I posted a week ago (Thank you for all the recommendations). We are going to take two separate day trips to Segovia on one day and Toledo on another day. For Toledo would you suggest taking the train (from Madrid) at leisure and exploring or doing a group tour for the day? Explain the process to get to Toledo like I am 5 as I am overthinking getting to another city from Madrid on the train since we don't speak the language). Any suggestions for places to eat/things to see/do while we are there and how long we need there for a day trip would be welcomed.
Posted by
Placerville, ca, us
181 posts
Pretty easy to take the train from Madrid to Toledo on your own. I would suggest looking into a guide if you like that can meet you there to give you a walking tour and maybe take you to some sights of interest. Grab Rick's book on Toledo and follow his tips for the transportation portion and there are probably local guides suggested as well. We have done with a guide (on a RS tour) and went back a few years later on our own and enjoyed seeing some of the same spots with out a group and sampling some more marzipan of course. I would take a cab from the station to town, but walking back -downhill and really not that far.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7818 posts
Taking a tour or going on your own is a matter of personal preference. You’d be wise to do some research on each town to see what each has to offer that you’d be interested in. TripAdvisor’s things to do section is a good place to start. There’s no sense in getting recommendations for museums, for example, if you don’t like museums.
I’ve always had a vehicle when I visited those towns, but believe the trains to each leave from different stations in Madrid.
Posted by
North Italy
543 posts
Trains to Toledo leave from Atocha station which is the end of Paseo del arte near Reina Sofia.
EMT recently introduced three zero emissions buses which are free to use. The 001 bus goes from Moncloa, all along Gran Via and Paseo del Arte to Atocha Renfe station.
Buy your return ticket a few days in advance because it's a popular day trip to go to Toledo so trains towards Toledo in the morning and returning to Madrid late afternoon can get full.
Once in Atocha just look for the big boards which show departures. There are two floors and it will say whether your departure point is ground level or first floor and you need to go through a cursory security check. It's organized like an airport departures so you all wait in the same area after security until they call your gate and then you can actually access the platform and board the train. All very relaxed and well organised.
Atocha is just across the road, well a five minute walk, from Reina Sofia and since I was a little worried about navigating a big station, the day we visited reina Sofia we had a look around the station too to get our bearings. Probably not necessary -all very easy. But plan on getting to the station 30740 minutes before departure time.
This is what we did in Toledo so you can choose the bits you might like (we had two full days):
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2025/04/toledo-in-january-trip-report.html
Posted by
TX, USA
5420 posts
As jamielsabio says, this is mostly a choice. I have done both ways.
When I went independently I was able to spend several nights. It was fairly simple to take the train from Atocha - allow extra time to find the departure track and don’t be afraid to ask. Once in Toledo, I would take a taxi up and then consider the 20 minute walk back down. There are escalators that take you down from (or up to) the walled city plus a 15 minute walk back to the station.
However, the bus tour wasn’t horrible. It was about 45 min to get everyone on the bus, an hour and a half ride, a stop for a panoramic view you don’t get when walking (although you could ask your taxi driver to make a loop by), a bathroom and shopping stop, then a 1 hr quick guided tour, followed by about 4 hours of free time. Then an hour and a half drive back. I missed out on the guided tour but got reports it wasn’t great - people couldn’t hear. But you have logistics figured out for you.
Personally if you are ok with the train, you’d waste less time doing the day independently. Leave on a train later than the 4:00 bus. Buy the 7 monument wristband and see them all. Tour the cathedral. But sometimes convenience is what we need and that’s ok, too.
Posted by
Walnut Creek, CA
749 posts
It depends. If you feel uncomfortable booking your own train tickets and figuring out how to get there and don't speak the language, there's nothing wrong with taking a group day tour from Madrid.
If you're doing this on your own, then you have to figure out what you want to see in Toledo, how to get there from the train station.
The main things to see are the Cathedral, the panaromic view from across the river at the Mirador del Valle, the Alcazar and maybe the El Greco museum. the Iglesia de Santo church has El Greco's most famous painting, "the Burial of the Count of Orgaz"
If you don't know what to visit, then a guided group day tour is best.