layanluvstotravel

My 3 kids (ages 11/11/13), my husband and I are planning to visit Toledo from Madrid on a day trip in July (I know it'll be hot but it's the only time we can go). We are planning on using the AVE train. It looks like there aren't any discounts and it costs more than I had expected (about $17 a person). We aren't big museum people but would like to walk around the city maybe on a walking tour or something similar, and see the cathedral. Here are my questions:

1. How many hours should we plan on being in Toledo?
2. What are the the top things to do in Toledo? (Cathedral?)
3. Can you recommend an inexpensive/not fancy restaurant with tasty food? (my kids are practically vegetarians.
4. And, finally, just to mentally prepare myself--- how hot will it be?

Thanks!

isabel

I was there in July a few years ago. No where near as hot as some people make it sound. I was in Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, etc for two weeks and while day temps probably were near 90, it cooled off at night and was fine in the shade.

I was there for three days and not bored at all so I'd say as long as you can manage. If just a day trip then at least make it a long day trip. Here are my photos from Toledo, you can see for yourself what there is there. www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/84270017

Robert2533

July can be rather warm, but being Toledo is a medieval walled city, finding a shadow isn't that difficult. The children will love it. If you want to get the full exposure of the village, then expect to spend most of the day (the sun will not be going down until late in the evening in July). I'd take the 09:20 or 10:20 train down, returning on the 7:30 train. This will give you time to see the city and have a relaxing lunch.

Robert2533

As far as what to see and do, I recommend you download a copy of Maribel's Guide to Toledo (www.maribelsguides.com). You should find it useful.

danon

As much as I liked Toledo, I would not spend all day there . It is often very crowded.

joannyc

Isabel, great pics!

greg

1. I took the 9.20 train from Atocha, and came back on the 16.30 train. Originally I was planning to come back later, but by 15.30, I was done walking and ran out of energy.

2. I am an El Greco fan, so that kept me busy seeing his works all over the city. Even if you are not a fan of "marzipan" where you live, I think the Santo Tome mazapans are cut above others. Try a few when you walk in front of one of their stores when you arrive. When I brought them home, many mentioned they did't care of marzipan, meaning the grossly sweet things with no flavors you find elsewhere. The Santo Tome ones are more delicate.

ncounty

why not take the 9:20 and just come back when you're done/ready?

I took a later train due to late night partying Madrid style the night before and wish I had had more time.

Flame123

We also took an early morning train around 8:30 AM to Toledo, spent the day there and returned on the 17:30 train to Madrid. Our day was marvelous, magical and we loved it. There is PLENTY to do and see for at least a day and I was sorry we did not overnight there.

Agree WHOLEHEARTEDLY with Greg about the "mazapan". My husband who is a marzipan nut, could not get enough of them and indeed we brought home a huge amount. It is nothing like what you are used to from other places.

Have a great time.

layanluvstotravel

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Isabel- beautiful pictures!

dutyfree

Don't go on Mondays as quite a few things are closed.
Personally,my 27 year old son and I had 6 hours there and that seemed to be enough-I have a history degree,travel alot and it was one of those cities that I am glad I saw but would probably never go back to among other Spanish cities?

My son is a vegetarian and it was hard to find something other than a cheese pizza or risotto for him to eat there.Train trip there went through interesting countryside.

CholeCO

My husband I just returned from Spain two weeks ago and we did a day trip to Toledo. While I'm glad we went, I don't think I'd probably return and defintely preferred Segovia over Toledo. Looking back on our two weeks in Spain, Toledo was definitely one day I'd have done differently if I had to do it again.

We took the 10:20 am train there and didn't return until the 7:30 train back to Madrid. Honestly, by 5 pm, we were both ready to leave. There were so many tour groups, especially high school groups, and it was just overwhelming. Everywhere we went we were bombarded by loud kids (even in the cathedral) and it ruined the experience for us. Maybe this won't be the case so much in July.

And while I loved exploring the city and all its narrow streets and various neighborhoods, I think we could have toured the city in much less time than we allocated. We checked out most of the major sites, had a nice lunch, and just spent hours walking around and I still felt we could have done it all in 5-6 hours (I know others may disagree with this statement, but this was just our personal experience and feelings about touring Toledo).

CEfromLA

So you don't buy the train tickets in advance? You just buy a ticket to return to Madrid when you're ready to go, or do you buy a round trip ticket in Madrid that you can use anytime that day?

dutyfree

We bought round trip tickets but when we went to the train station to see if we could leave early the conductor motioned us on the train and said it was alright and to pick a seat.This was in March though?

CholeCO

I purchased roundtrip tickets in advance before we left through the RENFE web-site to ensure that we'd have seats on the trains (I was told Madrid-Toledo is a big commuter line so some of the trains may sell out early). Plus, you get a 20% discount if you purchase roundtrip tickets for the same day.

However, after our too-long-of-a-day in Toledo, I was worried I'd chosen too late of a train departure the next day for our day trip to Segovia. So as soon as we arrived at the train station in Segovia, I went to the ticket counter and they exchanged our return tickets for an earlier time without any additional fees. But then again, this was in May on a Thursday so I'm sure the summer is much busier and you may not have as much flexibility.