If you happen to be visiting Madrid, a day trip to Toledo is a great option to mix up your itinerary. Just about half an hour away by train, Toledo is a beautiful town full of rich history and plenty to see. It’s easily walkable from the train station, and when I visited, I allowed myself about 7 hours to wander the city, see the sights, and then make it back to Madrid by dinner time.
You enter the town by crossing the Alcantara Bridge:
Once inside, I found it easiest to make a loop around the city so that I could easily wind up back at the train station when I finished. The architecture around Toledo is absolutely beautiful, so you’ll want your camera at the ready.
Walking around Toledo, you’ll find no shortage of souvenir shops, however they might have some souvenirs you’re not used to seeing. Toledo is famous for their steel, historically used to make weapons, so you’ll find shops full of swords including replicas from your favorite series such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings!
Toledo is also known for their damascening, which is a process of inlaying different types of metal together to create an intricate design. While I was visiting, I bought this beautiful hair clip that uses the technique.
On the far side of Toledo from the Alcantara bridge, I highly recommend visiting the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. It has such incredible architecture and an gorgeous internal courtyard full of orange trees and gardens!
Nearby, there is a museum of artwork by El Greco. I didn’t make it during my trip, but if you love renaissance paintings, you’ll definitely want to make a stop. While you’re walking around, you’ll probably stop for food at some point. It’s my opinion that you can’t go wrong with any Spanish foods, but suckling pig is the specialty of Toledo, so try that if you want to experience a truly local dish!
And that wraps up a quick day trip to Toledo! It’s a very small town, so the better part of a day is all you really need to experience it and add another Spanish city to your trip while you’re staying in Madrid. I found Toledo so beautiful, it even inspired 3 of the 12 paintings in my Southern Spain Collection (it’s really more central if I’m being honest, but I visited while on a trip to a couple of other cities in the south of Spain)! If you’re planning a trip to Madrid, make sure you click here to check out my last blog post on how to spend 48 hours in Madrid.
The 3 Toledo-inspired paintings in the Southern Spain Collection: Little Blue Flowers (left) and Toledo Orange Tree (right) have sold, but Stone Carved Bird (center) is still available. Contact me if you're interested!
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