Toledo is a beautiful city near to Madrid. It’s a great option for a day trip from Madrid. Here’s my guide with everything you need to know to take a day trip from Madrid to Toledo.
Toledo is a really pretty small city near Madrid. It’s easy to explore in a day, with beautiful views, a fascinating Cathedral, and lots of museums as well. If you’re staying in Madrid, taking a day trip from Madrid to Toledo is easy due to the great train links between Madrid and Toledo. The direct train takes about half an hour to get from Madrid to Toledo. Here’s everything you need to know to take a day trip from Madrid to Toledo.
Taking the train from Madrid to Toledo
The best way to do a day trip from Madrid to Toledo is to take the direct train from Madrid. The journey is really simple, so it’s easy to do even if you don’t speak much Spanish.
Madrid Atocha station to Toledo
The trains from Madrid to Toledo depart from Madrid Atocha train station. It’s a big train station in the centre of Madrid. If you’re staying in a hotel in the centre of Madrid, you can probably walk from your hotel to Madrid Atocha train station. It’s a 20-30 minute walk from central areas of Madrid such as Plaza Mayor or Puerta del Sol. And the walk mostly follows a main road in a straight line, so it’s easy to find the way.
You can book your train tickets for the train from Madrid to Toledo in advance online. I recommend booking your tickets online, as it means you won’t need to give yourself lots of extra time to find a ticket machine at the station. Online tickets all means you’ll have guaranteed reserved seats on the train. You can buy your train tickets directly from the Renfe website, which is the Spanish train website. There’s an option on the website to change it to English, so buying your train ticket is easy. The Renfe website can be found here. You can save a PDF of your train ticket to your phone, or alternatively download the Renfe app to access your tickets there.
Inside Madrid Atocha station
Madrid Atocha station is big and can be a bit confusing. So make sure you give yourself plenty of time to find your way through the station to your platform. When I went, I needed to go to the downstairs departure area to get the train from Madrid Atocha to Toledo. But I’m not sure if all the trains go from that area. It’s best to look at the station information boards for your platform number and if in doubt, there are plenty of staff around to ask.
All trains stations in Spain also have luggage security checks before you can go onto the platform. It’s a bit like the luggage security you get at airports. There can sometimes be a queue for the luggage security at the train station. So again, make sure you get to the station in plenty of time so you can get on the train without rushing.
The train from Madrid Atocha to Toledo takes just over 30 minutes. It’s a comfortable, fast train. Sit back in your reserved seat and enjoy the views on the way to Toledo.
Toledo train station to the centre of Toledo
Toledo train station is really close to the centre of the city of Toledo. So you can easily walk from the train station into the centre of Toledo. This makes Toledo a much easier day trip from Madrid than places like Segovia, where you need to take the bus from the station to the city centre. In Toledo, it’s an easy 10 minute walk from Toledo train station to one of the most famous sights in Toledo – the famous bridge over the river.
Top things to do in a day in Toledo
There are lots of great things to do in Toledo in a day. Toledo is a small city, so you can easily cover the top sights in a day trip. Toledo has quite a different feel to Madrid – it’s a small historic city, whereas Madrid is the big, busy capital of Spain. So it’s a great idea to do a day trip from Madrid to Toledo so you can get an idea of a different Spanish city. Here are the top things to do in a day trip from Madrid to Toledo.
Puente de Alcántara – Alcantara Bridge
The highlight of any day trip from Madrid to Toledo is the Puente de Alcántara – the Alcantara Bridge. This is the famous image of Toledo that you’ll see on all the postcards. And for good reason – it’s a beautiful bridge, with stunning views up to the historic city as well.
If you’re walking into Toledo from the train station, the bridge will be one of the first things you come across. Take plenty to time here to soak up the views across the river. You can also walk down to the river level to get views of the stunning bridge from a different angle.
The footpath continues along next to the river, so you can walk along the river for a bit. Make sure you say hello to the friendly white geese who live on this part of the river!
Walk up to the main city
The city centre of Toledo is set up the hill from the river. So after walking along the river for a bit, start to head to the city centre. First you’ll need to cross the bridge. And then there are lots of steps to walk from the bridge level up to the main city. The walk doesn’t take too long – no more than 5-10 minutes even if you take your time climbing up the steps. The views on the way up are lovely.
Toledo main square, streets and sword shops
Your first stop in Toledo should be the main square. It’s the central hub of the small city of Toledo. It’s a great introduction to the beautiful architectural style in Toledo. One of my favourite things to do in Toledo is just to walk around the pretty streets of the city. I spent some time in the morning just walking around the streets and seeing what this city had to offer.
Every street you turn down is different and beautiful in its own way. I really liked a small street near the Cathedral that had this gorgeous arch over the street, leading to another small square.
Toledo also has a lot of sword shops in the centre. I never quite worked out why there were so many sword shops! But if you like swords, or you enjoy seeing replica swords from famous films and TV shows such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, then you’ll enjoy these sword shops. There are lots of other shops in the centre of Toledo as well, including souvenir shops.
Museo de Santa Cruz in Toledo
There are lots of museums to choose from in Toledo, and it can be difficult to choose which museums to visit if you only have one day in Toledo. I recommend the Museo de Santa Cruz in Toledo. This small museum has free entry, so you don’t need to spend long inside. The highlight of this museum for me was the really pretty courtyard. It was a really peaceful place to sit and relax for a few minutes.
Inside the Museo de Santa Cruz in Toledo, there’s some really interesting art and sculptures. It’s a really nice small museum to spend 30-40 minutes.
Jamón Ibérico (Iberian Ham) for lunch
There are plenty of lunch places in Toledo. I recommend getting a quick lunch, so you can make the most of your time exploring the city in the daytime when everything is open. For a local speciality, try the Jamón Ibérico baguette for lunch. It’s a baguette filled with the locally famous Iberian ham. It’s really simple and really delicious.
Catedral de Santa María de Toledo
After lunch, head over to Toledo Cathedral. The Cathedral in Toledo is a really stunning Cathedral, and one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. You’ll need to buy your entrance ticket for the Toledo Cathedral from the small shop just opposite the Cathedral entrance. But it’s definitely worth the entrance cost.
The Cathedral is just as impressive inside as it is from the outside. There’s a huge, impressive stained glass window at the back. And other stained glass windows around the Cathedral as well.
There’s so much ornate gold in the Cathedral. It’s just amazing to look at, and think about how long it would have taken to build this Cathedral hundreds of years ago.
As well as the main Cathedral building, there’s also the cloisters area of cathedral. This area is just as impressive as the main Cathedral. There are smaller rooms off to the edge of the cloisters that have beautifully painted walls and ceilings. The whole place is just so peaceful and so impressively beautiful.
Toledo Witchcraft Museum
For something a bit different, spend some of your afternoon in Toledo in the Toledo Witchcraft Museum. It’s a fun and quirky museum, different from a lot of other museums. The museum tells the story of the history of witchcraft. But it has a focus on explaining the ‘potions’ and ‘spells’ that ‘witches’ have been known for. There are displays of different plants and herbs that have different properties and were used and prescribed by ‘witches’ for different things, including alternative cures to various ailments. There’s some graphic detail as well about sexual remedies. It’s an interesting museum, and definitely something a bit different.
Churros in Toledo
After exploring the streets, shops, Cathedral and Museums of Toledo, you’ll probably be wanting a well-earned break. There are several cafes around the city where you can get Spain’s famous churros. The delicious churros make a perfect afternoon snack to replenish your energy after a busy day exploring.
Dinner in Toledo
If you want to get a later train back to Madrid, you can stay for dinner in Toledo. Toledo is really nice in the evenings, when a lot of the day trippers have left so you’ll have a lot more peace and quiet in the city. Just make sure you check the train times to make sure you can easily get the last train back to Madrid.
There are many restaurants in Toledo that serve some of the regional speciality food. Look out for local and regional specialities such as Paella and Roast Suckling Pig. And of course, a glass of Sangria is the perfect ending to your day trip from Madrid to Toledo.
Enjoy your day trip from Madrid to Toledo! If you’re looking for another day trip from Madrid, you can read my guide on taking a day trip from Madrid to Segovia. You can also check out my guides to visiting Madrid in 3 days, and also the best famous food in Madrid. You can also check out my guides to the top things to do in Madrid when it rains. There are lots of other great cities to visit in Spain as well. Check out my guides to Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and the Andalusia’s white villages and mountains. Or check out my guide to Barcelona and the Montserrat monastery in the mountains.
