I hope that by now you have already read my perfect 3-days itinerary for Madrid. Because this day trip should definitely be combined with that.
Some of you might know the name of this town (Toledo) from the very famous Spanish Netflix series “La Casa de Papel” (Money Heist). They did not show the real gem, the old town of Toledo, in the series — but, does not matter — because I’m gonna do that for you 😉
Toledo is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Spain and is around 35 minutes train ride from Madrid’s Atocha train station.
Your experience into the history already begins once you arrive at the Toledo train station. What a beauty it is!
The old town is about 15 minutes’ walk away from the station. Once you arrive here, best way is to prepare yourself for walking, and lots of walking. This is the best way to see the old town. You can also take the hop-on/hop-off bus from the station if you have some problems with walking up and down.
Toledo is known as the city of 3 cultures. It is a beautiful representation of the three main cultures that passed through Spain: Jewish, Muslim and Catholic. You see a beautiful merger of all three architectures, and depending on which street you turn into; you will get the old age vibe from one of the 3 cultures. Toledo was also the capital of the Spanish empire before Madrid (up until 1560).
You can spend four to five hours in this beautiful little town and will be able to see most of the attractions. I will not go too much into the details of each as I believe the pictures are the best representation.
(Right side: old mosque architecture – Left side: Newer church architecture)
Though, some of the main things to see are:
- Puenta de Alcántara
- Plaza Zocodover
- Mosque of Cristo de La Luz
- Puerta del Sol
- Santa Inglesia (Toledo Cathedral)
- Alcázar
- San Juan Monastery
- Synagogue de Santa Maria La Blanca
- Puerta del Cambron
- San Martin Bridge
Tip: I already listed the places in the order that it makes sense if you walk from the station. You will most likely enter the town from the bridge Alcántara. At the end, we took a taxi from San Martin Bridge to the train station as we walked quite a bit till then and it was a hot May day.
And… there is an important thing regarding the train tickets. You cannot travel on this train without having a seat reservation. Make sure that you get the confirm seat for the train back if you know the time for your return. You can always take the train earlier than your ticket time, but the seats are gone pretty fast. It is totally fine to do that the same day, or one day in advance. But get a confirm ticket for the return journey at the same time you get your onwards ticket in Madrid.
I hope the images convinced you to visit this beautiful historic town when you are in Madrid. The whole town is a treat for the eyes!
P.S. The whole Toledo trip can be visualised on my Instagram Story Highlights @beetravelista!
