Toledo -- help

You don't need a guide to see Toledo. Take the train from Madrid and a guidebook. Don't miss the Toledo Cathedral.

There’s no need to rent a car simply to drive to Toledo for one night. The train would be less expensive. If you were going to visit someplace else along with Toledo, it would make more sense. Toledo is an hour drive from the airport if you decide to go that route. An advantage to visiting Toledo as a day trip is you could get over the jet lag, then go on a day of your choosing. As geovagriffith stated, there’s no need for a guide in Toledo. You can research the places you want to visit before going over. Tours and guides, while fine, may take you to places you don’t care about or spend longer at places when you’re ready to move on. It’s all personal preference.

I would ditto up thread comments. We took the short train ride to Toledo first thing in the morning.
Did our research prior, spent about 4 hours, had lunch and got back to Madrid, walked to the Reina Sofia Museum and enjoyed Guernica and other exhibits. We didn’t feel the need for a guide in Toledo. We did do a walking tour of Madrid. We took the free small group tour with Ogo Tours. It’s a family run tour company. We enjoyed the knowledgeable guide.

I agree with the others. Sleep in Madrid and take a direct train to Toledo for the day (45-minutes). From Toledo's train station you’ll need to hop on the bus and you won’t be the only one so follow the people. You’ll get off at Plaza Zocodover which is where the majority of people on the bus will also get off. When you get off at Plaza Zocodover, get lost.
I spent the night in Toledo once and was disappointed. The town shuts down early evening after the day trippers leave. There was no night life that I witnessed. The streets were dark and my sister and I were the only people searching for a restaurant. Finally, we found one that was shutting down but were allowed to sit at the bar. We were served potato chips and bad topas.

Thanks, everyone. Good advice that I will follow. Staying in Madrid and popping down for the day certainly seems simpler.

Since you'll have six full nights in Madrid, I strongly recommend you spend at least one night in Toledo. My experience was totally the opposite of the previous poster, Toledo was absolutely magical after dark, one could wander the streets and back alleys and really be transported back to medieval times. That's also when the locals start coming out after the daytrippers from Madrid have left. All the restaurants were packed and busy with locals.

That's also when the locals start coming out after the daytrippers from Madrid have left. All the restaurants were packed and busy with locals.

What time was that?

Spaniards don't usually eat dinner much before 10 PM, so there are usually people out and about in Spanish cities between 10 PM and midnight.

We are currently in Spain, and spent two nights in Toledo. Evenings were the best part, and I don't think we would have enjoyed it as much if we just came for a day.

It sounds like I have a win-win situation with either option providing an interesting trip.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I agree with gacllc1997, that was my experience too :)

The thoroughfare Plaza Zocodover to the Cathedral was bustling with locals around 9. Most restaurants were packed by 10 pm, we ended up in Taberna Cuchara de Palo.

We had the same experience as Carlos while staying overnight in Toledo. Maybe the time of year makes a difference. We visited in September. Zocodover Square was bustling with people, some tourists but mostly local families. Children were riding their bikes; people were out for dinner and getting ice cream. It was a lot of fun.

Honestly, if we visited Toledo as a daytrip, I think our opinion would be - it's nice but nothing to get excited about. Staying overnight gives you a much more rewarding experience. It is less crowded; the huge tour buses have left; and the city is magical when illuminated at night.

Toledo has quite a lot of sights--more than I would have been able to take in if I hadn't spent multiple nights there.