Madrid & Half Day in Toledo
Mar 3rd, 2010, 11:04 AM
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Madrid & Half Day in Toledo
We arrive early AM into Madrid on a Monday in May. My tenative agenda for the Madrid area is to spend Monday (arrival day) & Tuesday in Madrid, Wednesday in Toledo, and Thursday in Segovia. We already have our hotel booked in Madrid for these four days and we leave the area Friday morning for Santander.
Since I expect that we'll be jet lagged as we're coming from the US, I don't wan't to plan anything too specific for our arrival day. We'll just see what we see that day, depending on how we feel. Tuesday I would like to tour around Madrid and see the Prado and other sights. However, the Reina Sofia is closed on Tuesdays. So I was thinking maybe we could visit on Wednesday morning before we take the train to Toledo. Since Atocha station is right there, that seems to make the most sense logistically speaking (versus going before our Segovia day trip since that leaves from Chamartin).
Since everyone says that Toledo is more magical at night once the tour groups leave, I thought maybe we could visit Reina Sofia in the morning then arrive in Toledo around 2 or 3 pm and could take the last train back to Madrid, which departs Toledo at 9:30 at night. Would this allow us enough time to explore the town? Since it appears that the El Greco museum and the Alcarzar are still closed, perhaps Toledo is a better fit for half a day than Segovia anyhow. And from all I've read on this board and in Maribel's guides, I think I would prefer to spend more time in Segovia over Toledo. I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments on this agenda. Thank you.
Since I expect that we'll be jet lagged as we're coming from the US, I don't wan't to plan anything too specific for our arrival day. We'll just see what we see that day, depending on how we feel. Tuesday I would like to tour around Madrid and see the Prado and other sights. However, the Reina Sofia is closed on Tuesdays. So I was thinking maybe we could visit on Wednesday morning before we take the train to Toledo. Since Atocha station is right there, that seems to make the most sense logistically speaking (versus going before our Segovia day trip since that leaves from Chamartin).
Since everyone says that Toledo is more magical at night once the tour groups leave, I thought maybe we could visit Reina Sofia in the morning then arrive in Toledo around 2 or 3 pm and could take the last train back to Madrid, which departs Toledo at 9:30 at night. Would this allow us enough time to explore the town? Since it appears that the El Greco museum and the Alcarzar are still closed, perhaps Toledo is a better fit for half a day than Segovia anyhow. And from all I've read on this board and in Maribel's guides, I think I would prefer to spend more time in Segovia over Toledo. I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments on this agenda. Thank you.
Mar 3rd, 2010, 09:17 PM
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I've been to both Toledo and Segovia as day trips from Madrid about 10 months ago. Here are my notes from the trip.
Segovia
We we wanted to make the 8:30 fast train to Segovia. It turned out that because it is Saturday the 8:30 train does NOT run and the first one is only at 10:30. The hotel clerk said we could take the bus that runs every half an hour. Yes it is about 1:15 to 1:30 hours instead of just 30 minute for the train but we did not mind and we said "why not see some scenery also along the way"?
So we got a taxi and it was 4.60 Euros to the bus station, not bad. We got there and had a bit of a time trying to figure out exactly where and how to buy tickets, the ticket station was not yet open, people were talking to us in rapido Spanish, etc. It was certainly the experience. But we managed to buy tickets (13.50 for both of us one way) and the bus left promptly at 8:30. It was very comfortable, and it took 1:15 because there was no traffic. Nothing really nice in terms of scenery, but just an experience to see the Madrid industrial area and then some countryside and in the distance snow-capped mountains.
When we got to Segovia, even though it was 10 AM and felt like midday to us early risers, most of the place seemed fast asleep. We had a coffee and something called fritas which I have NO idea what they were, very weird.
And we got some information from a very nice woman at the station who gave us a map, walked out with us to show us exactly where to start the walk (seems to be a pattern – Spaniards are very very accommodating, caring, willing and wating to go the extra mile for us – really nice). So off we went down a pedestrian street which took us straight to the old 1st century Roman aqueduct which was amazingly built at the time with NO cement or anything to hold together the stones. And it is standing very well thank you to this day!!
Right by the aqueduct was a serious tourist office and finally people who spoke English well so we got all the other info we needed. We first went to the "synagogue" which is actually called the Iglesias (can't remember exact name) but mentions that it WAS a synagogue before the explusion of the Jews. There was a lady inside who sat at the entrance and she spoke with us a bit and I understood some, telling us how it was turned into a church, etc. The weather was still a bit nippy but soon after got warmer and it was just perfect, as it HAS been the whole time so far. Knock wood.
We got to Plaza Mayor, yes it seems there must be a Plaza Mayor in every small Spanish city. And right off that was the large cathedral which was truly impressive. We went in and sat for a while and then took lots of pictures and walked around the entire large church and gardens.
From there we walked to the Alcazar which was interesting, if not as beautiful inside or out, as I had read and thought. But we spent some time there and again I took lots of pictures. By then it was after noon and we decided to walk back down another way so that we actually made a circle around the historic center and the most important sights to see. We walked through the area Juderia which used to be the old Jewish center, it is under renovation so lots of construction there now.
We looked at some restaurant menus along the way but they were all terribly expensive and when we got back to one of the main plazas, I saw a restaurant that I had read about but here it was also very expensive (between 25 and 37 Euros per person for the menu del dia) and so we decided we were not that hungry. On the way we stopped at a bakery and picked up some supposedly typical Segovian cookies, packed nicely as a gift and bought two of those.
I wanted to sit at one of the local pubs/restaurants since it was nice and sunny now but either there was no room or they did not have what I wanted so we were going to just take the bus back but towards the end of the pedestrian street we found a place that advertised a meat, fries, eggs, drink, desert and bread for 10 Euros. I did not have high hopes. It was OK but that was all.
At 3:30 we took the bus back to Madrid , arriving at 4:45 and by 5 PM we were back at the hotel via taxi again (great invention!!) and went for a nap before the evening plans.
Toledo
By 8 AM we got a taxi to the train station Atocha. From there, we took the 9:20 fast train to Toledo , it actually gets there in LESS than half an hour (about 100 kilometers distance). We did not want to take a chance for finding tickets on the way back since this is a very popular route and many people buy tickets in advance so we bought round trip tickets and the way back for 18:30. We figured it should be enough time, also after what we read, etc.
So at 10 AM we were already on the city bus from the train station, taking us up up up to the old city, through some gorgeous ports and monuments. We got to the main square Plaza Zocodover, where there is a tourist office and we went in for maps and information. Since Spaniards seem to wake up late, we are always at our destinations when hardly anyone is around and so we manage to see most of the sights without crowds and pushing, etc. It is wonderful.
Unfortunately, in Toledo at least, attractions are open at all different times and days. I knew that the synagogue was only open today from 10:00 – 14:00 so I wanted to make sure to get there first. So we walked all the way across the entire old city to get to the Sinagoga de El Transito which is now called the Sephardic Museum . It holds what was once a synagogue and a beautiful museum with many beautiful religious artifacts.
From there we went to the second synagogue – Sinagoga de Santa Maria La Blanca. There is a plaque outside saying it was once a synagogue, etc. and inside it is really beautiful with Moorish interior and it is "staffed" by nuns and there is nothing left of what may have once been a gorgeous synagogue indeed.
From there we needed to get to the Santa Cruz Museum before it closed at 14:00 and on the way we stopped at THE famous mazapan (marzipan) store called St. Tome. Toledo is famous for its marzipan and this store is the MOST famous. We bought a cream cake rolled in marzipan and it was pure heaven. We shared it and enjoyed it and it was already about noon and neither of us had had anything to eat till then. We kinda missed breakfast and I just had a coffee back in Madrid waiting for our train to Toledo . So it was a great treat.
The Santa Cruz Museum is where they have put most of the El Greco paintings now since the El Greco Museum is closed for renovations. Some of the works were really very good, others were not that great. But they allowed photos without flash so I was also able to capture some of the ones I liked best.
I read that Victoria Macho housed another of El Greco's very famous works but it was all the way back on the other side of town so before going there, we asked again at the tourist office and they said it was indeed NO longer there. They did say that at Saint Tome church there was a very famous painting from El Greco, as well as in the cathedral. So we went ALLLL the way back to where the first synagogue was and by this time it was getting quite warm, for the first time since we are here.
We did get to it and sat in the church for a while to rest and afterwards admired the picture. It was rather worthwhile to have trudged back for this. At this point it was about 14:00 and we started to get hungry so we started looking for a place to eat. We found several that had their menu del dia but believe it or not most were so full that there were people waiting for tables!! Finally we found one that looked OK and we only waited a few minutes for a table.
Unfortunately the food was again not really that great. I was adventurous and ordered the mixed paella for starter, we both had a small thin steak with fries for main, a pretty bad chocolate cake with cream for desert and I was so happy they had rice pudding for dessert, but it was such a disaster I could not even TRY and eat it. Oh well.
We then made our way to the cathedral which only OPENED at 14:00 today (yes, crazy and good they give you this at the tourist office). It was the most expensive entrance of all today (7 Euros a piece) and actually the synagogue and the Santa Cruz museum were free because it was Sunday, nice. Anyway, it was THE MOST magnificent cathedral we have ever seen, I mean even more than in the Vatican !! It is HUGE HUGH and so ornate and beautiful and so well put together. Inside the cathedral is a small museum with many wonderful paintings, again many by El Greco but some also by Tiziano, Goya, Rubens, and others. We could not leave, it was so breathtaking. But after some time, we DID leave and we went back to the main Plaza where we started our day.
We walked into the Santo Tome mazapan store and bought LOTS of yummy stuff, some for us now and others as gifts to bring home. It was 17:10 by then and we decided totake the bus back down to the train station and maybe we will make the 17:30 train, even though we had tickets for the 18:30 train. So we did, and we DID make the train but they were not sure they could put us on because they said it was quite full. A seemingly in-charge conductor or something came by, looked at our tickets, took the stubs and told us to go one to rack one and get onto the train. So we even managed not to have to wait a full hour at the station. Nice (and there were MANY empty seats on the train, so……).
From these notes you can see that the MOST important place to start your journey, to wherever it may be, is the tourist office. They have all the pertinent information for THAT day and you will know before wasting your time which attractions are open at what time.
Re your question about Toledo, we were not there at night so I don't know about its magical quality or not but if you do decide to get there late and stay late, make sure you purchase your return tickets when you get your ticket for the ride TO Toledo. Have a great time!!
Segovia
We we wanted to make the 8:30 fast train to Segovia. It turned out that because it is Saturday the 8:30 train does NOT run and the first one is only at 10:30. The hotel clerk said we could take the bus that runs every half an hour. Yes it is about 1:15 to 1:30 hours instead of just 30 minute for the train but we did not mind and we said "why not see some scenery also along the way"?
So we got a taxi and it was 4.60 Euros to the bus station, not bad. We got there and had a bit of a time trying to figure out exactly where and how to buy tickets, the ticket station was not yet open, people were talking to us in rapido Spanish, etc. It was certainly the experience. But we managed to buy tickets (13.50 for both of us one way) and the bus left promptly at 8:30. It was very comfortable, and it took 1:15 because there was no traffic. Nothing really nice in terms of scenery, but just an experience to see the Madrid industrial area and then some countryside and in the distance snow-capped mountains.
When we got to Segovia, even though it was 10 AM and felt like midday to us early risers, most of the place seemed fast asleep. We had a coffee and something called fritas which I have NO idea what they were, very weird.
And we got some information from a very nice woman at the station who gave us a map, walked out with us to show us exactly where to start the walk (seems to be a pattern – Spaniards are very very accommodating, caring, willing and wating to go the extra mile for us – really nice). So off we went down a pedestrian street which took us straight to the old 1st century Roman aqueduct which was amazingly built at the time with NO cement or anything to hold together the stones. And it is standing very well thank you to this day!!
Right by the aqueduct was a serious tourist office and finally people who spoke English well so we got all the other info we needed. We first went to the "synagogue" which is actually called the Iglesias (can't remember exact name) but mentions that it WAS a synagogue before the explusion of the Jews. There was a lady inside who sat at the entrance and she spoke with us a bit and I understood some, telling us how it was turned into a church, etc. The weather was still a bit nippy but soon after got warmer and it was just perfect, as it HAS been the whole time so far. Knock wood.
We got to Plaza Mayor, yes it seems there must be a Plaza Mayor in every small Spanish city. And right off that was the large cathedral which was truly impressive. We went in and sat for a while and then took lots of pictures and walked around the entire large church and gardens.
From there we walked to the Alcazar which was interesting, if not as beautiful inside or out, as I had read and thought. But we spent some time there and again I took lots of pictures. By then it was after noon and we decided to walk back down another way so that we actually made a circle around the historic center and the most important sights to see. We walked through the area Juderia which used to be the old Jewish center, it is under renovation so lots of construction there now.
We looked at some restaurant menus along the way but they were all terribly expensive and when we got back to one of the main plazas, I saw a restaurant that I had read about but here it was also very expensive (between 25 and 37 Euros per person for the menu del dia) and so we decided we were not that hungry. On the way we stopped at a bakery and picked up some supposedly typical Segovian cookies, packed nicely as a gift and bought two of those.
I wanted to sit at one of the local pubs/restaurants since it was nice and sunny now but either there was no room or they did not have what I wanted so we were going to just take the bus back but towards the end of the pedestrian street we found a place that advertised a meat, fries, eggs, drink, desert and bread for 10 Euros. I did not have high hopes. It was OK but that was all.
At 3:30 we took the bus back to Madrid , arriving at 4:45 and by 5 PM we were back at the hotel via taxi again (great invention!!) and went for a nap before the evening plans.
Toledo
By 8 AM we got a taxi to the train station Atocha. From there, we took the 9:20 fast train to Toledo , it actually gets there in LESS than half an hour (about 100 kilometers distance). We did not want to take a chance for finding tickets on the way back since this is a very popular route and many people buy tickets in advance so we bought round trip tickets and the way back for 18:30. We figured it should be enough time, also after what we read, etc.
So at 10 AM we were already on the city bus from the train station, taking us up up up to the old city, through some gorgeous ports and monuments. We got to the main square Plaza Zocodover, where there is a tourist office and we went in for maps and information. Since Spaniards seem to wake up late, we are always at our destinations when hardly anyone is around and so we manage to see most of the sights without crowds and pushing, etc. It is wonderful.
Unfortunately, in Toledo at least, attractions are open at all different times and days. I knew that the synagogue was only open today from 10:00 – 14:00 so I wanted to make sure to get there first. So we walked all the way across the entire old city to get to the Sinagoga de El Transito which is now called the Sephardic Museum . It holds what was once a synagogue and a beautiful museum with many beautiful religious artifacts.
From there we went to the second synagogue – Sinagoga de Santa Maria La Blanca. There is a plaque outside saying it was once a synagogue, etc. and inside it is really beautiful with Moorish interior and it is "staffed" by nuns and there is nothing left of what may have once been a gorgeous synagogue indeed.
From there we needed to get to the Santa Cruz Museum before it closed at 14:00 and on the way we stopped at THE famous mazapan (marzipan) store called St. Tome. Toledo is famous for its marzipan and this store is the MOST famous. We bought a cream cake rolled in marzipan and it was pure heaven. We shared it and enjoyed it and it was already about noon and neither of us had had anything to eat till then. We kinda missed breakfast and I just had a coffee back in Madrid waiting for our train to Toledo . So it was a great treat.
The Santa Cruz Museum is where they have put most of the El Greco paintings now since the El Greco Museum is closed for renovations. Some of the works were really very good, others were not that great. But they allowed photos without flash so I was also able to capture some of the ones I liked best.
I read that Victoria Macho housed another of El Greco's very famous works but it was all the way back on the other side of town so before going there, we asked again at the tourist office and they said it was indeed NO longer there. They did say that at Saint Tome church there was a very famous painting from El Greco, as well as in the cathedral. So we went ALLLL the way back to where the first synagogue was and by this time it was getting quite warm, for the first time since we are here.
We did get to it and sat in the church for a while to rest and afterwards admired the picture. It was rather worthwhile to have trudged back for this. At this point it was about 14:00 and we started to get hungry so we started looking for a place to eat. We found several that had their menu del dia but believe it or not most were so full that there were people waiting for tables!! Finally we found one that looked OK and we only waited a few minutes for a table.
Unfortunately the food was again not really that great. I was adventurous and ordered the mixed paella for starter, we both had a small thin steak with fries for main, a pretty bad chocolate cake with cream for desert and I was so happy they had rice pudding for dessert, but it was such a disaster I could not even TRY and eat it. Oh well.
We then made our way to the cathedral which only OPENED at 14:00 today (yes, crazy and good they give you this at the tourist office). It was the most expensive entrance of all today (7 Euros a piece) and actually the synagogue and the Santa Cruz museum were free because it was Sunday, nice. Anyway, it was THE MOST magnificent cathedral we have ever seen, I mean even more than in the Vatican !! It is HUGE HUGH and so ornate and beautiful and so well put together. Inside the cathedral is a small museum with many wonderful paintings, again many by El Greco but some also by Tiziano, Goya, Rubens, and others. We could not leave, it was so breathtaking. But after some time, we DID leave and we went back to the main Plaza where we started our day.
We walked into the Santo Tome mazapan store and bought LOTS of yummy stuff, some for us now and others as gifts to bring home. It was 17:10 by then and we decided totake the bus back down to the train station and maybe we will make the 17:30 train, even though we had tickets for the 18:30 train. So we did, and we DID make the train but they were not sure they could put us on because they said it was quite full. A seemingly in-charge conductor or something came by, looked at our tickets, took the stubs and told us to go one to rack one and get onto the train. So we even managed not to have to wait a full hour at the station. Nice (and there were MANY empty seats on the train, so……).
From these notes you can see that the MOST important place to start your journey, to wherever it may be, is the tourist office. They have all the pertinent information for THAT day and you will know before wasting your time which attractions are open at what time.
Re your question about Toledo, we were not there at night so I don't know about its magical quality or not but if you do decide to get there late and stay late, make sure you purchase your return tickets when you get your ticket for the ride TO Toledo. Have a great time!!
Mar 4th, 2010, 04:20 PM
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Thank you for your detailed response and for (re)posting your trip reports. They were very helpful and provided a lot of details. I think I will keep my plans as I initially listed them and we'll do a half-day in Toledo and a full day in Segovia. As I feel with our entire trip to Spain, we'll never have enough time to see and take in everything we want to experience while we're there. It will just require (hopefully) many return visits!!
Mar 4th, 2010, 04:34 PM
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Thank you, Flame, for the details. We are just now planning our late April trip to Madrid and Andalucia area of Spain - our first.
Question: would it make sense to consider Toledo as home basis, after arriving in Madrid? I find HUGE cities a bit daunting.
Question: would it make sense to consider Toledo as home basis, after arriving in Madrid? I find HUGE cities a bit daunting.
Mar 4th, 2010, 09:28 PM
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You are both welcome.
patiboo - I don't know if I would consider using Toledo as a home base. I think if I had to do it over I would definitely make Toledo an overnighter at least and not just a day trip. Maybe others have used Toledo as a home base and can give you other advice or experiences. If you plan to visit or be in Madrid I think it is an experience to stay in the city itself. I also am not fond of big cities but sometimes it just makes sense to stay there. We stayed for 9 nights in Madrid and did not find it daunting at all. We did not have enough time this trip to include Andalucia but it is definitely on our radar for another time.
patiboo - I don't know if I would consider using Toledo as a home base. I think if I had to do it over I would definitely make Toledo an overnighter at least and not just a day trip. Maybe others have used Toledo as a home base and can give you other advice or experiences. If you plan to visit or be in Madrid I think it is an experience to stay in the city itself. I also am not fond of big cities but sometimes it just makes sense to stay there. We stayed for 9 nights in Madrid and did not find it daunting at all. We did not have enough time this trip to include Andalucia but it is definitely on our radar for another time.
