luvtravelin

Ok I am a bit confused about Toledo, Spain. So I understand you take the Renfe train from Madrid to Toledo. Then once you get there, do you take another bus to town? Where do you get the bus, how much is it, where do you get off?

Then in order to see the sites Alcazar, cathedral - do you walk or you take another bus??

Then I read on these boards that there is yet another train that you can take as a tour train around Toledo in 45 min - a choo choo train?

Please help with the transportation logistics. Thanks!

yk

There's a bus stop directly in front of the train station. Many buses go up to the old town - just get on any bus that says Plaza Zocodover. It's 90 euro cents and you pay the driver when you get on. Plaza Zocodover is kind of the "heart" of old town Toledo, so get off there and you can pretty much walk to the rest of the sights.

Unless you have some serious health problem, you can walk to the Alcazar (you know it's currently closed for renovation, right) and the Cathedral.

Yes, there is a tourist train. I didn't try it.

I walked from Plaza Zocodover back to the train station. It's a down hill walk and took about 20-30 minutes (depends on whether you stop for photos etc). Or you can just take a bus from Plaza Zocodover back to the train station.

DeborahAnn

helpful information yk

luv--doesn't a "choo choo" train need tracks is this a tourist hop on hop off train, or a shuttle train that runs through a tourist section of a city

this information to me since we wanted to visit Toledo as a single day trip from Madrid Deborah

lincasanova

you must buy your tickets for the touirst train in a shop nearby. it wasn´t very clear to a lot of people who were waiting at the stop. the fellow on the train does NOT sell tickets.

a taxi to/from town center should be no more than 5 euros.

josele

The touristic train I recomend as it takes you off around Toledo, something you cannot do without a car (or a lot of walking).
For going back to the RRWW station, be aware that not all the buses stop in front of the station, some does not, but a long way past.

coxbox

ah that brings back such memories!!! My husband and I were in that litle train,with a couple just ahead of us. They were so in love.(Italian). all over each other....then they suddenly had a disagreement and fled to opposite sides of the train.. a few minutes later they looked at each other and scrambled to the center..once again in each others arms.. We wondered what the story was!!

isabel

Are you staying in Toledo or just going for the day? If you are staying at a hotel in the city I advise a taxi from the train station. Last July it cost €8 to a hotel near the cathedral, but it was money well spent because finding your way around when you first get there is very difficult. I would not have wanted to do that dragging my bag. And I am a person who almost never takes taxis. Once I knew my way around, I easily walked back to Plaza Zocodover to take the bus back to the train station for the return trip. I would not think walking would be a good way to save the €1 bus fare. It's a long boring walk from the old town to the train station.

Once in the center of town you can easily walk to everything.

The tourist train is a little bus like thing that looks like a train and makes a loop around the old town. Good if your feet are tired and want to see that great view of the town from across the river. But I wanted to take photos so ended up walking back there the next day (twice) anyway.

yk

I wouldn't say that it is a "long boring walk from the old town to the train station". What I did last month was walk downhill from the East side of Plaza Zocodover to reach Puente de Alcantara, an old bridge that spans the Rio Tajo. It was a nice walk with a nice view of the Alcazar from down in the river valley. After I crossed the bridge, it is a bit boring walking back to the train station, but that was maybe 10 minutes tops.

I had over an hour to kill between leaving Plaza Zocodover and catching my train, so this was a good way to spend my time. Obviously I wasn't trying to save 90 euro cents...

luvtravelin

yk - thanks again for providing such great advice and info. Yes I did read that the alcazar was closed - I wasn't sure if that was the current status. I guess it is?? Can you still see it from the outside? As you probably remember - I am gathering all this info for my parents who are leaving next weekend. They are in their 50's and are active but I know my mom starts to get tired of walking too much. So the zocotrain will be perfect for them for when they want to take a break and sit for a bit.

DeborahAnn - well it had been referred to as a choo choo train on this board. It is not a hop on/off type of train - it is non-stop and I believe people refer to it as a choo choo train because it's looks like the old-style locomotive trains. I was able to find their official site incase you are interested too: http://www.zocotren.com/servicios.ph...gina=servicios

lincasnova-thanks for the info!

josele - ok will keep that in mind - thanks!

coxbox-now I am curious too!

isabel-well this is actually for my parents who will be staying in Madrid and yes will visit toledo as a day trip. So this train will be perfect for them as I am sure walking the entire day will get tiring after awhile for them.

yk

luvtravelin - Ah. Now I remember. I'm quite sure the Alcazar will still be closed next week when your parents go there. The Alcazar is at the highest point of the "hill" so to speak, so it is of a little hike. Even though it's closed, the view from the surrounding is great because of its location, so I definitely recommend them go up there for the view.

When your parents get there, tell them to walk from Plaza Zocodover to the Cathedral, which is where the tourist info office is. They give out a free map which is very detailed and will be very useful.

DeborahAnn

luvtravel, thanks for the link, it looks like a relaxing way to discover Toledo. With the ride lasting only 45/50 minutes it gives a day visitor plenty of time for exploring specific points of interest.

Quimper France has a similar train. The train in Quimper was decorated to resemble the Breton faience also called Quimper. I think I took a dozen pictures of the Quimper train it was so pretty

thanks again for the link, Deborah

luvtravelin

Deborah - your welcome!
yk - ok i will tell them about the tourist office..that will definitely help. so I made a list of the sites I was able to research that are worth visiting in Toledo. Can you tell me if I am missing anything? Plus is there anything they should do...have coffee at place x, go to place y for views, etc?

Casa y Museo de El Greco
Catedral
Iglesia de Santo Tomé
Museo de Santa Cruz
Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca
Sinagoga del Tránsito

yk

Casa y Museo de El Greco is closed for renovations

Real Fundación Toledo has a patio which one gets a great view of River Tajo (facing the SW side). Just the view alone justifies the admission fee. It also has a 10-min video (avail in English) on Toledo. It is located near Sinagoga del Tránsito.