One day in Toledo
Sep 2nd, 2016, 09:09 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 34,858
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You don't have to have a guide, if you pick out a couple of the main sights you particularly want to see and visit them and that would take up a lot of the day. I was there for a day, as I recall, I visited 2-3 museums (some aren't huge) and the cathedral and another famous church (probably Santo Tome) and synagogue. Aside from that, lunch and a little walking around and shopping as they have some particular artisan techniques in Toledo that I like.
I think the guide thing is really a personal choice, some can be quite good and enjoyable, but if you have a guide walking you all over Toledo and discussing things, I suspect you won't have as much time to actually visit inside the museums or churches. At least that's been my experience, it's more an overview of a city when you do walking tours. If you do one in the morning, it may go all over the city and then you'd have to backtrack to go back to see one or two things inside later on, and that could be tiring. Depends how much time you have, I took public transportation (bus) so imagine I about 10 am to 4 pm in the city.
It depends how good you are at organizing and reading up on your own, also. BUt all of these issues are things you probably know about yourself.
A lot of the tours will be in Spanish, also, of course, so your choice may be limited if you want a group tour.
I've heard of this company, they have a two hour one at 11 which is a fee of your discretion, so that might be a good place to start if you want one.
http://www.cuentametoledo.com/english-free-tour-toledo/
I think the guide thing is really a personal choice, some can be quite good and enjoyable, but if you have a guide walking you all over Toledo and discussing things, I suspect you won't have as much time to actually visit inside the museums or churches. At least that's been my experience, it's more an overview of a city when you do walking tours. If you do one in the morning, it may go all over the city and then you'd have to backtrack to go back to see one or two things inside later on, and that could be tiring. Depends how much time you have, I took public transportation (bus) so imagine I about 10 am to 4 pm in the city.
It depends how good you are at organizing and reading up on your own, also. BUt all of these issues are things you probably know about yourself.
A lot of the tours will be in Spanish, also, of course, so your choice may be limited if you want a group tour.
I've heard of this company, they have a two hour one at 11 which is a fee of your discretion, so that might be a good place to start if you want one.
http://www.cuentametoledo.com/english-free-tour-toledo/
Sep 2nd, 2016, 04:38 PM
#3
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,118
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No guide needed unless you want one.
Toledo has a LOT to offer, more than enough to keep some of us busy for 2 or more days, so you would do well to consult a few good guidebooks and think your priorities through in advance.
Toledo has a LOT to offer, more than enough to keep some of us busy for 2 or more days, so you would do well to consult a few good guidebooks and think your priorities through in advance.
Sep 2nd, 2016, 04:43 PM
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,358
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sep 2nd, 2016, 08:37 PM
#5
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,018
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
IMHO, the Toledo Cathedral is one of the greatest in the world. Allow plenty of time for this. Pay special attention to the choir and the sculptures around the skylight opening. Just read a bit before you go.
Don't miss the El Greco gallery.
Toledo has an amazing history. Read up on it to enjoy it more when you go.
You don't need a guide, especially for walking around the city. It is very small.
Don't miss the El Greco gallery.
Toledo has an amazing history. Read up on it to enjoy it more when you go.
You don't need a guide, especially for walking around the city. It is very small.
Sep 6th, 2016, 04:52 AM
#9
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Without a doubt, the best time to be in Toledo is late afternoon and evening when the tourist buses are gone. (early morning before things open is also a great time). If you can't find a way to spend a night in Toledo, get the latest bus/train back to Madrid and enjoy the city when you are not bumping elbows with others.
The two biggest highlights are IMO cathedral and Museo del Greco. My other must-see stops would be to walk the 15 minutes it takes from the Puerta de Alcantara, go across the river and turn right. You will walk up the Carretera Alto (I think) and have a stupendous view, the view that El Greco used to paint his famous View of Toledo. I was walking into Toledo on the Camino de Levante and this was my first view of the city as I struggled up a hill from a 40 km day, and it took my breath away. Even if you walk out of the city in order to see it, though, it is still pretty spectacular.
My other suggestion is to get a Pulsera Turistica (tourist bracelet), which includes entrance to 8 of the "minor" Toledo attractions. The synagogue, a former mosque,a visit to El Greco's Burial of Conde Orgaz, a Romanesque church with remnants from many former eras, a bell tower with a terrific view, etc., all are well worth a visit. At 9 euros, it's a bargain. And following the map to go from site to site gives you a nice little walking route through some of the more out of the way neighborhoods (to the extent that anything in historical Toledo is "out of the way") http://www.toledomonumental.com/pulsera.html.
You will love Toledo if you have the time to visit it at leisure; many who rush on a tour, zip through the cathedral and to see an El Greco or two, find it to be an overcrowded, tricky-tacky series of souvenir stands.
The two biggest highlights are IMO cathedral and Museo del Greco. My other must-see stops would be to walk the 15 minutes it takes from the Puerta de Alcantara, go across the river and turn right. You will walk up the Carretera Alto (I think) and have a stupendous view, the view that El Greco used to paint his famous View of Toledo. I was walking into Toledo on the Camino de Levante and this was my first view of the city as I struggled up a hill from a 40 km day, and it took my breath away. Even if you walk out of the city in order to see it, though, it is still pretty spectacular.
My other suggestion is to get a Pulsera Turistica (tourist bracelet), which includes entrance to 8 of the "minor" Toledo attractions. The synagogue, a former mosque,a visit to El Greco's Burial of Conde Orgaz, a Romanesque church with remnants from many former eras, a bell tower with a terrific view, etc., all are well worth a visit. At 9 euros, it's a bargain. And following the map to go from site to site gives you a nice little walking route through some of the more out of the way neighborhoods (to the extent that anything in historical Toledo is "out of the way") http://www.toledomonumental.com/pulsera.html.
You will love Toledo if you have the time to visit it at leisure; many who rush on a tour, zip through the cathedral and to see an El Greco or two, find it to be an overcrowded, tricky-tacky series of souvenir stands.
Sep 6th, 2016, 09:12 AM
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks We have hired a guide to be with us for part of the day ( in the morning) Since it is a Sunday we will see the cathedral in the afternoon and then "wander around".
Any suggestions for lunch?
Any suggestions for lunch?
Sep 7th, 2016, 06:10 AM
#13
<i>> Any suggestions for lunch?</i>
We were in Toledo for four nights last year and this might have been where we had our favorite meal in town:
http://www.maruxinalounge.com/index.php/Restaurante
A link to the menu in Spanish and English at the bottom of the page:
http://www.maruxinalounge.com/imagen..._Maruxi__a.jpg
The place was packed at lunch time, a good sign we thought, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes to get seated.
Or, if you have time it only takes a few minutes to taxi up to the Parador where you get the classic view:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/to...6e80#h688e6e80
We are also in the camp who also really enjoyed Toledo, and a return visit to Spain would probably include a return there.
We were in Toledo for four nights last year and this might have been where we had our favorite meal in town:
http://www.maruxinalounge.com/index.php/Restaurante
A link to the menu in Spanish and English at the bottom of the page:
http://www.maruxinalounge.com/imagen..._Maruxi__a.jpg
The place was packed at lunch time, a good sign we thought, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes to get seated.
Or, if you have time it only takes a few minutes to taxi up to the Parador where you get the classic view:
http://nelsonchenkin.zenfolio.com/to...6e80#h688e6e80
We are also in the camp who also really enjoyed Toledo, and a return visit to Spain would probably include a return there.
