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04.02.2025 - 14:35 / lonelyplanet.com / El Greco
Feb 4, 2025 • 5 min read
While the vibrant city of Madrid is overflowing with artistic and culinary treasures, not to mention an irresistible energy of its own – it's an excellent gateway to the rest of Spain, too. We'd recommend a minimum of three days to immerse yourself in Madrid's charms, before taking off to explore other beautiful towns and attractions elsewhere in the country. There are walled cities, Roman ruins, atmospheric Spanish villages and even a UNESCO World Heritage-listed palace-monastery complex, all no more than an hour away. Here’s our pick of the best days out from Madrid.
Travel time: 1 hour by car or just 30 minutes by train
The walled city of Toledo is one of the most popular day-trip destinations from Madrid. Rich in Arab, Jewish and Christian history, the former Spanish capital is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Getting lost in Toledo's tightly knotted streets is the best way to explore it, particularly the narrow alleys around Plaza Santa Clara. But if you want a more focused itinerary, following the artwork of El Greco will bring you to some of the city's most spectacular sites.
Head to the medieval Catedral de Toledo to see El Greco’s The Disrobing of Christ before venturing to the Museo del Greco, the only museum in Spain dedicated to the artist. The trail also leads to the Museo de Santa Cruz, where you'll see his Sagrada Familia con Santa Ana alongside a vast collection of decorative art and ceramics. For another taste of Toledo, visit Museo Sefardí in the 14th-century Sinagoga del Tránsito to learn about the history of Jewish culture in Spain, or get insight into Toledo's Arab past at the Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz, which dates back to around 1000 CE.
How to get to Toledo from Madrid: If driving, take the A-42 south. Alternatively, take a train from Madrid's Atocha station. The journey takes about an hour by car and a little more than 30 minutes by high-speed train.
Travel time: 30 minutes
Here in Segovia, one of Spain’s most impressive Roman monuments, El Acueducto rises over the eastern entrance to the old city. From there, busy traffic-free streets climb past Romanesque churches and pretty squares to the city’s summit and the Plaza Mayor, the heartbeat of the city that's watched over by a 16th-century Gothic cathedral – one of the country’s finest and most formidable structures.
Continuing down the cobbled streets to the west takes you to El Alcázar, a castle said to have inspired Walt Disney’s design for Sleeping Beauty’s castle. The views from the gardens take in rolling hillsides and sandstone churches all across the Castilian countryside.
How to get to Segovia from Madrid: High-speed trains run hourly between Madrid’s Chamartín station and Segovia, taking less than
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