One Week Spain (Madrid)
 

I am starting to plan my solo trip to Spain in late May. I have 7 days flying in and out of Madrid.

Is there enough to do in Madrid and the surrounding areas to fill a week? Or would I be better off doing 3/4 days in Madrid and then heading to either Lisbon or Barcelona for the remaining days?

I am not a Spain expert, but I definitely think there is plenty to do. Two nearby places to daytrip to would be Segovia and Toledo. I think each could easily fill a day. And I think Madrid could keep you busy for 3-4 days even if you like a quick pace. There are lots of other places to visit near Madrid. (I could fill a whole week, but I like to take my time.) From what I remember (we went to Spain in 2004), the Rick Steves guidebook had a bunch of good day trips listed - perhaps enough to fill a couple of weeks. If it were me and I had one week, I would stay put in Madrid and do daytrips.

Have a great trip!
Sally

You shouldn't have any problem filling your time in and around Madrid. As already mentioned, you can do a day trip to Toledo, one to Segovia and don't forget Chinchón, with its classic mediaeval square, which is also used as a bullring (http://www.turismochinchon.nopanic.com/).

There is also the hanging village of Cuenca, about 100 miles southeast of Madrid. The village sits high atop a cliff in La Mancha and well worth a day trip.

The rest of your time can be spent exploring Spain’s capital and all it has to offer.

Hi

Madrid is a fabulous city so you'll have no problems finding things to do. There is also El Escorial which is 50kms from the city - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Escorial. You could do Avila too - http://www.cyberspain.com/ciudades-p...nio/iavila.htm.

from the wording of your question it sounds as though you would only go to barcelona if there wasn´t enough to do in madrid for a week.

if barcelona is a place you are interested in seeing, or sevilla, for that matter, with a week in spain, i think you can do the last two nights at either of these destinations, and still feel you have visited madrid, and perhaps have a side trip,too.. PLUS see another capital if that interests you.

fly to bcn , open jaw so you leave from there.
ave to sevilla. open jaw to leave form there, too.

however, if your tickets are already bought in and out of madrid.. i would stick to the hub around madrid for my touring, perhaps takng the bus to avila one night to stay in parador there, then going to daytrip to segovia,returning to madrid, or go straight there, or to toledo, when you land, leaving all your nights at end in madrid.

around madrid:
toledo, segovia,El escorial
pedraza
avila
la granja ( can be seen with segovia)

if you go to cuenca.. you might want to sleep over/eat at the parador. good bus and train service to town from madrid.

Another Cuenca accommodation choice in the old town is Posada San Jose - http://www.posadasanjose.com. I didn't stay there but I thought it was rather special - the friendly staff let me have a peek.

This may help you, too...

http://www.maribelsguides.com/

Hi, worldin a bag, I second your choice of Posada San Jose, we stayed there at it is charming providing you get a room with a nice view. May beall of the rooms have nice views our was spectacular .
It is an old place, very charming and much cheaper that the parador, one day we walked over to the Parador and had breakfast there. I noticed a nice quaint hotel almost same location than the Posada called Leonor de Aquitania. ( Historical remark :they meant Leonar Plantagenet , her daughte rwho was Queen of Castille, but made a mistake I was told when I asked)

Madrid's San Isidro (15 May) festivities will still be going on until the end of May. That includes daily bullfights in las Ventas and Vista Alegre (Carabanchal).

You can daytrip to Toledo & Segovia on MotorCoach - some will have Hotel pickup; others you have to board on San Bernardo & GranVia. I don't recommend the 'gastronomic' tour; you're better off finding your own restaurant to dine on roast suckling pig (or lamb).

If you're in Madrid on a Sunday, I like Retiro Park: Street performers are not as agressive as NY's Washington Sq. or San Francisco's Pier 39.

Thanks for the information. I think I will just spend my time in Madrid and do some day trips.

I'm going for a week in mid-March (5 full days), flying in and out of Madrid.

I'd be interested in day trips but not staying overnight elsewhere.

But one thing I realized is that it's hard to get to Seville without going through MAD or BCN. At least if I want to fly nonstop from SFO to CDG or some other West European hub.

So how long and how much is the train trip from Madrid to Seville?

Actually a day or two in Seville probably wouldn't be doing it justice, not to mention giving short-shrift to Madrid.

The AVE to Sevilla is 2-1/2 hours. You can check the cost of the trip, and make reservations, at Renfe.es.

check out www.vueling.com, www.clickair.com for flights to sevilla from paris.

do not try to connect closely, though, as you do not have nay control over what time your sfo flight will get in.

What is the best way to make these day trips?

My Eyewitness Madrid guide suggests renting a car to go to Segovia, Escorial, Toledo.

But doing a quick search, renting a car for just a couple of days is running at least 170 Euros and more.

The go-madrid.com site suggests using motorcoach tours, using Viator, which seems to be using Pullman Tours.

Viator charges $45 for about half a day tour of Toledo with no entrance to Cathedral. For a full day with lunch, it's $75. With Escorial, it's $111.

Full day for Avila and Segovia with "Segovian" lunch is $100.

But I wonder if most of the time spent in these 9-hour tours is in the coach. Looking at renfe.es, I see that trains to these locales take about 80-120 minutes, so I would assume the coaches would take similar amount of time.

Train tickets are fairly cheap but I would imagine I'd have to find other way to get around once I arrived in Toledo, Avila, Segovia, etc.

The other thing is, Seville by AVE is 2.5 hours so not much further by train than these closer locations. But then again, you have to stay there at least a few days and go to Cordoba and Granada, in which case it would be taking more time away from Madrid.

scrb,

Toledo, Segovia and Avila are pretty compact cities which are very easy to walk around on your own. You can go either by bus or train.

If you already have a good guide book it will tell you what the highlights are. Another thing is to go to the local tourism info office for a local map which also pinpoints the main sites.

I'm guessing you leave for Toledo from a Atocha while the others you have to go to Chamartin?

Avila, yes from Chamartin. Segovia I think from both. But I think Segovia might be better to do by bus, it is more direct. I think the trains that go to Segovia are "Cercanias" which is a commuter train that seems to stop everywhere and it took forever( I made that mistake).
Check the bus schedules at: www.lasepulvedana.es

I found it very easy to get to Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, and Toledo by public transportation (train or bus). When I went to Spain a few years ago, there was no public transportation from Madrid to El Escorial or the Valley of the Fallen - for that, I took a tour by Viator that I booked ahead of time. Hope that helps!

Can you get to Pedraza by public transport? How?
Thank you

Count me in as a Cuenca fan... I also stayed in the Posada and LOVED it. Had coffee on my balcony hanging over the gorge.... I am scared of heights but it was so beutiful I just had to do it :D

I would stagger days in which youwith days in which you stay in Madrid. It will avoid the over-extended feeling.

Are you a museum person? If so, Madrid can fill an entire week without day trips. There are many smaller musuems which are treasures (Museo Sorolla, Fundacion Lazaro Galdiano, etc..).

Hola Mari,

I checked the website of Posada and just looks lovely. Is 2 days in Cuenca too long? What is there to see/ do there or nearby?

Were you there in the summer months? If so, was it too hot?

Thanks!

kja,

How was that Viator trip?

Did you have enough time at the sites or was it spent mostly on the bus?

Did you have the lunch and if you did, how was it?

Was it actually Pullmantours which was the tour operator (but booked by Viator)?

Hola Cruise!

We wound up in Cuenca mostly by chance so it had the added bonus of a surprise location. The views are drop dead gorgeous. There is a hanging bridge that connects the old town with the parador. Very scary for me but 100% worth it.

We arrived mid-afternoon and spent the entire next day before heading out to Madrid. We mostly walked around and enjoyed the ambiance and the views. Had a wonderful meal in a restaurant that I have to look up for you if you are heading that way.

I would have loved to spend another day to hike the nearby trails.

We were there in late March and the temperature was still cool.

Now that you ask, I have to admit that I'm not sure who actually operated the tour I took to El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen! I know I booked it through Viator. If I recall, it left Madrid mid-afternoon (around 3? from somewhere near the Plaza de Espana) and returned early evening (around 8?). I probably would have spent a little more time at El Escorial had I been on my own, but I didn't feel particularly rushed. A wedding was about to start at the Valley of the Fallen, so we had a little bit less time than I would have preferred in the sanctuary itself, but there was time to walk around and have coffee and a snack. I don't think anyone in the group had lunch. I didn't feel like I spent too much time on the bus, and I remember finding the scenery beautiful.

cuenca in summer.. right up there as far as heat index is concerned.

two nights should be plenty.

don´t miss the modern art museum and the archeological museum. some fine pieces of roman vials, etc.. the area is very rich in artifacts.

one morning (to avoid heat stroke)in summer to the "ciudad encantada", an unusual geological rock formation park to hike in.

( gets a little repetitive.. but worth it once in your life)

I took the cercanias train to el Escorial and then took the bus from there to the Valley of the Fallen. If you read Maribel's guide there are specific instructions on how to do this. The entire trip cost around thirty dollars if I remember right. There are limited buses to the Valley from Escorial so that part has to be carefully planned.

I was quite happy because I had ample time at el Escorial this way. The place certainly deserves ample time to enjoy.

By the way -discussing temperatures, I was there in July and I almost passed out from the heat walking across the Escorial esplanade...yup, with me being a tropical girl and all!

The Valley...well, could have skipped it but you only know that after you have been there. The views are impressive but the building is like an opera stage - unreal! I only went there on my third visit to Madrid and thought it had been a good decision not to make it a priority. Can't imagine a wedding in that eerie cathedral.

Billsrulz:

What most interest you ibn your travels? Art? Shopping? Music? Restaurants I think there is plenty to see in Madrid, it has it all.

Holajkis:

Re Pedraza: I read somewhere (I think in Eks crunchy Pedraza post, not sure)that since Pedraza is so quiet during the week that there are no regular buses mon - fri. If someone else can confrim...?
Holajkis when are you leaving? March no?

amsdon

I have 5-full days, M-F, arriving on a Sunday afternoon.

All these day trips sound interesting but if I go to Toledo, Segovia, Avila, Escorial and Valley of the Fallen Kings, they would all take up at least half those 5 days, at least while there is daylight.

Doesn't leave much time for the big 3 museums, Royal Palace and other parts of the city. The museums, I can see spending at least half a day in each.

So I have to drop at least one of the day tours and I'm thinking of dropping Toledo, which would say half to a full day.

It's possible to do all of them but it would make for a crazy week.

scrb,

Only you can decide which of these places you are more interested in. I agree that doing all those day trips in 5 days will not give you anytime in Madrid.

If this was my first time to Madrid I would not do all those day trips. I think you need at least 2-3 days in Madrid. That leaves 2-3 days for other stuff.

I have been to all the places you mention. IMO if you are going to do 2 of those , the ones I would do are Segovia and Toledo. If you can do a 3rd then I would do Avila. The Escorial is very impressive but I enjoyed Avila ( or any of the others) more.

Whatever you decide, enjoy your trip!

scrb, pleaseeeeee, no fallen kings in the valley !!! :) It's just Valley of the Fallen, not related to kings.

Sorry about that Kenderina.

I'm thinking of doing a Viator tour for Avila and Segovia. They do offer a "Segovian cuisine" lunch which Maribel lists as probably going to a well-known roasting tavern to eat roasted pig or lamb.

Or I might skip lunch, since she (?) described needing something sweet to chase down the greasy fare.

OK, I will take the suggestion to skip Escorial in favor of Toledo under advisement.

Anyone do the "Discover Madrid" tours offered by the official tourism office?

http://www.esmadrid.com/wps/portal/_...005110054.html

They don't list the times when the English-speaking guide does the tour.

We also have 7 days in Spain in late March flying in and out of Madrid on Mondays. We are going to spend Tuesday in Madrid, Wednesday in Toledo or Segovia, part of Thursday in Madrid, leaving around 3 for Sevilla by AVE. We will spend 3 nights and 2 days in Sevilla, then leave on Sunday. We are planning to take the Ave to Cordoba for a good portion of the day, then leave by late afternoon for Madrid. Monday we leave for home. We are still trying to decide between Toledo and Segovia, and whether to do a bus tour or just go on our own. Any suggestions?
Nancy