When we visit a city like Toledo, especially if we are planning to spend a little time, we have the question of what to visit, when is the best time, what is essential to the city… In Toledo there are hundreds of monuments that can mislead us on a first visit, and we can leave forgotten some of the essential places that any tourist in the city should not miss. In this article we group together eight “good tips” for those who want to get to Toledo for the first time (and surely not the last)
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1. Plan before your trip. It seems obvious, but sometimes out of haste and other times out of laziness, it does not occur to us to take a look on the net at the offers of Hotels and Hostels, purchase of tickets, timetables for access to Museums and alternative leisure that can be done in Toledo. On our website you will find a lot of information (what to see and do in Toledo). And if you arrive tomorrow and don’t have time to read so much, you have several options: visit the city’s tourist offices (Zocodover, Puerta de Bisagra, Town Hall ground floor, Provincial Council -along with escalators-) or come with the guide we published a few months ago. Another possibility is to get our book “Navigating the Legends of Toledo” with the most interesting information from our website, on paper or in digital format.
Portada Convento de San Clemente in Toledo
Portada Convento de San Clemente (enlarge)
2. In a hurry? If your visit is going to be short, two days at the most (we don’t recommend coming only one day to Toledo from Madrid, it’s crazy and you won’t have time for anything) in the article “A weekend in Toledo” we condense the essentials to visit in the city. You should spend at least one night in Toledo and walk (and get lost) through its streets. It’s an unforgettable experience.
Find a hotel in Toledo
You can consult the following offers or click here and look for other dates with good prices in Hotels, hostels and tourist apartments in Toledo.
Insurance that you are also interested: Twelve incredible viewpoints in Toledo from which to take the photo of your life
3. How do I travel? Where do I sleep? What do I eat? The typical questions we always ask ourselves before visiting a place or choosing a vacation destination. In Toledo the offer is extensive, not in vain we are in one of the most touristic cities in Spain and the first in Castilla-La Mancha. The hotel offer is extensive, from luxury hotels to inexpensive but well equipped hostels. We won’t recommend any, just be guided by the recommendations made on social networks and online booking services. On eating in Toledo, there is also great variety, according to budget. If you can “tapea” a little by the helmet and don’t miss the “carcamusas” (typical dish with meat and tomato) you will also be able to taste excellent dishes of partridge, venison… And don’t forget the marzipan! (even if it’s not Christmas) And on the way to travel, Toledo is quite well communicated. You can get there by AVE (high-speed train) from Madrid, by other public transport or by car. We recently published an article: “Parking for free in Toledo” that may be of interest to you. If you come with children, you will also be interested in “visiting Toledo with children”
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Tavera Hospital in Toledo
Tavera Hospital (enlarge)
Go back to the Middle Ages by strolling through the cobbled streets of Toledo, between convents and walls of old palaces
4. Where do I start a route through Toledo? There are many possibilities, and it all depends on what you want to see, the time available and the time of day. If you are looking for a typical route, a museum route, there are many offers from route agencies or official guides in Toledo that can inform you at the tourist offices and show you the essentials of Toledo: Cathedral, Jewish Quarter, Alcázar de Toledo and its Museo del Ejército, Museo del Greco… Everything cannot be on the same route, as only the Museo del Ejército could take you a whole day. Our recommendation is to choose a “typical route” and visit the main monuments. With more time, you will be able to do a more specific route. In our article “companies of routes in Toledo” you will be able to know the offers and characteristics of the companies and official guides in Toledo. We also recommend one of the best known companies in the city: “Toledospain.click Guides”, which not only make the typical routes, but also other very “special” ones.
I’m sure you’re also interested in: Route through the Toledo Suberráneo
5. If you are a traveller who does not like conventional or typical Toledo is also an excellent place for you. You can organise your own route (here is a recommendation for a nocturnal route around the city: “Rincones de Leyendas Terroríficas en Toledo” ) Also companies like “Toledospain.click Guides” offer access to certain monuments or “recovered” spaces such as the famous Cueva de Hércules. They are the routes “Unknown Heritage” and in this article you have more information: Unknown Heritage Routes in Toledo
6. The “noche toledana “is, in my opinion, the best time to visit the city. In winter or summer the night offers images hard to forget and imagine if you do not stay in the city at least one or two nights (Ten photographs of the night in Toledo) You can not leave without doing some night route through the helmet. Here you have more information and prices about the night routes around Toledo.
Churches of Toledo
7. Viewpoints. If you have some free time to stroll through the old town, there are several monuments that allow access to important viewpoints from which to observe the city from another point of view: the Miradero promenade, the ascent to the “Campana Gorda” in the Cathedral (with entrance), the view of the terraces in the Church of the Jesuits (Plaza Padre Juan de Mariana, 1), or in the esplanade next to the Alcazar, in the underground car park. Do not miss the view from the area known as the Valley. It is the typical photo for “el novato” in Toledo. Finally (although there are many more) we recommend the sunset from the Paseo Virgen de Gracia with San Juan de los Reyes in the foreground.
View of San Juan de los Reyes
View of San Juan de los Reyes. Photo: Aerismaud on Flickr.com
8. See the agenda of Culturel events in Toledo. The offer is extensive, all year round. Occasionally you can find free city tours, thematic exhibitions, access to usually closed spaces, concerts… Toledo’s Culturel agenda. And follow us on Twitter, there we tell what is happening in the city:
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- Or on Facebook (fan page):http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leyendas-de-Toledo/181189431924972
Consult in this link prices and timetables of the routes through the city of Toledo.
