Getaways from Toledo: day trips and destinations close by.

Half the sierra is behind Madrid

Toledo is south of Madrid, so half the sierra is behind the capital. The A-42 climbs north and joins the radial motorways: along it you go to Alcalá de Henares, El Escorial and, with the Sierra de Guadarrama in between, Segovia and Ávila. To the east leaves the A-40, on the way to Aranjuez, Chinchón and, beyond, Cuenca. To the south-east, the Vineyards motorway crosses La Mancha: it is the road to Consuegra with the A-4, to Almagro and, via Manzanares, to the Lagunas de Ruidera. To the west, via Talavera de la Reina, the road to Extremadura begins.

Without a car, the way out is the Avant to Madrid: about 25 minutes to Atocha, roughly every hour. From there leave the Cercanías to Alcalá and the AVE to Segovia or Cuenca; the rest of this page is journeys by car.

The Consuegra windmills and the boat on the Tagus at Aranjuez

Under an hour there are two very different plans. Aranjuez, at 45 minutes, with the palace, the Isla and Príncipe gardens and the boat on the Tagus. Consuegra, at 50, with the Muela castle, the windmills on the hill and the whole plain at your feet.

Between one and one and a half hours are Chinchón (70 minutes), with its Plaza Mayor and cellars with caves, and Alcalá de Henares (85), with Cisneros's university and Cervantes's birthplace.

The bulk of the Sundays towards the sierra is between an hour and a half and two hours: El Escorial (95), Almagro (95), La Pedriza (100), Navacerrada (105), Patones and Ávila (110), and Segovia and Valdesquí (115). These are long days, with a return in the dark in winter; several have a one-night version, such as El Escorial with its royal forest, the Sierra Norte or Segovia with a balloon at dawn.

From two hours the trip calls for sleeping away: the Lagunas de Ruidera, a little over two hours away; Cuenca and the Ciudad Encantada, at two and a quarter; Gredos in two nights, at two hours twenty; Sepúlveda and the Duratón, at almost two and a half, and Monfragüe, at two and a half hours. To the west are also Trujillo and Guadalupe, a little under two and a half hours away.

La Mancha, before the heat bears down

In winter, the Guadarrama snow is less than two hours away: a Sunday of skiing at Valdesquí, a morning snowshoeing at Navacerrada or the snow weekend in Cercedilla. For dry-cold days, the Plaza Mayor and the roast in Chinchón.

In spring La Mancha is the place to be before the heat bears down: Consuegra and Almagro are at their best, and at Ruidera the waterfalls carry more water. It is also the season for the birds of Monfragüe and the gardens of Aranjuez.

In summer Toledo often passes 35 °C, and so does almost all the plain. What works best is water or height: kayaking on the Colgada lagoon at Ruidera, setting out early, or the Madrid sierra.

In autumn, the chestnut and ash woods of La Herrería, in El Escorial, turn yellow in October and November. On the last weekend of October, Consuegra celebrates the Saffron Rose and the windmill road is closed: you go up on foot.

The Aranjuez palace with a guide at 10:30

• Under an hour: Consuegra, castle and windmills. A guided visit to the Muela castle with the Bolero windmill, the Rucio windmill inside, La Mancha lunch in a former pottery and sunset beside the windmills.
• Towards the Tagus: Aranjuez, palace, gardens and boat. The palace with a guide at 10:30, the gardens, market-garden lunch and the boat on the river. With one night, Chinchón the next day is added.
• To the south: Almagro and Calatrava la Nueva. The Corral de Comedias with the dramatised visit at 13:00, aubergines and pisto at the Parador and the castle-convent in the afternoon.