It looks like I am finally going to get to Madrid. As a bit of a change I think I will mostly be focusing on the city itself, rather than the clutch of nearby sites.

However I think I will probably have the best part of a day to visit WHS before heading to the airport. I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for the best ones to aim for.

Top of the list at the moment is Toledo, but is that worth saving for a longer visit?
Is it worth sneaking in a visit to Alcalá de Henares as it is near the airport?
Or perhaps it is best to just concentrate on the classic day trip to el Escorial?

Also, any general tips on Madrid will be welcome.

Toledo is a fantastic place to just wander around. I really enjoyed a day trip here from Madrid.

If you´re interested in PreColumbian cultures Museo de las Americas is certainly worthwhile.

I would save more time for Toledo

Thanks for the replies, still a little up in the air at the moment. But these are also useful bits to know.

If not Toledo which of the other sites nearby do people think are worth a day trip to? I guess Segovia and Avila are within range, would anyone suggest they are worth the trip for a few leisurely hours.

I've been to both Segovia and Avila on a bus day tour from Madrid, done both in the same day, the time for visit each city was ok, the guide was very useful, spending his time on the bus to introduce us to each city and what we were going to see. Usually I do these things bymyself, but this day trip was the best one I've taken with a guided tour. I suggest you to do the same, Segovia and Avila are small nice cities and half a day is enough for each one of them, to see the top spots.