the afternoon, and then enjoy the city again in the early evening through the time near the last train back to Madrid, which is at 21:30.

Posted by
7162 posts

Go to TripAdvisor and search on things to see for Toledo. It has reviews and photos of all the major things to see. Then you can choose those places of interest to you and not depend exclusively on what others say. Not that there isn't one, but I don't recall a hop-on bus. The historic center is not that large.

For getting out of the heat, my wife and I will go into a cafe, or if one is available, go into a hotel and sit in the lobby until we cool down. Hotels are also nice places to enter if you need to use the restroom. We've never been refused.

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