I will be in Madrid for three and a half days, arriving Wednesday afternoon and departing Sunday morning. Would this give me enough time to do a day trip to Segovia, or would my time be better spent in Madrid? Thanks.

I would do it just to provide a change from the big city.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...ith/4175185614

I love Segovia---do it !

Agree, one hour round trip. Michael. great pictures for a refresher course on our trip. Here is a little history. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/segovia

Wow, consensus! Thanks everyone.

We LOVED our Segovia day trip during our week in Madrid. Here's an except from my trip report. We didn't leave until 10:35 instead of taking an early train, as I didn't want to have the family cranky. The only downside to the way we did it is there is no good time for shopping due to the siesta. However, we weren't there to shop. Have a great trip!

Tuesday we took a day trip to Segovia. It truly is a perfect daytrip. Took the 10:35 a.m. train from Chamartin to the new Segovia train station. Knew to get a taxi there to take us into town (could have taken the bus, but had a specific itinerary for which a taxi was needed). Had the taxi driver take us to the picturesque spot for photos of the Alcazar (that's at the confluence of the two rivers), and then to tour the old church built by the Knights Templar in the 1200s. Very interesting and completely worth a visit. The taxi then took us up the hill, sparing us a long uphill walk, and dropped us off at the Alcazar for a very nice tour. After that we walked the rest of the way up, to the Cathedral, also for a pleasant tour. Following that, we had an enjoyable stroll down to the Aqueducts and our luncheon restaurant, Candido, where we had reservations for 3 p.m. We enjoyed roast suckling pig, a salad and red wine, a nice ceremony in which the owner cut a roasted pig with the edge of a plate, then happy and sated we strolled outside to catch a cab back to the train station for our 5 p.m. departure back to Madrid. The timing was perfect....the route was perfect....the sights were perfect...the train ride is only 35 minutes, I was able to buy and print out my train tickets online before we left so we had absolutely no waiting in line, and I think Segovia is now, as I said, the perfect day trip from Madrid.

Thanks Bakerstreet. And I'll be sure to try the roast pig while I'm there.

Take the bus from Principe Pio rather than the train-it drops you off right in town! Walk down to the aqueduct and stop at the tourist office for map/info and if you have time go back to the station and take a short ride out to La Granja!

Depends on your interest...if you have no interest in great Madrid museums...
a couple of days could give you an overview of the city.
Segovia is lovely, Chapla has a good idea, just avoid the rush hour.
The train staition for. Segovia is in the north part of Madrid, in Segovia you'll have to take a bus from the train sattion to town. We took a taxi ..just did not wish to wait for the next bus.

Segovia is one of my favorite day trips from Madrid -- but just to be sure: this would not be in place of a trip to Toledo? If you are not visiting Toledo at some other point, then I would definitely give it priority over Segovia.

If you are visiting Toledo at some other point on your trip, then go to Segovia; you should be able to do justice to Madrid (Palacio Real, Almudena, Plaza Mayor, Prado, Guernica, Thyssen, tapas) in your remaining 2.5 days. Hope you can do both!

Doing justice to three major museum AND the rest of Madrid in two and half days????
I think not.

I was just going to write essentially what skibumette wrote. I loved Segovia but not instead of Toledo. Even better if you could overnight in Toledo. Like so many other popular places, Toledo becomes another world when the day trippers leave.

Having lived in Madrid for 4 years, I do believe that 2.5 days in Madrid can hit the highlights nicely...of course, you can spend more time and go into greater depth. But, if you have limited time to get a feel for Spain as a whole, you can't linger too long.

> I will be in Madrid for three and a half days ... Would this give me enough time to do a day trip to Segovia, or would my time be better spent in Madrid?

It seems to me that the answer really depends on what you want to see and experience.

For example, 3.5 days would not be nearly enough time in Madrid for me, but I believe some people say they wouldn't/didn't give it that much time. I'm very glad I spent close to a day in Segovia, but I had enough time that I didn't need to choose. Others have mentioned Toledo, which I also adored; I could have used more than the nearly 2 days I had there.

Madrid and Segovia are very different locations. I think you'll need to decide what you want to gain from visiting either before you can decide whether to try to visit both in such a short time.

The good news is that they both offer wonderful opportunities. Enjoy!

Thanks for your continued feedback. I guess I want enough time in Madrid to be able to take in some of the key highlights (I understand that I won't be able to see everything in 3.5 days let alone 35 days). However, during my research, Segovia piqued my interest, hence, my question. At the moment, Toledo does not figure in my plans.

I loved Segovia, too. I was in Madrid 4 days and fit it in, it was worth it to me. I took the bus, it was an all-day trip, of course.

Not sure what the above post means about it being a one hour round trip.

LOVED Segovia. We were in Madrid for a short stay too, and Segovia was one of our highlights. Do it!

Pix:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/111414175RdjqFB

TQ1: Is this JUST a short Madrid trip?? Or part of a longer Spain trip? I really like Segovia: great Alcazar, lovely countryside, nice cathedral (except for the battery-operated candles), small San Miguel church where Isabella was crowned Queen, interesting architecture (Casa de los Picos), Roman aqueduct, good cochinillo (suckling pig) lunch.

But I LOVE Toledo: great cathedral, El Greco Museum, Church of Santo Tome (to see Greco's Burial of Conde Orgaz, San Juan de los Reyes church (look for all the Isabella and Ferdinand insignia + great gargoyles), two synagogues (Santa Maria La Blanca and El Transito), the view of the skyline from the Parador, and good restaurants -- if I had limited time I would definitely go there before Segovia.

The remaining 2.5 days in Madrid might be tight if it's important to you to see EVERY painting in the Prado and Reina Sofia museums. At the Prado I used to take guests to see Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights (it hung at the foot of Phillip the II's bed in El Escorial) and then concentrated on the Spanish masters: El Greco, Velazquez (especially Las Meninas), Goya, Ribera, Murillo, and Zubaran. A half day was a very good introduction...

To be honest, the only thing in the Reina Sofia that I sought out multiple times was Guernica -- but it is one of the few places (+ the Palacio Real) open on Mondays. And I quite like the Thyssen-Bornemissen museum too. I think I need to go back again!!!!

Thanks everyone.

Skibumette, this is just a short trip to Madrid and area, not part of a longer trip in Spain. I will be in London for business for two weeks, and wanted to visit Madrid before returning home.

Even a few hours in Prado is enough to make one dizzy..
hard to absorb so many masterpieces.
Many people go to see just Guernica, if they have no interest in modern art or time to explore another BIG museum.

On does not have to spend all the time in museums .The Palace is huge ...also takes several hours. I would rather spend some time having a drink in the beautiful Plaza de Oriente in front of the Palace.
Have tapas on Cava Baja or in Santa Ana, take a walk through lovely park Retiro, shop in Serrano, perhaps take a guided tour . Madrid is known for excellent flamenco venues, rocking night life and many good restaurants.
I also find Toledo more interesting than Segovia.