• A Guide To Exploring Toledo In A Day

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    We had 5 lovely days in Madrid to celebrate my mums birthday with the family and the weather was perfect for it. This is my guide to Toledo and all of the things you can see and do there. We wanted to book a trip out of the city on one of those days and explore Toledo. Toledo is a big city about 2 hours train journey from Madrid, originally the capital of Spain and is best known for it’s sword and knife making.

    If you are looking for something to do when you visit Madrid, definitely keep reading this guide for all the details and things to do.

    A GUIDE TO TOLEDO // A DAY OF EXPLORING THE ANCIENT FORMER CAPITAL

    We caught the train from our closest train station Charmartin to Atocha which is a main train station in Madrid and then from there we caught the train to Toledo which took about 2 hours but the journey flew by. We had lovely scenery from the train window, getting to see lots of farm land and more of rural Madrid.

    After the 2 hour journey that went by so quickly, we arrived in Toledo’s gorgeous little train station which was decorated with stain glass windows and intricately carved wood and stone walls. Once we found our bearings, we headed towards the bridge that walks straight over the Tagus river and right in within the walls of Toledo which were originally built by the Romans.

    It was a lovely walk along the road through a covered path of trees with the sun shining down and the river alongside us. It was just so picturesque with the trees lining the river and the sun was shining down on an old restaurant opposite the bridge gates that I got this shot of.

    READ MORE: Transport In Madrid | How To Get Around

    Will you take a day trip to Toledo? Have you ticked Madrid off of your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below.

    The walls of Toledo have gone through various rebuilds and additions added to it to protect the city over the centuries of it existing. Toledo was first walled by the Romans and some of the remains from the Roman walls can still be found today around the city.

    Stones of these walls were reused during reconstruction by the Visigoths, who then tripled the walls in size for extra protection. The Visigoth king renewed the former walls and sculpted inscriptions in the city gates. Those inscriptions were then destroyed by the Muslims and other inscriptions were made in 1575 by the Corregidor Juan Guitérrez Tello.

    The Arabs then enlarged the walls and the city of Toledo. After the Reconquista, the walls were again enlarged and new gates were constructed.

    READ MORE: A Guide To Exploring Madrid In 5 Days

    TOP TIP: When buying your train ticket to Toledo from Madrid, you will need to get your ticket in the tropical garden inside Atocha train station. It was a little bit confusing at first trying to buy a ticket but in the end it made sense.

    It was about a 20 minute walk from the train station into the city centre, with a walk through the walls and up various flights of steps with views of the city that is outside of the walls and Tagus river flowing and winding around the city. It was a very hot day with temperatures reaching 25’C which was lush.

    In the centre of Toledo, there are a lot of restaurants, cafes and shops for you to do some shopping or grab something to eat if you are feeling hungry. A lot of the walking tours start from the main centre, so if you fancy going on a walking tour whether it’s to try some Spanish food or induldge in the history, you can book one before or when you arrive in Toledo.

    We walked around quite a bit, discovering new lanes and alleyways with gorgeous architecture and flowers. Finding lots of hidden shops which are famous for making swords, knives and chandeliers. There are so many hidden little shops that are well worth discovering and photographing. Toledo is just so photogenic, I didn’t want to put my camera away. Every corner we turned, there was something different and beautiful to photograph.

    We walked around a little more before heading home, checking out some of the viewpoints, cathedrals and churches and down lots of little lanes and popping into some shops. Our train back to Madrid was about 4-ish so we walked back to the train station and took our comfy seats on the train to head back into the city.

    Once we got back, we went straight back to the hotel to get changed and head out for dinner. We decided to eat dinner at a lovely restaurant we had found the night before called La Catedral which is themed like an old Spanish cathedral inside and we had a few yummy tapas dishes. I tried the most delicious garlic stuffed potatoes and I had yummy cheese croquettes with a chutney dip.

    We then moved on to a very cool rooftop bar in the middle of Sol called RadioMe. It was crazy busy but we managed to get a seat near the bar and I ordered a Baileys. That was the biggest Baileys I’ve ever had – almost like a double measure but for the price of a single measure aha.

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    Will you take a day trip to Toledo? Have you ticked Madrid off of your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below.

    Happy travels,

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