Today a few friends and I decided to take a day trip to Toledo, Spain. This historic city is only about an hour bus ride away from Madrid, so it makes a perfect short excursion.

The three of us hopped on a bus early in the morning and took the short ride to Toledo. Once we arrived we walked from the bus stop to a small local cafe called Central Perks. If you know the show Friends at all, then you know this name is a reference to the coffee shop the characters of the show loved to hang out in. This cafe in Toledo was actually themed for the show, and even featured the iconic couch from the show’s set. This didn’t really have anything to do with Toledo, but we were all Friends fans and had to make a stop at this random little place.

After that, we began our walk towards the center of the city. Along the way, we stopped at a small park that housed an ancient Roman circus. The history nerd in me was super excited, and I loved every second of walking through the old arches. This park was definitely a hidden gem on the outskirts of Toledo, but I am so glad we found it (thanks Lauren).

Walking towards the city we came across a historic bridge, Puente de San Martín, the history of which is kind of funny. Basically, the architect discovered upon completion that he had made a mistake and the bridge was not structurally sound. During a thunderstorm, his wife set the bridge on fire and destroyed it so that no one would know he had made a mistake. The locals believed that the bridge was simply struck by lighting, and it was reconstructed perfectly. Regardless, the view of the river and mountains was stunning. It felt like a I was in a fairytale looking out over it from the middle of the bridge. From the bridge we walked up through the Jewish Quarter and found a restaurant for lunch. After a quick lunch, we headed to the Alcázar de Toledo. This imposing building is one of the first you see when you arrive in Toledo, and it was certainly worth seeing up close.

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My favorite part of the day was definitely seeing the view of Toledo from Mirador del Valle. We wound up here just before sunset, at what some would call “golden hour.” It took about a 30 minute hike up steep hills to get there, but it was worth it. The city was stunning; it almost looked fake from this point of view. We also got to see the sunset as we walked back towards the city.

Finally, we grabbed dinner and headed to the bus station to catch our bus back to Madrid. I’m not really sure what I was expecting to see on this short trip, but Toledo exceeded those expectations by a landslide.