🚆 Day trips from Madrid by train
Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial and Alcalá — how and what it costs.
Madrid is surrounded by places that would be the main attraction anywhere else, and the trains are good.
- Toledo — 33 min by AVANT from Atocha. Medieval, walled, spectacular, and busy. Go early, stay for dinner and take a late train back so you get the empty streets.
- Segovia — 27 min by AVANT from Chamartín. Roman aqueduct, a fairytale castle, roast suckling pig. The station is out of town; take the bus in.
- El Escorial — about 1 hour on Cercanías line C-3 or C-8. Enormous royal monastery, cool mountain air, good hiking nearby. Cheap — a Cercanías fare, not a high-speed one.
- Alcalá de Henares — 35 min on Cercanías. Cervantes' birthplace, a beautiful university, storks nesting on every tower. The cheapest and easiest of the four.
- Aranjuez — 45 min on Cercanías. Royal palace and gardens, strawberries, a slower day.
Booking: AVANT fast trains should be booked ahead (Renfe app or website) — they sell out at weekends. Cercanías needs no booking at all: turn up, buy at the machine.
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