Madrid and Seville - Specific Questions

1. Plan on 8 hours in Toledo, and at least 6 in Segovia. We actually took the bus home from Segovia, but the train going to/from Toledo, and the train going to Segovia.

Thanks for the input on timing. I think we want to try and stick to all fast trains for quicker travel if possible, unless doing an organized tour which typically comes with transportation

Re advance tickets for Seville Cathedral and Alcazar and Cordova Mezquita, I can only say mine were purchased in advance and I was glad for that (March 2024, “low season”). If you want cuarto alto tickets for Sevilla Alacazar, absolutely necesssry.

You might get a sense of things if you check ticket availability daily and see what the possibilities are. It’s a bit hard to answer your question without travel dates. My sense on my recent visits was that folks are purchasing online in advance and queuing up with those tics.

I would like to leave things to be decided when there, but I am glad scheduled things in advance for those venues.

Thanks! We will be on our trip May 1st through 10th.
And agreed advanced scheduling is nice, but also like keeping the day flexible when I can so we aren't tied to a schedule the whole time. Understood that it's necessary for certain attractions though

I do understand! I had hoped I could enter the Seville Cathedral sooner than my time as my day moved faster than expected, but a half hour before was all I was allowed.

The trains will get you to Toledo and Segovia faster than a bus tour; those trains are faster than any travel by road--28 min. from Chamartin Station to Segovia (57 miles away) and 43 min. from Atocha Station to Toledo (45 miles away). There would be more waiting around (and loading/unloading time) with a bus tour, I'm sure. In addition, Toledo in particular has a lot of varied sights. I wouldn't want a bus-tour company to choose which ones I was going to see, or how long I'd stay at each.

I spent multiple nights in Segovia, Toledo and Cordoba, so my answer is that you should stay as long as you think your energy level will last in each of those cities. It's not like you'll return to Madrid/Seville too late for dinner; you'll probably still be too early to share a restaurant with locals.

The lines at the Alcazar and Cathedral in Seville are for people wanting to buy tickets. The "skip-the-line ticket" business is just marketing speak. Buy the Alcazar ticket online; it will be a timed ticket. https://www.alcazarsevilla.org/en/ You can find the days and hours of operation on that website: https://www.alcazarsevilla.org/en/schedules-rates/. Click on "Schedules" near the top of the webpage I've linked to.

Unless things are really busy (might happen around Easter, maybe?) you can buy the Cathedral ticket at the nearby Church of El Salvador. See that church, then walk over to the Cathedral and show your ticket to the line-minder. However, it is also possible to buy the Cathedral ticket online: https://catedraldesevilla.entradasdemuseos.com/. The online tickets are timed; I don't know about tickets bought at El Salvador; I suppose they might sell you a ticket with Cathedral entry much later, which would be highly undesirable. The Cathedral's days and hours of operating are available on the website: https://www.catedraldesevilla.es/visita-cultural/horarios-y-tarifas/.

As a general rule it is easy to find the opening days and hours of tourist attractions on their websites. Churches used primarily for religious rather than tourist purposes can be trickier, but for the basic sightseeing stops you just need to find the official website (which information will be in any decent guidebook), look for the British flag or an "EN" button to switch the language to English, and then find a link to "Visit", "Hours", or something like that. It's always smart to check right on the website and not too far ahead of your trip (exception for places that sell out wildly early like the Alhambra), because there might be something special going on that changes access.

I recommend Rick's guidebook to Spain. He's very good at covering logistics and if there's an easier or less expensive way to accomplish something, he'll tell you about it. Your questions suggest you may be trying to fly blind. That can be surprisingly costly in terms of time and money.

Trains between Madrid and Toledo are known to sell out on occasion, so buying tickets a bit early is a smart move. It won't affect the price you pay to Toledo, but it may keep you from having to travel by (public) bus instead of train, and that takes a lot longer. Buying early can save some money on the Segovia ticket.

Thanks for the insight, I will plan to do day trips to Toledo and Segovia on my own then. Maybe see if there's a walking tour once there to get some highlights. I think we'll try to do our day trips with arrival and departure to each of those cities around 9-10am and depart around 6pm.

Good to know about the skip the line tickets, that explanation helped!

Will look into the guide book - I know it comes highly recommended!

Flamenco show recommendation in Seville?

https://lacasadelflamencosevilla.com/

Regarding day trip to Cordoba: many of the sights close early on Sunday, and the Mezquita will be closed from about 11-3. That said, if your arrive early on a Sunday it can still be doable. Our experience last month on a day trip to Cordoba on a Sunday: our train arrived in town about 8:45 AM, we checked our luggage at nearby train station and took a taxi to Mezquita. We finished touring Mezquita and bell tower about 10:30, had time to walk the historic quarter following Rick Steve's suggestions and toured the patios area before 1 when most places were closing. We had a leisurely lunch, strolled for a bit and headed back to train station for 4ish train. However it was not crowded at all when we were there. Since you will be there during patios festival, will probably be more crowded. Also, we easily bought tickets same day, but I had been monitoring ticket sales online before leaving for our trip.

Regarding day trip to Toledo: we enjoyed taking train from Madrid and seeing things on our own. The suggested walk in Rick Steve's book was very good. We got there about 9 am and left about 5 pm and felt that was a good amount of time. We had a nice sit-down lunch while in town as well.

I also second the recommendation for Casa del Flamenco in Seville - it was fabulous.

Having recently visited the Cathedral in Seville, my one recommendation is don’t take the time to go up the tower. While not overwhelmingly exhausting, it is a climb and the view is just Ok and it is really crowded at the top. More importantly, the Cathedral is a marvel and you need lots and lots of time to see all of the rest of it. We all tire at some point at any church/ museum/exhibit, so you have to be careful to put your “fresh” time to best use. (The opportunity to climb the tower is pretty much right after the entrance for timed entries so the temptation is to follow the crowd up).

Thank you for the suggestions! We decided on going to Cordoba on the Saturday.
Will probably end up doing Toledo as a self-guided day trip as well. Was thinking 9:15am train there and leaving on the 6:38pm. There is also a 5:11pm back to Madrid but we felt more time would be better, although still uncertain. That's the last train ticket we need to purchase