will be travelling in spain for 2 weeks...am looking for day trips from Madrid to Toledo, El Escorial, Valley of the Fallen, Segovia and Avila. Do i have to take separate trips or can i combine any places together...want to make the trips on my own...any suggestions? I will be making a separate trip from madrid to seville and onto barcelona from there
PS: am travelling with 2 kids ages 11 and 9 Looked at Renfe and Eurorail..any suggestions?
Posts: 2 | Location: unites states | Registered: 10 June 2008
How many days do you have to do all of these? I think the only two that are really combinable are El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos. If you had a car, maybe you could do Segovia and Avila in the same day, but I don't think you would end up doing either justice...
I would pick Segovia over Avila (unless you have a particular interest in Santa Teresa or climbing on the medieval walls of the city--which is really cool).
Posts: 1067 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 10 December 2002
Thanks for the info, I was just reading somewhere that it is better to take a tour of El Escorial and Valle de los Caidos as it is hard to get back from the Valle on your own, is that true? Any recommendations on Hotels in Madrid, Seville?
Planning to be in Madrid 12 through 18 and do the day trips, go on to Seville and Barcelona from there....any suggestions are appreciated........
Posts: 2 | Location: unites states | Registered: 10 June 2008
Valle de los Caidos isn't really my thing, so I can't comment on that one. I do know that you need to walk or take a quick bus ride up to San Lorenzo de El Escorial from the train station at El Escorial--so maybe a package sort of thing would make things simpler. If you like to hike, you might consider skipping Valle de los Caidos and doing the hike up to La Silla de Felipe II on the mountain next to El Escorial. Really beautiful views of the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and the monastery below.
Four day trips in six days sounds like a lot... Maybe you can prioritize ahead of time and eliminate one or two if you don't feel up to it when you get here. I would go for Toledo and Segovia for sure. Both towns are just so jam-packed with historical interest and fascinating architecture that they are hard to beat.
Posts: 1067 | Location: Madrid | Registered: 10 December 2002
