Is it crazy to rent a car in Madrid and drive for daytrips to Toledo and Sevgonia? We're staying at Hotel Preciados, between the Gran Via and Puerta del Sol, for several days. The hotel has parking, but will driving in and out of the city be a nightmare? (We live in a big U.S. city and are used to traffic.) I know the train generally makes more sense, but because of a disability, it might be an even bigger hassle.

I've done it and its no big deal. Its no different than driving in any US city.

Driving in Madrid can be a challenge regardless of what some people say. There is a lot of heavy traffic and one-way streets, as well as some very narrow one-way streets around your hotel. If the train goes where you want to visit, then I'd opt for traveling by train and leave the driving to others. There are 15,000 taxis in Madrid. Use them when ever possible.

The key to getting in and out of Madrid is understanding the general "hub & spoke system" of the N-1 through N-6 and the M-30 and M-40 highway rings. The N-1 goes directly north from Madrid and the others work their way clockwise till the N-6, which heads to Galicia. The M-30 and M-40 rings circumvent Madrid and facilitate the movement of traffic around the city. The M-30 is the inner ring and the M-40 is further out. Knowing the principal directions of the “spokes” is important to navigating your way around the rings. For more details, see the part about Car and Private Transport:
http://www.softdoc.es/madrid_guide/t.../arriving.html

Also, there are different categories of roads that may coincide with the same direction that you want to go – for example the N-6 and the A-6. For an explanation see Driving in Spain: http://goeurope.about.com/od/drivinginspain/

Lastly, for good point to point driving instructions see:
http://www.viamichelin.com

Hope this helps - buen viaje!

It depends on where you're from. Madrid is certainly no more difficult than Boston or Philly - and a breeze compared to NYC.

If you enjoy driving, why not?

It's entirely up to you, and if you are determined to do this you probably will. My S/O was determined to do so last fall, and the only place he actually gave up on was - you got it - Madrid. He drove semi-trucks cross country almost all of his life, and is not afraid or intimidated to drive any place or under any circumstance. But Madrid was the only place he threw up his hands and said, "No mas." I would caution other tourists as well, but it's their call.

Madrid on the surface should be just fine - my S/O studied all of the maps that I got for him. But the reality is far different. Especially when you come upon construction that suddenly shuts down the way you were going to take. (This did happen to us.) Or the city shuts down main arteries. (As they do with Gran Via on the first Sunday of the month, and there is absolutely nothing written anywhere to tell you this, except that the locals know this. Those who stumble onto this have to wind their way through extremely narrow, one-way back streets to try to find their way to where they want to go.) The streets can be fine, but when you get to the roundabouts things can seem a bit dicey. You have to have a very firm understanding of where you are going and be in the correct the lane to make the necessary turns when you need to turn. (Translation: a terrific navagator who can read a map in any direction and can catch the names of streets as they go wizzing by.) Madrid drivers are safe, they just like to get very, very, very close!

Personally, I would say to save the hassle. Not sure what the disability is, but whatever is I'm sure Madrileños must also deal with such? It might be worthwhile to check into what options are available to you.

Or, you can drive.

We've done it and it isn't a big deal. If you are used to city traffic, it is no different.