Day Trips from Madrid: Toledo, Segovia and El Escorial

Madrid's position in the middle of Spain makes it an easy base. The two classic day trips, Toledo and Segovia, are each about half an hour away on the high-speed train, and a handful of others are within an hour by local train.

If you only have one day: choose Toledo for history and El Greco, or Segovia for the Roman aqueduct and a lighter, more relaxed day. Toledo is the bigger experience. Segovia is the easier one.

Toledo

The old Spanish capital sits on a rocky hill almost surrounded by a loop of the Tagus river. Avant trains from Atocha take about half an hour. Toledo station is outside the walls, so take a local bus or a taxi up the hill, or walk, which takes around twenty minutes and is steep at the end.

See the cathedral, one of the great Gothic churches of Spain, El Greco's Burial of the Count of Orgaz in the church of Santo Tomé, and the two surviving medieval synagogues, a reminder of the city where Christians, Muslims and Jews once lived side by side. Then get lost in the lanes. For the famous view of the whole city, cross the river to the Mirador del Valle. Book the train in advance at weekends.

Segovia

Fast trains from Chamartín reach Segovia-Guiomar station in under half an hour. The station is well outside town, and bus 11 runs from outside it to the foot of the aqueduct. The Roman aqueduct, built without mortar almost two thousand years ago, strides across the Plaza del Azoguejo, and from there the main street climbs past the cathedral to the Alcázar, a castle on a cliff edge at the far end of the old town, with pointed slate spires. Segovia is famous for cochinillo, roast suckling pig. Book a table for lunch.

El Escorial

Philip II's enormous monastery and palace, a granite block in the foothills of the Guadarrama. Its library and the royal pantheon, where most Spanish kings since Charles V are buried, are the reasons to go. Cercanías trains from Atocha and Sol take about an hour, followed by a walk uphill through the town. It can be combined with Segovia on a coach tour, but not easily by public transport. Unless monasteries and royal tombs are your interest, we'd put it after Toledo and Segovia.

Ávila, Alcalá and Aranjuez

Ávila's complete medieval walls are among the best preserved in Europe, and the town is reached by regional train from Chamartín, a longer ride. Alcalá de Henares, Cervantes's birthplace, has a Renaissance university and is a short Cercanías ride from Atocha. Aranjuez, to the south, has a royal palace and gardens on the Tagus.

Toledo's lanes are steep and cobbled, so wear proper shoes: see our what to wear guide. Our getting there guide explains Madrid's two main stations.