Madrid and Toledo, Spain

Where can we go for the weekend? That is always the question! We read that there are quite a few festivals in Madrid in May, making it perfect timing for last minute getaway 😊

Now, there's not a ton you can fit into three days, but we sure did our best!! We spent two days in Madrid and one in Toledo, just half an hour train ride from the Madrid Atocha station. 

Madrid

City Tour - we usually start our trips off with a walking or bike tour. This gives us a great opportunity to get a better layout and history of the city. We often come with an agenda in mind, but doing this on the first day allows us to add or change things for the rest of our visit. This time we opted for a bike tour.

Plaza Mayor & Puerta del Sol - make sure to stop through these squares! They're beautiful, full of restaurants and sometimes street performers, and we even stumbled upon a concert one night! 

Food & Wine - eat and drink all of it. In our opinion, tapas are the way to go! We ate our way through the city, and have no regrets. Our food adventure came together thanks to a mix of recommendations, markets (we ALWAYS go to markets), and random restaurants that looked tasty. Some of our favorite foods included: "toast" or bread with various toppings (try the goat cheese/caramelized onion and sirloin with sweet onion), fresh grilled meat kabobs, meat platters and potato omelets. We normally ordered 3-4 plates depending on our hunger level and shared them. At around €2/glass, wine was always a good option (the beer was also pretty good!) 😉 Here are some good markets, restaurants, and cafes to check out: 

• San Miguel Market - this was our first stop (even before our hotel!) and it was delicious. Great for tapas, but a bit expensive and touristy. 

• Anton Martin Market - we were excited about it but the hours on Google are wrong and they close early Saturday (closed Sunday!). Check the hours directly on the website before you go.

• San Fernando Market - we just happened to stumble upon this one, but here is where we found the tasty meat kabobs 😋 (there were also books!!)

• El Rastro Market - this is not a food market, but a HUGE open air (flea) market open Sundays

• La Mallorquina - great pastry shop (and yummy coffee!!), crazy busy. We went twice and probably would have gone back again. You can order at the bar or sit upstairs in the cafè. You can also order to go!

• Chocolateria San Gines - eat all the churros...(we devoured them before we were able to take pictures, so here is a picture of a bookstand near the churro stop!)

Flamenco - this was one of our favorite things we did! We love attending shows, and seeing a flamenco performance was one of the highlights of the trip. We saw a show at Cardamomo, and would highly recommend it! You can buy tickets in different sections, and seating in each section is arranged based on the order in which tickets are purchased. You can also eat here. We decided not to order food in advance, thinking we would eat beforehand, but ended up getting the Carmen Menu to share (meat platter, cheese/bread, potato omelet, flan) and it was really good! (note: meals that include paella, etc. must be ordered in advance and also come with a discount when ordered online)

Tabacalera - if you like graffiti, be sure to check this out! Once a tobacco factory, La Tabacalera is now an art center. There are exhibits, concerts, and underground tunnels full of graffiti art. Definitely a must see!

Royal Palace, Cathedral, & Temple of Debod - we were interested in seeing the 18th century Royal Palace, but unfortunately the line was too long and we weren't able to go in. But it is beautiful on the outside, and from what we hear also beautiful inside if you get the chance to go in and explore! We did go into the baroque Almudena Cathedral next door and bike by the Egyption Temple of Debod (donated to Spain by the Egyptian Government). 

Museums - we realize there are many great museums to visit in Madrid, and received recommendations on a few to see. However, we were unable to visit any. If interested, these are the ones we had marked as options: 

• Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum
• Prado National Museum
• Reina Sofia National Museum 
• (also crystal palace and Retiro Park)

Rooftop Terraces and City Views - we read that rooftop terraces are very pleasant in Madrid, and if you have more time, you can check them out. We also would have liked to see the view from the Circulo de Bellas Artes terrace (under renovation until May 15) or City Hall. 

Toledo

The night we got to Madrid we decided we also wanted to see the ancient walled city of Toledo, since it was so close! We looked up what to do, then headed to the train station in the morning. We bought our tickets in person and headed to Toledo for the day. 

Toledo is known for its medieval Arab, Jewish, and Christian monuments (and marzipan

and swords!), and was an interesting city to see. We spent the entire day within the city walls and would recommend just getting lost in the city. There is so much to explore, and everything is quite beautiful. 

Definitely stop in Zocodover Square, eat some marzipan, walk through the Jewish quarter, go inside the cathedral, and if you have time you can also explore the monastery! There are two medieval bridges and we walked over San Martin's bridge then walked back to the train station and saw the old doors to the city and the Alcantara bridge with the view of the city in the background (tip: take a taxi to town...it's only €5 and saves you the hassle of an uphill trek. Totally worth it!). 

While we were there we also found an art exhibit (and purchased an oil painting!) and outdoor market (and purchased a used purse 😆).

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Language - as horrible as this probably sounds, we were expecting most people to speak English since Madrid is a large city with many tourists. However, speaking Spanish was quite an advantage here (yes, we realize how obvious this sounds). We often started in English or asked if people spoke English but often enough the response was "only a little," "no," or something in Spanish. Thankfully, we understood everything and were able to recall enough Spanish to get by!

It is sunny - a piece of advice, bring sunscreen and a water bottle. We went in May and it was in the 80's (28C). The first day we were as red as lobsters, the other days we wore 50 spf!! We also constantly refilled our water bottle but still had headaches from dehydration! So drink up!! 

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Logistics & costs -
Flight: €330.96 RTx2p (last minute and checked bag on return for wine purchases!!)
Hotel: €225 (most Airbnbs booked, good location, decent enough budget hotel)
Metro: ~ €20 (2 airport + 8 metro trips)
Taxi: €30 (flat rate)
Food: Average €25 for tapas, €40-50 nice meal
Wine: cheap. €2-3/glass, > €10/bottle (maybe €20-30 for nicer bottle)
Art: €140 original oil painting from an exhibit in Toledo
Toledo Train: ~ €40 RTx2p
Toledo Taxi: €5 to center of town