Madrid 7 days in Sept. Day trip to Valencia

That is two hours each way by train, so that is something only you can answer.

What do you plan to see in Valencia? Are you staying at the city centre mostly to see various sights?

Id consider Valencia beyond the reach for a day trip. But there’s plenty to see and do in and around Madrid, including some good options for day trips.

Scudder is also right on sights to see near Madrid which will not take 2 hours to get to. The medieval city of Toledo comes to mind. It's a very convenient day trip from Madrid by train, less than an hour. Since you are spending 7 days in Madrid, perhaps you can add Toledo on the agenda for another day trip.

Unless there is a compelling reason for Valencia, i.e., something specific you wanted to see, I’d skip it and go to any number of towns/cities closer to Madrid. Possible places could include the already mentioned Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Zaragoza, Cuenca, Zamora, or Alcalá de Henares. There are others, but it depends on what you like to see in the places you visit.

Valencia from Madrid is just a couple of hours train ride and the main station is in downtown Valencia where you can easily walk to the "Ayuntamiento" , "Reina" Squares with many outdoor cafes where you can sit down relaxing, eating the best "Paella" at "Baltasar" Restaurant! According to me they can make it and see enough of the city!

They absolutely can make it, and Valencia is lovely, however:

• the train tickets can be expensive, especially if left late (unless senior discounts apply, but if I remember correctly getting senior discount cards is a hassle in Spain)
• there are plenty of interesting day trip options that are closer to Madrid (lots of suggestions in previous posts)
• if the draw is seeing a coastal city, the center of Valencia is not by the ocean but a few miles away. It does not give off coastal vibes.

So I'd only pick Valencia if they've "done" the other key day trips.

Thanks to all,we will stick closer to Madrid. found a little apt. close to the Anton Martin station so it should be fairly easy to get to Chamartin to train to Segovia etc. which was on our list. Thanks again.

Getting to Chamartín from Anton Martín is easy since both stations are on the same metro line. Chamartín station is pretty small so very easy to find the correct platform.