Nearby Towns and Day Trips

Toledo

Toledo is located in the center of Spain, just south of Madrid, and is the capital of Castilla-La Mancha and of the Toledo Province. The city is protected on three sides by a gorge cut away by the Tagus River. The most famous industry is the manufacture of steel and Damascene swords.

Toledo has many towers, old gates, narrow, winding streets, massive houses, and predominantly Moorish architecture, which give it a medieval atmosphere. In the center of the city rises a Gothic cathedral (1227-1493) with 40 chapels. Other noteworthy architectural features are the Gothic Church of San Juan de los Reyes and its adjoining convent. The churches of Toledo contain some of the greatest works of art in Spain, notably those by the painter El Greco. The highest vantage point in Toledo is the Alcazar, a vast square edifice with four towers, which now houses a military museum.

Segovia

The monumental size of the Roman aqueduct has become the icon of thismillennial city. Segovia is its walls, its great plaza, its cathedral, its Romanesque churches, its convents, its narrow streets, and its splendid mansions. It has been and is the meeting point of cultures down through the millennia: Roman, Arabic, Jewish and Christian.

The city today vibrates with the same power and drive that symbolizes the majestic Alcazar of the Middle Ages. Any traveler will be able to see that once they are there it was worth the trip. Discover its Muslim architecture, be amazed at the sheer mass of the aqueduct, and tour the castle that looks as though it came straight out of a fairy-tale.

El Escorial

Built at the end of the 16th century the Escorial Monastery sits on an exceptionally beautiful site in Castile. The austere style of its architecture, a break with previous styles, had a considerable influence on Spain for more than half a century. It was the retreat of a mystic King and was, in the last years of Philippe the II reign, the center of the greatest political power of that time.

El Valle de los Caidos

Another burial place and monastery located just 15 kilometers from El Escorial is the Valle De Los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen). The temple, dedicated to the soldiers of the Spanish Civil War, is of monumental proportions, crowned by a huge cross and several sculptures by Juan de Avalos. The monument was built as a memorial to soldiers from both sides of the Civil War but for many people it is just a reminder of the pain and suffering that the dictator Francisco Franco imposed on Spain.

Chinchón

Chinchón is one of the most picturesque and best-known towns within theAutonomous Community of Madrid. The fact that it lies very close to the capital city has not impinged on it conserving its own personality, with its dark gray and ochre colored landscapes, bunches of houses grouped upon hills surrounding its unique main Square and its winding streets that are a witness to the life and history of the village.

Cuenca

This medieval town sits high atop a spectacular ridge wedged between two gorges. The main attraction here is the 15th-century casas colgadas ("hanging houses") are so-named because of their precarious position on the cliff's edge. The houses have been restored back to their original condition and are now used for alternate purposes one of which is the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art. Museums of religious art and archeology are located near the city's curious medieval cathedral.

Alcalá de Henares

Alcalá de Henares was the birthplace of Spain's most famous writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra the writer of the masterpiece Don Quijote. The city itself was the first planned University City in the world, founded by Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros in the early 16th century. It was the original model for the Civitas Dei (City of God), the ideal urban community, which Spanish missionaries brought to the Americas, and also for universities in Europe.

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