We got a pretty early start to the day since were planning on taking the high speed train from Madrid to Toledo, which is about a 30 minute trip and we wanted to have a full day there to really appreciate it. From our hotel, which sits right on the edge of the Porto del Sol square, we walked to the Metro subway stop on the other side off the square. Like so many great European cities - as well as cities on the East Coast of the U.S. - Madrid has an amazingly clean and efficient subway system. For 1 euro each, we got a one way ticket and quickly found the right subway line which connected with the train station about four stops away. Once at the train station, we purchased round trip tickets to Toledo for just under 20 euros a person. Our train left at 9:20 this morning and we planned on taking the 6:30 train back to Madrid. Let me tell you, these new high speed trains are phenomenal!! They are really clean and comfortable and we were able to sit with all four of us facing each other, which made the trip much more enjoyable. The trains seem to start up with a whisper and in no time, the Spanish countryside is speeding past you. It’s so darn quiet you’d think you were floating along on the tracks!!
Since it was still early in the morning, there was quite a bit of morning fog that stayed with us much of the way. As we pulled into Toledo, we missed out on the gorgeous view of the midievil city that’s clustered around a hilltop due to the heavy fog. We didn’t worry too much about it since the train station itself was an amazing sight to behold. Built around 1912, it has many Moorish features borrowed from the early Arabic settlers of the area.
All I can say is, Toledo was everything we expected and more. It is absolutely one of the most spectacular examples of a European city that seems to have remained unchanged after hundreds of years. The city is build on a hill and is surrounded on three sides by the Rio Tojo river with bridges linking it to the outer, newer “suburbs”. We rode the tourist train around the city that despite seeming somewhat cheesy, turned out to be very informative and provided some great vantage points for pictures. We spent the rest of the day wandering the narrow, winding streets that provided all kinds of great “oooh, ahhh” photo opportunities. This place, in my humble opinion, is truly a must see for anyone coming to this part of Europe.
We had a really fun surprise when we arrived back in Madrid and took a walk through the train station. There was an area of the station that we hadn’t seen when we left in the morning and it was amazing!! This is the Atocha train station, which you may remember is the station that made the news when it was bombed a few of years ago. Apparently, there is quite a moving memorial to the victims of the bombing that we hope to see when we leave for Barcelona on Tuesday.
Since it was still early in the morning, there was quite a bit of morning fog that stayed with us much of the way. As we pulled into Toledo, we missed out on the gorgeous view of the midievil city that’s clustered around a hilltop due to the heavy fog. We didn’t worry too much about it since the train station itself was an amazing sight to behold. Built around 1912, it has many Moorish features borrowed from the early Arabic settlers of the area.
All I can say is, Toledo was everything we expected and more. It is absolutely one of the most spectacular examples of a European city that seems to have remained unchanged after hundreds of years. The city is build on a hill and is surrounded on three sides by the Rio Tojo river with bridges linking it to the outer, newer “suburbs”. We rode the tourist train around the city that despite seeming somewhat cheesy, turned out to be very informative and provided some great vantage points for pictures. We spent the rest of the day wandering the narrow, winding streets that provided all kinds of great “oooh, ahhh” photo opportunities. This place, in my humble opinion, is truly a must see for anyone coming to this part of Europe.
We had a really fun surprise when we arrived back in Madrid and took a walk through the train station. There was an area of the station that we hadn’t seen when we left in the morning and it was amazing!! This is the Atocha train station, which you may remember is the station that made the news when it was bombed a few of years ago. Apparently, there is quite a moving memorial to the victims of the bombing that we hope to see when we leave for Barcelona on Tuesday.
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