Madrid one more time 13

As well as all the tasty food, good beer and free museums that Madrid can offer, the city is surrounded by plenty of diverting places that would make an ideal daytrip. Whether you want beautiful mountain scenery, lavish palaces or historic old towns you can be sure to find a worthwhile excursion.

The only problem we had leaving Madrid was buying advance train tickets, at least for the high-speed AVE trains which are the only practical way of having adequate time in a place like Segovia. After the bum start to that particular outing, we set aside an afternoon to buy our tickets for Toledo. We called in at Atocha station, made our way to the ticket office and took our ticket to reserve a place in the queue. There were 60 people ahead of us. Thankfully Atocha is a splendid station, with a rain forest on the concourse, plenty of shops and ample seating.

One hour and 15 minutes later we were called to the ticket counter. One minute and €36 later we had two tickets to Toledo for later in the week. At the appointed hour, we returned to Atocha, went through the airport-style security check-in and found our seats. The 40-mile journey south was not particularly interesting, as the landscape is flat and barren and largely covered by suburban Madrid. After only about 20 minutes we rounded a corner and caught site of Toledo, which sits on a sheer bluff in a river bend.

This defensive site has been inhabited for thousands of years, attracting the Romans, the Moors and everyone else in between. Because of the topography, the train cannot approach very close and the station is well outside the city, below its walls. The old station provides a lovely welcome to the city. It's a gorgeous Moorish fantasy of tiles, stained glass, Arabic arches and polished woodwork that hints at wait awaits in the city above.

A fleet of tour coaches waited outside the train station's doors, with a crew of touts ready to take the trainload of tourists in tow. We spotted a small sign pointing to a bus stop on the main road out front and within a couple minutes we had flagged the next bus and were on the way.

The views along the way were gorgeous as we crossed the river and followed the city walls, catching the occasional glimpse of a clocktower or church. We were deposited outside the fortress (alcazar) which has been rebuilt after being obliterated during the Spanish Civil War and is now an army museum (yawn). The narrow streets did mean it was hard at first to tell where we wer  in relation to anything else, but then we spotted the spire of the cathedral beckoning through a cleft between the tall buildings. 

Click back next time for a trot around the cathedral and other monuments scattered around beautiful Toledo!