Home > Madrid > Toledo Half-Day or Full-Day Trip from Madrid
USD $65.00
Toledo Half-Day or Full-Day Trip from Madrid
Madrid, Spain
Travel from Madrid to Toledo, a national monument to Spain's art and history, and discover a treasure trove of El Greco artworks. Experience Toledo’s past on a guided walk along cobblestone alleyways, and explore this World Heritage-listed city’s medieval architecture and fortified city walls. As Toledo is on Madrid’s doorstep, you can easily take a Toledo tour in the morning or afternoon, explore in-depth on a Toledo day trip, or enjoy a Toledo and Madrid combo tour.
Leaving Madrid, relax on the 43-mile (70-kilometer) drive by luxury coach to Toledo, known as the city of three cultures, where Christians, Jews and Arabs lived together in harmony.
Your guided city tour takes you along the labyrinth of laneways winding through the medieval walled town. Your tour guide will point out the city’s Arabic, Mudejar Gothic and Renaissance architecture, evidence of the city’s Roman origins, Moorish influences and Baroque grandeur as the former capital of Spain.
View the medieval castle, with its storybook fortified towers, and the stunning Moorish architecture of Santa Maria La Blanca Synagogue, Europe’s oldest synagogue.
Whether you’re an art lover or history buff, you’ll recognize the setting of Toledo from the majestic paintings by the 16th-century master, El Greco. Coming face to face with one of El Greco’s most impressive works, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, in the church of St Tome is a tour highlight. The painting features portraits of 16th-century Toledo’s most important citizens, dressed in late-Renaissance fashions.
Also visit the Monastery of Saint John of the Kings, built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in the 15th century. Notice the courtyard cloisters and royal coats of arms in this classic example of Spanish Gothic Mudejar design. The tour then takes you to the former house and studio of a local sculptor at the Victorio Macho Museum, where you can see examples of the artist’s modern artworks and explore the lovely garden.
If you choose the full-day tour, you will visit the 13th-century Cathedral of Toledo, declared a World Heritage Site and Spain’s finest example of Spanish Gothic architecture. Also enjoy a panoramic tour of Toledo that takes in all the city’s highlights, from the river to the Alcazar fort, and pay an extended visit to the cathedral. Relax with a tourist-standard lunch of vegetable stew, veal and fruit salad, or indulge in a typical Spanish lunch of tapas, roast lamb, truffle cake with ice cream, accompanied by classic Spanish wine.
If you opt for the Toledo and Madrid combo tour, you'll begin the morning with a half-day highlights tour of Madrid, stopping at the Royal Palace, the Cibeles Fountain, Neptune Fountain, the Puerta de Alcalá, and the Prado Museum. You'll also stop at the famous Hard Rock Café for a complimentary drink. You'll then continue with a half-day tour of Toledo, including a visit to the Church of St. Tome, the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca, and the Mosque of El Cristo de la Luz.
We did the half day tour of Toledo - an amazing city. The bus stops at a spot where you can take unbelievable photos. Our guide was alternating between Spanish and English during the trip and seemed to speak more in Spanish than in English and she was a bit difficult to understand
Review by: superiordentalcare, July 2018
Morning tour of Madrid was on a bus entirely. You couldn't see anything and it was a bilingual tour so half spanish, half english, made it difficult to tune in and out to what guide was saying. We left the tour early it was awful. Afternoon in Toledo could have been interesting but our same guide from the Madrid AM tour was less than enthusiastic, she couldn't wait for the day to end, that was obvious.
Review by: Tracy L, July 2018
Our guide was superb - but we had to speedwalk through the sights to fit it all in. By the last stop, everyone was tired. And much of the walking is uphill. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. The lunch was definitely worth doing as well - delicious food in an historic house. After much walking in the heat, it was nice to sit in a beautiful old house and be waited on.
Review by: jmsech, July 2018
We did the full day tour but did not get lunch. Instead we did lunch on our own at a restaurant near the meeting point at the bridge - Museeo de Productos. The best food we’ve had in Spain! _br/_ Our guide gave the tour in both English and Spanish speaking one sentence in each language at a time. I enjoyed the way she did the tour and it actually helped me brush up on my Spanish. Toledo is beautiful and not too far from Madrid. I would recommended this tour.
Review by: nancyloy, July 2018
Elisa is a terrific guide. She is knowledgeable, fun, friendly, patient. She walks slowly enough for everyone to keep up. She lets us stop to take photos.
Review by: Dagmara G, June 2018
Excellent
Review by: Dennis J, May 2018
laid back tour which covered the main sights. I was really unwell on this day but the way the tour was run made it so easy for me to follow along. Highly recommend.
Review by: Michael H, May 2018
A enjoyable trip, with a great deal of history, but at times a bit too rushed for a half-day trip.
Review by: CABARI, May 2018
1/2 day not enought. Poor tour guide
Review by: christopher.hoemeke, May 2018
Great tour
Review by: Guider, April 2018
Great trip, well organized
Review by: Nena W, April 2018
Tour was good, tour guide was just ok. Not too friendly, very curt when answering questions. It could have been better.
Review by: Dianne F, April 2018
This was an outstanding tour. This is my 3rd tour by Julia Tours and you cannot go wrong. Wear comfortable shoes because there is a lot of walking on this tour. Excellent information and lunch as well. We chose the upgraded lunch and were not disappointed. The only thing I would change is the last hour after lunch was a visit to a knife factory which also made gold jewelry. We were also told that we would be able to buy authentic marizapan. I don't know why but I expected to see it made. But instead there were about 20 boxes of it in the gift shop of the knife/jewelry factory for sale. In all, I would highly recommend this tour but suggest they eliminate this last retail portion.
Review by: Paola E, April 2018
Tour was really nice, they took us around the city, without being rushed through it. It was really enjoyable. The city is quite hilly and not recomended for people who have difficulties walking long distances. The food offered was honestly not so good, but as could be expected with large groups of people. Very nice. Recomended.
Review by: jucamay1314, March 2018
Enjoyed the tour with my family of 5 3 boys and highly recommend the FULL DAY experience as there is a lot of tourists in Toledo trying to see the same as you and cant imagine doing much in half a day. The bus was clean, comfortable and rather new, and the guide knowledgeable and to the point.
Review by: chris.sinclair08, March 2018
Hard to rate. Arriving at Julia travel they said my tour was cancelled as I was the only one. Said I could do another day or do their all-day tour. I didnt have the time. They then moved me to another company for half-day. Okay except I had to pay an extra 10 to go into cathedral. Pouring rain but guide good. Id recommend a couple of days seeing Toledo
Review by: Jeanine W, March 2018
Worth it. Our guide was knowledgeable and attentive. I’d do it again.
Review by: Tinine, March 2018
The half day tour is perfect if you don't have enough time. Our guide was great- bilingual and shared the most interesting facts about what we were seeing. The visit to the Church of St. Tomas and the El Greco painting were the absolute best part for me. Tour departs on time, the bus was big and clean and the overall schedule was just right. Toledo was beautiful! A must see.
Review by: Nandini M, March 2018
This tour was amazing!
Review by: sivakumar97, March 2018
Toledo half day should be fine with tour group but they cover fast. Trip on your own may be cheaper but too hard to cover by walk. So, go with full day. English coverage is good.
Review by: yakov_kuperberg_1, February 2018
Best tour! thank you very much!
Review by: mfisher826, February 2018
A must -do tour! Beautiful art and architecture, with a highly knowledgeable guide that translated into both Spanish and English.
Review by: Our Vacations, February 2018
Tour good. The down side was it was given in two different languages, one after the other. This is not fair to either group listening to one you don't understand then waiting for the one you do.
Review by: Jennifer M, February 2018
Enjoyable morning walk around Toledo. Would reccomend.
Review by: kvclayton, February 2018
We took the full day Toledo tour by and it was amazing. Honestly one of the best experiences of our time in Spain. Jorge was our tour guide and he did a fantastic job describing the history. We walked 4 miles and it’s large pebble/rock streets with 3 major uphills, 3 major downhills. Be aware!
Review by: Peter, January 2018
If youre staying in Madrid rather than Toledo itself, you must do the full-day tour. There is too much to see here in a half day. We also did our own lunch to maximise the time we had here. Its was an extremely interesting visit. Highly recommended.
Review by: Judy R, December 2017
The Toledo Tour was excellent. It was wonderful to learn the history of such an ancient city. Loved this day out.
Review by: Kerry B, December 2017
We would highly recommend this tour. Toledo has a rich history as a former capital of Spain with lost of historic buildings and paintings by El Greco. Streets are small and winding and you need a good tour guide to be able to navigate everything and understand its significance. We spent two weeks i Spain and this was one of our highlights. We had an excellent tour guide who was exceptionally knowledgeable and patient.
Review by: cheryl_ngai, December 2017
Pretty great tour, mostly middle-aged to older people on the trip
Review by: PIPPA B, December 2017
Great walking tour of Toledo. Got to see all the major attractions and city highlights and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. The full lunch not tourist was well worth it. You will want to go back and explore on your own afterwards
Review by: Carol B, November 2017
Toledo is definitely worth seeing and highly recommend. Our guide was very good as well. The half day is rushed so I wish we had done the full day.
Review by: Robin H, November 2017
Loved Toledo! What a lovely city with a rich and interesting history. I don't think a self tour would do it justice. The pace was excellent and we got to see so much. Our guide really knew a lot of the history and gave us a great sense of how this city came to be. Definitely do the full day tour so you have access to all the monuments - I heard half day tours don't get to see everything from the inside. But do lunch on your own - the included lunch is awful and I wouldn't recommend it. And the stop at the tourist trap/factory is a waste of time. I liked the scenic viewpoints but didn't need that last stop.
Review by: Beth H, November 2017
First of all, Toledo is a MUST SEE while visiting Madrid. I have been to Toledo two other times on my own by train. I used this half day tour when I was there by myself for work. The meeting place was easy to find fabulous Metro system in Madrid anyway. When you go there without a guide, I think it is easy to get lost, and walk around in circles a bit. With a knowledgeable guide, you understand more of what you are seeing. This half day tour is perfect if you are short on time, but the town of Toledo is a place that will make you want to come back and visit again. As a flight attendant, I am often on my own, with just 24 hours in a particular city. I have taken many different Viator tours in several cities - Rome, London, Zurich. They do a consistently good job, and I am never disappointed.
Review by: Sophie K, November 2017
I did the half day afternoon tour. Honestly I don't think I got that much out of this tour that I couldn't have done on my own. The tour group moved extremely slowly and I probably could've done more on my own. Also, the tour guide was knowledgeable but didn't seem that keen on answering questions.
Review by: Senthilvel K, November 2017
Fell far short on my expectations which was set basis the other two tours. Went for the morning tour. Bus ride and location was good, but the guide was not in a great mood, just walked us through with as minimum a conversation possible. In this four hour trip we were taken to two souvenir shops. Personally didn't enjoy it much.. Could have been better.
Review by: Ilen E, November 2017
Awesome City. Beautiful! Had lots of fun.
Review by: Margarita B, November 2017
It was an excellent tour and we truly enjoyed it and will recommend.
Review by: Sydsmom7, November 2017
A perfect visit to Toledo. Highly recommend. We did the full day and were pleased at the sites visited.
Review by: Hanaa A, November 2017
the trip was really good and enjoyable. the tour guide was very knowledgeable._br/_ recommended !
Review by: Ossama S, November 2017
The tour was well organized. The coach was comfortable. The meeting place is convenient. Toledo is a great city with plenty to see. The scheduled lunch was average. Overall good value tour.
Review by: Andrea S, October 2017
Our guide was terrific -- very informative and nice!
Review by: zerorao, October 2017
I regret to say that the Expert Guide was lifeless....there was really very little that was conveyed...the tour was completed in 1 hour !!_br/_ Would not recommend this tour, if the quality of the expert is the same as we experienced !!
Review by: Stephen J, October 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: dothedew2, October 2017
This was a nice tour. We visited all the main highlights in Toledo. There was a lot of walking but the tour guide kept a leisure pace. We didn't eat lunch with the group but instead found another restaurant that was very good Lo Nuestro Taperia and Restaurante. Just make sure if you eat on your own, you watch your time so you can meet up with the group again.
Review by: JD, October 2017
We did the full day trip to Toledo, which we were glad that we did. We had a chance to see all of the Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish religious influences on this area. The architecture was stunning, and Toledo as a city, was beautiful to see. The tour guide was robotic, and seem detached, although knowledgeable. The group size was too big, and they don't have any type of sound system, so often times we were left wondering what was said. In addition, with the tour being done in both English and Spanish, it slowed the pace of the tour while also becoming a bit distractive. Next time, we will look for a total English tour, with a smaller group. We were not given any free time to shop, or roam around. In addition, the people at Julia Travel were very rude, arguing with my husband and I regarding what trip we had actually signed up for. Our paper reservation and booking reference number clearly matched the full day trip to Toledo, but they insisted that we had booked a half day to Toledo, and sight-seeing around Madrid. Loved Toledo, but disappointed with this company!!!
Review by: LUCILLE R, October 2017
Good tour. Had minor squabble on the bus over seating. Tour guide had informed everyone that seating was to be as taken at start._br/_ Bus was full, so when a couple decided to move after the first stop, the displaced person complained and requested his seat. The tour guide did her very best but the obstinate couple would not move and the whole bus load were delayed by 15-20 minutes._br/_ In the future, suggest that guide inform that seating would not change and that anyone who does not comply will be allowed to exit the bus and return via taxi at their own cost. Realize that the tour guide is in a bind when tourists present a problem, but do not see why 40 plus other people must lose tour time due to a few selfish/arrogant others. Had similar experience with gone shopping on their own on another tour a year ago and ruined our ability to see what was planned..
Review by: william r, October 2017
We did 1/2 day and it was wonderful. Scenery incredible.
Review by: Carol E, October 2017
Nice to see the city but too quick and really amounts to just a walk through the town. Longish ride for not much payback, somewhat boring-and that's coming from a 64 year old!
Review by: Vladimir F, October 2017
Toledo is a beautiful city but you only spend couple of hours being guided around the city, there is no free time at all and instead you are taken to the factory to buy some souvenirs. I have nothing against that factory but Toledo deserves more than couple of hours. This tour is presented as full day in Toledo, it is actually misleading as you spend more time on the bus, lunch and the factory than in the city.
Review by: James M, October 2017
We went on the Full Day tour. I am glad that we included this as part of our brief 2 1/2 day stay in Madrid. However, we didn't realize that it was a tour with our 100 closest friends. It felt like we were participating in a factory assembly line. The tour guide was robotic in her delivery. The day was regimented as we were herded from place to place. However it was interesting and I enjoyed seeing all the listed historical attractions. But would have preferred doing so as part of a much smaller group.