Everything you Need to Know about a Day Trip from Madrid to Segovia!
I HIGHLY suggest adding a day trip from Madrid to Segovia to your Madrid itinerary! Our original itinerary to Spain did not include Segovia; it was added while sitting at dinner in Madrid on night 2 out of 5 😄 . This guide to Segovia will answer questions we should have researched a little better before heading to Segovia! Including:
- How to get there from Madrid- including which train, which train hub, how to get to city center from the train station in Segovia
- What to see/do in Segovia
- How much time you should allot to explore Segovia
- Approximate price of our day trip
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Getting to Segovia!
We really wasted time on the “getting to Segovia” portion of our trip, so learn from our mistakes! First of all, we headed to the main metro hub we arrived at when we landed in Madrid (and the same one we used to day trip to Toledo, which is Atocha). Little did we know, there are TWO major intercity train hubs (Atocha in the south and Chamartin in northern Madrid). To get from Madrid to Segovia:
- Go to the Chamartin train station
- Train from Madrid to Segovia. Tickets can be booked here or you can search below!
- You will arrive a couple miles from the Segovia city center
- To get to the city center, take a taxi or a bus. We opted to take the bus, which is cheap. However, know that the bus takes cash only! (learned this the hard way🙃) and then took a taxi on the way back due to it being late
- The bus and taxi will likely drop you off near the aqueduct. Once you arrive in Segovia, it is easily navigated on foot!
What to do in Segovia
The lure of Segovia for us was the architecture. Segovia really is a beautiful city and our favorite things we did were free! The top 5 things to do include:
1. Take in the Aquaduct
- When you arrive in the center of Segovia, the first and most notable thing you’ll see if the aqueduct. It is easiest to admire the size of it from below it. It is really neat architecture! However, I also recommend going through the aqueduct and taking a right up the stairs. At the top of the stairs is a great view of the city and the aqueduct (first photo of the article was taken up these stairs!)
2. Visit the Plaza Mayor
- As in any city, the plaza mayor is the center of the city and worth walking around. It is home of the cathedral as well as many shops and restaurants. If you want to eat while in Segovia, the side streets from this plaza are a great place to look (also the side streets near the aqueduct).
3. Admire the Cathedral
- While you are at the Plaza Mayor, don’t forget to admire the cathedral! The cathedral in Segovia is a gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral and is beautiful! Each side provides its own beauty, so I recommend walking around the entire cathedral.
- Cost: 3 euros to go into the cathedral
- Open: 9:00 am- 9:30 pm during peak season (9:30 am- 6:30 pm November-March)
4. Explore the grounds of the Alcázar de Segovia
- I mean look at that photo 👀.. it’s one of the most symmetrical, fairytale-looking castles I’ve ever seen! Take the time to walk and admire the grounds. The castle is built into the cliffside of Segovia (😍), so to the right of the castle is a great view of the hills below.
- This photo is also just the back of the castle. From the front you see spiraling columns and a tower that LITERALLY was inspiration for the Disney Castle (along with the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany). It really provides all the fairytale vibes.
- To note, it isn’t immediately visible when you arrive in Segovia. It is about a 25 minute walk from where you will likely be dropped off near the aqueduct.
- Entry into the Castle: 9 euros
- To book tickets online, click here!
5. Get lost in the streets of Segovia
- As you make your way from the aqueduct to the alcazar, you’ll pass a beautiful overlook showing the town below and the mountains behind the city. Stop and take it in!
- Segovia is quaint and full of cute shops and restaurants. After you explore the castle and cathedral, I recommend just walking around the streets of Segovia to end your day. Maybe have a Sangria before heading home 😉
How much time do you need for your day trip to Segovia?
Segovia is a quaint city, making it very ideal for a day trip from Madrid. After going to the wrong metro station, deciding against the bus that left late, and then taking the metro to the Chamartin station (where it took us some TIME to figure out how to buy an intercity versus intracity ticket) we finally arrived in Segovia around 3:00 in the afternoon. Lucky for us, however, you can easily walk around the city of Segovia in an hour or two.
- After arriving, we grabbed a snack and headed down the streets of Segovia.
- Heading north, we stopped at the city overlook, explored Plaza Mayor, walked around the perimeter of the cathedral and then continued to the Alcazar de Segovia.
- We spent around an hour at the Alcazar because it is so beautiful! (didn’t do the inside tour because it closes early during off-season ☹️).
- After the Alcazar we had about an hour to explore more shops and then climbed the stairs to watch sunset near the aqueduct
- The night was topped off with a sangria before catching the night train back to Madrid.
Overall, we spent only about 5 hours in Segovia due to the difficulties we had getting to Segovia. However, we were able to see a lot of Segovia in this time, so if you are able to take a morning train you will have plenty of time to take explore Segovia and soak up its beauty 😍
Cost of Our Day trip to Segovia
This is a relatively low-cost day trip from Madrid!
- Train ticket Madrid to Segovia: ~20 euros round-trip
- Bus from train station to city center: 2 euros per person
- Snack: ~4 euros
- Entrance to cathedral (if you want to go inside): 3 euros
- Entrance to Alcazar de Segovia (if you decide to go inside): 9 euros
- Sunset view overlooking aqueduct: priceless. Jk 😂. But it is free
- Sangrias: ~8 euros
- Taxi back to train station: ~10 euros
Total Cost: ~37 euros without entry into the cathedral or Alcazar. ~50 euros with entries into both
Worth the day trip?
Definitely recommend a day trip to Segovia! We really enjoyed our time in Madrid, but it was nice to get out of the city and explore a more quaint Spanish town. With our very short (5-day!) itinerary, it was a great option for a quick day trip ( as well as Toledo!). For our full 5-day itinerary to Madrid, click here!
If you are interested in guided tours, there are a couple of options that leave from Madrid and include two cities!