DayTrips from Madrid vs. Overnight

Old Apr 25th, 2015, 10:21 AM
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DayTrips from Madrid vs. Overnight

I am already thinking about a trip to Europe which will take place during the Summer of 2016.

We plan to return to Madrid first and since we have been to that city before thought it would be good to venture out to Toledo and Segovia; we may also do El Escorial before heading back to Barcelona.

I am beginning to wonder if any of these places would be better seen as part of an overnight as opposed to a long day out from Madrid. I would prefer not to rent a car but can do so.

If anyone has any thoughts about these places mentioned, or others, I'd appreciate hearing them. We plan on giving Madrid at least two full days and nights this time around and the total time spent including the other locations would be no more than a week I suspect.

Thank you
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 11:25 AM
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You'll hear different opinions.
It depend what ( how much) interstes you in the place.
Some posters like overnight ( or longer) stays and enoy the town after the tourist leave.
We have found enough time to see what we wanted to during one day
( had time for lunch and a few glasses of wine)
I prefer night life in Madrid to a quiet evening in small towns . Also, I hate changing hotels.
Getting to places you mentioned takes no more than an hour from central Madrid
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 11:26 AM
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depends
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 11:32 AM
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Danon, thank you very much for your reply. I am pretty much feeling the same way you do at present. We will want to visit these other places to see the major sites. I understand the whole "soak up the atmosphere" thing also and we have found ourselves in a few places which we will always remember as being magical and unforgettable. Generally, though, we would go to the places mentioned to see some particular site or two.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 12:22 PM
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We like staying overnight in places so we can experience the early morning and late afternoon & evening without the crowds.

In 2012 we:
- Flew to Madrid & spent 4 nights there
- Took a train to Toledo & spent 2 nights there
- Train to Salamanaca & spent 3 nights there. Rented a car & drove around the area on one of those days (not worth it).
- Drove to Avila & spent 1 night
- Drove to Segovia visiting Palacio Real de la Granja San Ildefonso & Gardens on the way & spent 3 nights in Segovia.
- Had the hotel shuttle drive us to the Madrid airport for the flight home.

Stu Dudley
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 12:23 PM
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Toledo can be called magical and unforgettable - to me one of the most lovely old cities in Europe but to stay overnight it may be too dead for most and I agree returning to a livelier Madrid is nice- Toledo has an ungodly number of old churches all awesomely dazzling in that ornate mudejar decor featuring brightly gilded with gold-colored gilding:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Tole...=1600&bih=1075

Segovia and Avila make great places too but Salamanca would be my 2nd choice though it is a bit farther afield but still a reasonable day trip - Segovia has a world-famous castle and aqueduct and a nice old town center but like Avila is ringed with not so old-world stuff.

Avila is neat if your into Ste Theresa of Avila - lots of homage places to her there.

El Escorial is awesome too and could easily be combined with a trip to Segovia I believe as it is on the same rail line (I bleieve).

Aranjeuz is another nice palace - in between Toledo and Madrid, calling itself the Spanish Versailles, though to most it don't live up to that name by far.

Toledo is a must - Segovia would be my 2nd with Avila 3rd. And there are other day trips which I have not taken.

All those are served by regional trains - Toledo is also on a high-speed rail line - the old Toledo station is a masterpiece of mudejar architecture - don't miss it.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 12:31 PM
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I was going to mention Toledo but the PP mentioning Salamanca was right. I've never been there but my University Spanish professor raved about her year in the city and how it was the best in Spain. The University is the oldest in Spain and the old town is a proper old town(unlike Madrid).

I would recommend going there for a couple days at least.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 12:36 PM
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I like spending the night because of the great photo ops when the sites are lit up at night and all the day trippers have gone home so it isn't a mob scene.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 01:05 PM
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In visits to Toledo, Segovia, Aranjuez, Chinchon, Alcala de Henares...
we did not experience " mob scenes" at all. (It was mostly in the fall)
I have not been to Salamanca, but because of the distance from Madrid I would.probably stay
overnight .
Beautiful Valencia is only 1:40 minutes from Madrid by AVE.
Now, that IS the place to spend in
a couple of days ( great beaches !)
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 02:01 PM
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Good advice from then posters.

But if you are using Madrid as your home base then just know some of the mileage from Madrid.

Toledo is 42 miles away.

I would get a private tour guide and leave about 8 Am -8:30Am and you virtually have the full day in Toledo.

It does not matter that it is dark when you are coming home as you have seen what you wanted to see.

In Toledo your guide will know all the major places and get you from point A to point B.

On the other hand if you have your own places picked out then so much the better, the guide can just add to your desired list.

Places you would want to see in Toledo are:

1. The view from the Parador Hotel, this is a must as this is from where all those pictures of the city of Toledo are taken from.... high on the hill across the Tagus River with view to Toledo.

2. Alcazar Fortress and Zocodover Main Square right by the Alcazar Fortress.

3. Walk over the Alacantra Bridge over of the Castle of San Serando.

4. Toledo Cathedral of course and the Cathedral Square.

5. St. Mary the White ( nice to go inside this former Synagogue.

6. Church of St. Thomas ( Tomes), everyone goes here to see the 1586 painting by El Greco of "The Burial of Count of Orgaz."

7. Gate of Cambron

8. Bisagra Bridge ( the old entrance through the city wall from Moorish times.)

9. If you have a guide you can have him drive by the Bullring and the St. John the Baptist Hospital ( a block away and built in 14 century)

but since you are coming in from Madrid, your entrance into Toledo will be at the Statue of Alfonso VI roundabout, and going right by the Bullring and the Hospital.

Anyway that is what I would want to see in Toledo during a day trip.


I like PalenQ's choice of Salamanca.

It is 128 miles away ( 2 hours)

The main sites here would be
The Plaza Mayor ( like in Madrid)
The University
The Old and the New Cathedral ( joined together.)

Christopher Columbus Square and statue and the nearby Tower of Clavero.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 02:04 PM
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oops it posted before I was done.... but that is enough anyway.

We all have our own preferences and many times I get a private guide and then I do not have to drive but just look.

Oh yes, Sergovia , another lovely place is 52 miles away.

( I will be in Spain again in June)
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 02:24 PM
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Yews Salamanca would be a nice overnight and with the student crowd around not deserted at night as some cities may be.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 03:27 PM
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Toledo is a small place....getting around is easy...all attraction are on the map.
We took the train around 10:00, got to the center of town in 45 min
Saw the main square, the Cathedral, the Synagogue, El Greco , several views , walked back
to the train station ( there is a bus) . Managed to return to Madrid well before dinnertime.
We like doing things on our own and taking public transit.
I speak Spanish, but it is not necessary .
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 03:32 PM
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Personal call. I don't mind one-nighters, and I think I remember places better if I spend a night (more and different views of things, unique memories of lodging with which to pair the memories of the place, etc.) And as a solo traveler, relocating generally "costs" me less time than backtracking for any place more than an hour away. But as already noted, some people HATE changing hotels.

I was VERY glad to see Segovia after daytrippers left and to see Avila at night, too. I thought Toledo and Salamanca both easily merited 2 full days / 2 full nights.

I visited El Escorial by joining a 1/2 day tour from Madrid that also included the Valley of the Fallen.

I would have like to include a trip to Cuenca and would have stayed overnight there; I didn't have enough tie.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 05:49 PM
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I have seen Toledo both as a day trip and as an overnight. There was a significant difference being in Toledo at night in a restaurant filled with local families who seemed to all know each other and with constant greetings all around. So, it is worth changing hotels to stay there a night.

The train to both Toledo and Segovia is, IMHO, easier and faster than driving from Madrid. I have done it both ways, and in these two cases, would definitely take the train.

Segovia I did only as a day trip, and though I enjoyed it, I regretted that we were not there to enjoy the plaza at night.

While I prefer not having one night stays, in these cases, if you have the time, staying a night is lovely, a memorable experience, and may save backtracking, depending on your next destination.

IME, evenings with dinner in little plazas, piazzas, squares or small restaurants with a musician playing a violin or a fountain dripping water, surrounded by local people with children playing, are the best memories I have of travel in Spain, Italy and France.

You will have two nights to experience night life in Madrid, so you won't miss out on that, but still have the mysterious atmosphere of Toledo at night and the social plaza in Segovia.
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 06:12 PM
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If you get an early start you can easily do day trips-it stays light til about 10 pm in Madrid in the summer!
I always tell people to make the extra trip in Segovia out to La Granja-a short 10 minute bus ride!
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 06:25 PM
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Spaniards an Italians bring their children to dinner in small and big towns alike.

If one is looking for that type of experience, it is not hard to find in many plazas of Rome, Madrid, Barcelona....
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 07:51 PM
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danon wrote, "Toledo .... We took the train around 10:00, got to the center of town in 45 min. Saw the main square, the Cathedral, the Synagogue, El Greco , several views , walked back to the train station ( there is a bus) . Managed to return to Madrid well before dinnertime."

Just for comparison -- and I'm not saying that there is a right or wrong answer here -- during my two days In Toledo I saw everything danon mentions (including BOTH synagogs -- I'm not sure which one danon saw), both the Casa y Museo El Greco and Santo Tome (with El Greco's Burial of the Count of Organ; again I'm not sure which danon means), AND I also saw San Juan de los Reyos and its monastery, the Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz, San Roman and its museum of Visigoth artifacts, the Museo Sefardi, San ildefonso, the Hospital de Tavera, and the Roman Circus. I also spent an hour shopping for Damascene, visited most of the city gates, got wonderfully lost in Toledo's maze of walled streets, walked outside the walls on the other side of the river for some distant views of the city, had two excellent dinners (I don't eat lunch), and several very pleasant breaks for coffee and/or wine. I enjoyed all of these things and the only one I would consider skipping would be the Roman Circus -- but that only took about 10 minutes and was along my path from one place to another. I did not visit either the Alcazar or Monastery San Clemente, and would have liked to do so, but I ran out of time. ;-)
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 08:04 PM
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So much great information, as I'm trying to decide on the number of nights we'll be spending in these places this summer. Thank you!
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Old Apr 25th, 2015, 08:10 PM
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It is true you can have wonderful evenings in cities all over France, Italy and Spain. I have very special memories of evenings with friends at cafes in Paris and plazas in Madrid.

There is just something extra special in small towns where people seem to gather mostly in a main place, and it feels so intimate, perhaps because you know it is the same people who are there day after day. I seem to remember those places with the most clarity.
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