Toledo, Spain

Known as Spain's Imperial capital. Toledo is old, ancient, and jammed packed with history, palaces, churches, squares and small winding medieval streets. Also, great food and interesting trinkets to buy as a souvenir (mostly swords).

Just got back from a Med Cruise and a visit to Madrid and Toledo. If you are going to Spain, don't miss the opportunity of going to this great historical town. The cathedral is beautiful (there was an exhibit of Queen Isabel's treasures) and is full of so much history. The quaint cobblestone streets are lined with shops and cafes. Swords and pottery are the specialties, especially the masquinado, black with gold leaf pounded in. The machine made is much cheaper than the hand made, but you'll see the difference. Go to the Parador at the top of the hill on the way to Argas to get the best photo opportunity. Have a limon while you're there to cool off. Or a glass of sangria. The Hostal Del Cardenal is a great place to stay. Very quiet and surrounded by flowers and patios. It's close to everything, near the escalator to the old city. You won't be disappointed!!!!!

I only got to spend a few hours in Toledo, but what a town! So much history, especially religious history. There's just something about a walled town that feels enchanted. While I was there, there just happened to be a town race. Kids and men of all ages had numbers pinned to their chests and raced down the narrow streets of Toledo to the finish line. It was really a great example of the fun and charming culture there!

It was an enjoyable stop over. Loads of history.

Unfortunantly, I only got to spend an afternoon here. We accidently got off the train at the Toledo Ind. stop, which is the industrial part of town. A business lady and a local policeman, who both couldn't speak a word of English, somehow managed to get us on a bus and into the historic part of town. This incident speaks volumes about the hospitality of the town. The town has lots of history and charm. The Cathedral is absolutely beautiful. You cannot go to Spain and miss Toledo!

Interesting medieval town in the middle of the La Mancha region of Spain. I have one piece of advice though; don't go during the summer, it's BLAZING HOT THERE! Otherwise, go and see the Parador (Spanish country inn), the views of Toledo are great from the terrace of the restaurant. It is said that El Greco painted his "View of Toledo" portrait from that spot.

Several years ago, I spent three weeks backpacking around Spain and Portugal and Toledo was my favorite city. It is absolutely stunning and even though it is close enough to be a quick day trip from Madrid, I would recommend spending at least a night there. From the tiny, unbelievably narrow cobblestone roads to the incredible architecture, Toledo is really a site to behold. The city is small enough that there is no reason to rent a car, but make sure you have comfortable walking shoes because the streets are winding and, sometimes, quite hilly. The only disappointment was that there was no sign of Klinger.

A neat little fortress town which lies between Madrid and the Costa del Sol. The town is close to, if not more than, 2000 years old, and it's really interesting to see the influences of various cultural groups on the city including the Moors who apparently held Toledo for a couple of hundred years. It's definitely fun to wander around the narrow little streets within the town walls - a great place to bring a significant other, but don't expect a lot of nightlife.

Very cool city built on a hillside with lots of winding little streets and old buildings. It's also very touristy but that's to be expected considering what it is and where it is, (only about an hour bus ride from Madrid so it makes for a nice day trip. Apparently Toledo is like the sword making capital of Spain so you can't walk 10 feet without passing swords in the windows of the shops. It's one of those things that is just so touristy to buy and so exploited that you think "there's no way I'm gonna buy one of those" and everyone you see carrying them is 50 with a camera strapped around their neck with the wife and kids in tow. So of course we each got one and then had to carry them through the streets packaged in newspaper that was just wrapped around the blade and then bulbed up around the handle. The wrapping did nothing to conceal the shape in the slightest, it would be like walking around Manhattan with a 3' tall model of the Empire State building wrapped in colored cellopha... Read more