There are so many incredible things to see in Toledo, Spain, whether you’re visiting for a long weekend or just on a day trip from Madrid. If you only have a day to see some of the highlights, here are the top things I’d recommend seeing during your time in Toledo.
The Cathedral
During my time studying abroad in Toledo, I embarked on an excursion by myself to tour the famous cathedral of Toledo. The cathedral is a 13th century Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral located very close to my school. It is huge, it’s hard to imagine how people hundreds of years ago managed to build such an architectural feat without bulldozers and major construction machinery. Granted it took hundreds of years to finish but still it is an incomprehensible accomplishment.
My only gripe with the cathedral is that it’s a bit expensive for a church tour in my opinion. Because it is a major attraction, the current charge for entry is 8€ for a majority of the church but 11€ for a full tour with access to towers and bell.
I really love the gothic architecture and the church is very ornate and intricate with careful details of the altars and stained glass. It was very packed with visitors when I went, I wouldn’t recommend others visit it on a Saturday.
Hiking to La Piedra
This was definitely the highlight of my weekend. On Saturday night we embarked on the hike up to La Piedra, a giant rock overlooking the entire city of Toledo. We left at around 8:45pm, enough time to make the hike to see the sunset.
The view was absolutely stunning. The clouds combined with the sunset ignited the sky into a candy-colored spread, a beautiful contrast against the horizon of the ancient city. We sat in silence for at least twenty minutes, completely in awe of the view.
La Piedra is definitely the best free thing to do in Toledo. The hike was good exercise without being too rigorous and the climb up the rock had little natural stairs and a railing. The climb down in the dark was a little more difficult, I recommend bringing a flashlight or phone with a flashlight app.
Have you been to Toledo? What are your favorite things you’ve seen or done?
[…] first studied abroad in Toledo in 2014, and this city is where I really fell in love with Spain. A tiny regret I have from being […]