Traveling to Madrid

My guess would be no. We just spent 2 days in Madrid and one days on a day trip to Toledo. There is plenty to do in Madrid for two full days and Toledo is worth a full day. We took the AVE train from Madrid to Toledo. It was very efficient. I haven't been to Seville, so I can't make a recommendation there.

The short answer is no. A longer answer is technically yes. One day for Madrid; one for Toledo and one very long day for Sevilla. The best answer is that 3 days in Madrid is the minimum to really see the important sites/museums. I suppose you could squeeze Toledo in as a daytrip (only 30 minutes by train from Atocha Station). However, Sevilla is 2.5-3 hours by train, and needs 2-3 days minimum to see it properly. There are plenty of daily trains between Madrid and Toledo, though lines at Atocha can be very long (90 minutes plus) and some trains to fill up. An alternate is the bus, about the same cost and time.

Yes to Toledo, no to Seville. I recently spent two days in Madrid and didn't have time for half of what I wanted to do. I would suggest spending the whole three days in Madrid.

Agree with 3 days in Madrid and a day trip to Toledo.

It is physically possible to visit all three cities in 3 days but you probably won't see much of them. I would recommend the train to both of those cities. We saw Toledo on a day trip and it was acceptable. We also had only one long day in Sevilla and we were able to see many of the major sites, but we were based an hour away whereas you will spend more than 5 hours round trip travel time being based in Madrid. We spent 4.5 days/5 nights in Madrid and just scratched the surface so to speak...there is a lot to do and see in Madrid, especially if you are interested in visiting the major art museums.

Two full days in Madrid is enough to see the highlights, but I could easily fill a week just in Madrid. Still, I think you could do two days in Madrid and visit Toledo in a third full day. Seville? Impossible. If you had more time, I would suggest additional daytrips to El Escorial and Segovia from Madrid, but Toledo is your best bet for a daytrip. Save Seville for another time when your focus is on southern Spain. Need a good hotel – check out Hostal Acapulco in Plaza del Carmen, just up and over from Puerta del Sol.

Thank you very much for sharing your Madrid experiences and suggestions. Based on the great responses, we are planning to spend two days Madrid and one day in Toledo. The idea of spending a total of 5 hours on a train to only spend less than 5 hours trying to see a city sounds exhausting and unappealing. I agree the next time I will schedule more days to spend in southern Spain. Also, I was debating buying Steve's Madrid and Toledo travel guide. I've just been planning our trip by researching Madrid via this site and other sites. Would you highly recommend me ordering his book to take on the trip? Thanks again!

I suggest getting the Spain travel guide. It contains what you need for both Madrid and Toledo. Enjoy the trip!

Our local libraries carry all of Rick Steves Books and some shows. I copy the pages that I need. You may find that bookstores, especially travel oriented, will carry his books as well. I got my first Rick Steves book in a local store in 1993.

I would definitely buy the Rick Steves' Spain book and bring it along. The advice within is extremely thorough in every category. Having that book will save you so much time and money!
Also, I suggest that you get your tickets for the AVE train to Toledo in advance.