train travel in spain

Yes Yes Yes Yes No Tripadvisor, but taking taxis are cheap ez and provides flexibility to stay close to where you desire We stayed in the Latina district last October and enjoyed it. No problem catching a cab to the station. Yes you must purchase tickets for a specific time and missing this time means loss of the value of the ticket. We greatly enjoy traveling via train in Spain, especially the AVE. buy coach tickets on AVE.
Use tripadvisor to find an article on how to best navigate he tricky RENFE web site. Safe travels

You want to do Toledo as a day trip? Think about it for a moment. EVERYONE does Toledo as a day trip. Why? Because it's easy - really easy, and an obvious day trip. A quick bus or train trip from Madrid, and they (everyone) is there for about half a day. Of course! Do you enjoy sharing your experiences with 10,000 strangers in a small, cramped space? If so, then by all means, do a day trip to Toledo - you'll fit right in. Along with more people that you could have imagined the entire population of Spain (and China) could be. On the other hand, if you prefer not to have to grease up your arms, legs and torso so you can squeeze through crowds, then you might enjoy Toledo more by arriving in the mid afternoon, to gasp in horror at the throngs of day-trippers clogging every available square inch of the poor old city, then squeal with delight as you see them all get back on their bus or train and roll out of town, leaving the beautiful medieval city to you and just a handful of other smart visitors who spend the night there, enjoying the magical atmosphere that you have all to yourself. Sleep deeply in the old city, then get up early, enjoy it again for a few hours more when it's quiet, peaceful and delightful. Then watch the fleets of buses roll up and disgorge their throngs - and get out while you can.

David, aren't most of the crowds gone by the end of September?

Also, we would like to see a bullfight in Seville. I read that the last ones of the year are September 27, 28 and 29. Do tickets have to be bought in advance?

Between Atocha and Chamartin you can take the Cercanias, a local train that makes several stops between the two, and runs pretty often. Or, you can take line 1 of the Metro (note that the Atocha train station's Metro stop is Atocha RENFE, as there is a different stop called just Atocha). Of course, you can also take a taxi. I wouldn't choose my hotel location just to be near a train station. Here's a very detailed guide to buying RENFE tickets online, from TripAdvisor: http://tinyurl.com/cu48wk5 While the train is faster, you can also take a bus from Madrid to Segovia or Toledo. I'm not sure, but I believe the bus is probably less difficult to arrange at the last minute, if you're not ready to commit to non-refundable tickets on the train.

Toledo and Sevilla are both from the Atocha station, but the two cities are not on the same route. The AVE to Toledo is less than one half hour. the one to Sevilla is about two and one half hours It has a snack car on board. Both are excellent modes of transport. Your train ticket will have the car number and the seat number printed on it. The trip advisor site is excellent and up to date as far as the purchase. Be sure to register on the site and it will make the purchase much easier. You will have better success with a Verified by Visa card than a plain card. Any where in the general area of the station will be fine.. The taxi will not be that expensive and will be the easiest transport. Near Atocha there is the Hotel Agumar (Spelling?), actually within walking distance, but I recommend the taxi so you do not have to carry the luggage. By all means try to stay over night in Toledo...it is a completely different world then. I recommend the Hostal Posada de Manolo...near the cathedral so if you get lost it is easy to get directions!! and they offer a great breakfast overlooking the cathedral. Have a great time.
We might run into each other in Madrid!!!

I like Stephen's answers, simple and straightforward. In answer to your question, "Aren't most of the crowds gone by September?" The answer is no. April, May, September and October are considered high season in Spain because they are a great time to visit. You can get great deals and low crowds visiting in July and August but most people don't want to because it gets REALLY hot (especially south). The AVE is very expensive if you just drop in and buy a ticket. If you plan ahead you can get reasonable prices. Tripadvisor has a very detailed description of how to use Renfe. Renfe has among the least user friendly (from an American tourist's perspective) online reservation/ticketing systems . When you buy ahead, make sure you give yourself plenty of room for error, an AVE ticket is like an airline ticket - if you miss your plane, you're out of luck. As for a train between Atocha and Chamartin, I think the metro works. I've only trained out of Atocha (we had a car when we visited Segovia). Get a place near any metro station and you can reach both stations without too much trouble (assuming you are packing light). Lodging in Toledo is much nicer and much cheaper IMO than Madrid. If I'm spending a day in Toledo, I'd rather spend a night there than hurry back to my expensive dump in Madrid. In fact, that can be said of virtually anywhere in Spain, and of food as well as lodging, you will get better and pay less than Madrid.