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One week itinerary in November (Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca)

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Hi all,

Last year the wonderful folks here helped me plan a one week trip and Andalucia which turned out fantastic thanks to your great feedbacks. Now we are planning a trip to Madrid around the same time of the year (first week of November) and I’d appreciate your feedbacks and critiques. So here it is:

Oct 31: land in Madrid in the morning. Light walk around gran via, sol, plaza mayor, palacio de cibeles, retiro park (botanical garden?)
Nov 1: el rastro Sunday market, royal palace, Almadena cathedral, San francis basilica
Nov 2: train to Salamanca. Stroll around in historic center
Nov 3: Salamanca cathedral, ieronimus tower, university, clerecia
Nov 4: spend morning in Salamanca then train ride to Segovia. Aqueduct, alcazar, cathedral
Nov 5: spend morning in Segovia then train ride back to Madrid. Flexible afternoon (visit a museum, take kids to Madrid rio park or just chill)
Nov 6: we booked lunch at restaurant Lana which is difficult to book, so will organize the day around that. Will likely visit the geominero museum before or after lunch
Nov 7: day trip to Toledo or el Escorial.
Nov 8: fly out

Note on Toledo: originally the number one side trip on our list, but we learned el transparente in the cathedral is scaffolded for renovation. It’s a very important sight and we are unwilling to make the trip to Toledo without seeing it. So this will be decided last minute. If el transparente isn’t open by then we will visit el Escorial instead and we will visit Toledo in the future

Also some questions:
- how crowded are madrid and Salamanca during all saints long weekend? I’m wondering if I need to make a plan B for Nov 1st in case el rastro is insanely crowded
- does any monument require advance booking besides the Madrid royal palace?
- I heard both train stations in Madrid are under construction. How bad is it? Should we get there an hour before boarding time?

Many thanks in advance

Posted by
613 posts

I will comment only about Atocha and Chamartín. I was in Madrid in May this year on my 3rd visit. Yes, there is major, multi-year, multi-billion-euro construction going on at both. Both stations, even without the construction, are vast, with multiple levels and various types of trains (regional, medium-distance, and high-speed) using different areas of the complex. You only see a display indicating which platform you need to be on once you are in the correct section. Therefore, arriving early and asking questions is highly recommended.

Posted by
436 posts

Because of the time frame of your trip, you may want to take the fastest train option, but there is a slower train that runs from Principe Pio station in Madrid to Salamanca that takes just under 3 hours and goes via Avilla. Some of the scenery on the trip is really pretty.

Posted by
16 posts

Thank you both for your reply.

TimW, that’s actually great. My expectation is that Nov 2nd is going to be very crowded everywhere due to the all saints holiday so the original plan for that day is light, and I don’t mind spending a bit extra time traveling.

I looked on omio’s website and the high speed train only saves a bit over an hour. If I count the time getting to charmatin and time navigating within charmatin, I honestly don’t know if the high speed train saves time at all.

Principe pio is much closer and presumably much easier to navigate. The train ride is 2h45 minutes. If we get the benefits of great view on top of everything that’s almost a no brainer.

Thank you for this suggestion

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