El Tránsito Synagogue (Sinagoga del Tránsito)

The basics

Most travelers visit Toledo as a full-day or half-day trip from Madrid, though it’s well worth staying overnight to enjoy this UNESCO World Heritage–listed city in more depth. The El Tránsito Synagogue and Sephardic Museum are a popular stop on city tours. Jewish Toledo walking tours go deeper into the history of the city’s once-vibrant Jewish community, which coexisted with Muslims and Christians during the al-Andalus period. Private tours are more personalized than group tours and are often customizable, while experts such as archaeologists can add depth to the museum’s discoveries.

Things to know before you go

• The El Tránsito Synagogue is a great choice for architecture lovers, history buffs, and culture vultures.

• The synagogue is no longer a place of worship so there’s no dress code. But visitors to Toledo should dress reasonably modestly to enter Christian sites such as the cathedral.

• Much of the synagogue is wheelchair-accessible but there are steps to the patios and the women’s gallery.

How to get there

Toledo is just over 30 minutes from Madrid by fast train, making the city a very practical day trip; the 45-mile (75-kilometer) drive takes just one hour. El Tránsito Synagogue is about a 0.5-mile (800-meter) walk west of the cathedral in the old town, near the Museo del Greco. To reach the old town from the station, catch bus L61, L62, L5, or L12 to Zocodover Square—or walk. Toledo’s Old Town is almost entirely car-free.

When to get there

The museum is closed on Mondays. During winter (October through February) it opens 9:30am–6pm Tuesday through Saturday and 10am–2pm on Sundays and public holidays. During summer, it opens 9:30am–7pm Tuesday through Saturday and 10am–2pm on Sundays and public holidays. It closes on May 1, December 24, December 25, December 31, January 1, and on a couple of local holidays. The museum commemorates International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27.

Exploring the Sephardic Museum

Beyond the main prayer hall, the Sephardic Museum fills five different rooms, including the women’s gallery and two patios—one housing Jewish tombstones from across Spain, the other hosting sculptures and archaeological discoveries. It explores the origins of the Jewish people, their lives in Roman Spain, the flourishing of medieval Jewish culture, and their expulsion by Christians in 1492. But it also tells the story of the lives of Sephardic Jews until the present day and Jewish people’s role in modern and contemporary Spain.