Toledo is the capital of Castilla La Mancha and one of the easiest and prettiest trips you can take from Madrid. A mix of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures over the centuries has left its narrow streets full of incredible architecture and atmosphere. After a journey of just 30mins by high speed train Annie and I arrived in the glorious sunshine and set off to walk to the city centre. Almost every guide to the city moans about the journey from the station saying that it's incredibly tiring and suggests taking the bus or getting a taxi. There really is no point though as the walk was gentle (even for someone as unfit as me!) and if you get the bus you miss out on views like this - the Alcázar de Toledo and the beautiful Río Tajo
After following a thick pink line painted along the pavement for about 10 minutes we came to the escalators. These are designed to skip the hardest part of the walk and I highly recommend them! Though a bit dingey they mean you start the trip fresh and enter the city as quickly as possible from a point that's easy to navigate from.
Once you've wormed your way up to the surface again you'll be met with a square from which the little tourist train departs on its round of the city. This is perfect if you've only got a limited time to see everything but Annie and I had all day so gave it a miss in favour of wandering about.
Tantalising glimpses of towers and turrets are everywhere as you walk around the city.
The first place we headed was La Catedral de Toledo which, together with the Alcazár is Toledo's most famous building.
We ended up finding a side entrance which led to a quiet prayer room and had to back out again to find the main door but I'm glad we did as the views inside from that angle were incredible - great soaring columns and vaulted ceilings.
Eventually we found the actual entrance and had to hand over 8 euros to get in (pretty steep for a church we thought - though this does include a rather dry and long-winded audio guide)
The stained glass threw shards of rainbow light onto the columns and there was certainly no shortage of sumptuous gold.
After the cathedral we were hungry so set off to find a good place to eat. After a mix-up about which restaurant we were actually in (we'd found a nice looking menu but accidentally sat in the place next door) we were brought two pans of steaming paella and glasses of cool peach juice. A scraggy looking cat with ginger and black blotches came and sat at our feet throughout the meal; though when she turned her nose up at fresh calamari I knew she couldn't have been that desperate!
When we'd finished we wandered around to the other side of the cathedral and sat in a small square watching the school groups mill about. All of a sudden there was a whooshing sound and an empty metal rectangle on the ground began to fill with water. This was swiftly taken advantage of by every bird and toddler in the vicinity who was after a drink or a splash about.
Once full to the brim the still water reflected the cathedral perfectly.
Toledo is most famous for two things; swords and marzipan. This unlikely combination can be found everywhere and on our way round the city we found shopfronts full to bursting with boxes of the sweet treats and others packed with weapons of every kind.
We had been planning on visiting another of the main tourist sites such as the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes or the Iglesia de las Jesuitas but in the end we found a mirador alongside a synagogue with a fairly decent view and just sat enjoying the sunshine.
You honestly can walk around the entire city of Toledo in a single day with no need to hurry. Annie and I did a big loop starting at the escalators and heading round to the Puerta de Bisagra; from there the route to the station is an easy downhill walk. We had a bit of a job finding the Puerta though; we ended up walking around it on the inside as we'd gotten bored of just following the city wall and had to double back.
The view through the Puerta is quite special:
As are the sculpture that crests the gate and the multicoloured tiles that adorn the rooftops - definitely worth a look.
On the way back to station we sat in a public garden for a while to make the most of our time in Toledo and to try some of Annie's marzipan (I've decided I don't like marzipan...far too sweet and squishy).
It looks like spring really is on its way!
Even the station at Toledo is pretty; a mix of Christian and Moorish styles with gorgeous stained glass and carved wooden panels.
Unlike a lot of other things in Spain the AVE train gets going on the dot so don't be late back for your return journey or you'll be left behind. As Toledo is so small it can get choked with tour groups and families but Annie and I went on one of the first warm weekends in March and, although almost nobody on the train was Spanish, we didn't find the other tourists a problem.
There are plenty of other sights we didn't get round to seeing in our lazy day but that's the beauty of Toledo; you can choose to visit it all in a whistlestop tour or just pick and choose your favourites making time for a long lunch and a sunbathing sesh (am going to have to stock up on suncream soon).
Annie and I both had a lovely time and it makes a great change to get away from the huge city to somewhere altogether more relaxed. If you're going to be in Madrid for a while I highly recommend hopping on the train and spending a day exploring Toledo!
Trains leave from Atocha Railway Station and a return ticket costs around 20 euros. Buses can also be taken from Madrid with a journey time of around 1 hr 30mins and cost around 10 euros.
