Short Trips Beyond Madrid

Toledo and Other Attractions Within Fifty Miles of Spain’s Capital

Oct 21, 2008 Paul Lightfoot

Beautiful countryside and elegant, fascinating historical towns are easily accessible within an hour or so from Madrid.

It takes six long escalators, discretely cut into the hillside, to rise from the parking level to the start of the old town of Toledo. At the top visitors are rewarded with a fine view out over stone buildings and terracotta roofs to the subdued greens and browns of fields and hills in the distance. And behind them is a labyrinth of narrow streets and lanes that will take a full day to explore.

World Heritage Sites

Toledo is one of six UNESCO World Heritage Sites within a short drive from Madrid, and all are well worth visiting:

• The austere Escurial Monastery, built by Felipe II towards the end of the sixteenth century on a beautiful site in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama.

• The old town of Segovia with its well-preserved, two-tier Roman aqueduct that was still in use till 120 years ago, the eleventh century Alcázar castle and 16th-century Gothic cathedral and its spires that form a striking silhouette above the town.

• The old town of Avila with its eleventh century fortifications, extra-muros churches and Gothic cathedral.

• The sixteenth century university and historic precinct of Alcalá de Henares, the world's first planned university town and birthplace of the writer Miguel de Cervantes, whose statue graces the main square of the old town. The Colegio de San Ildefonso with its carved stone façade is the most notable remnant of what was once Spain’s main centre of learning.

• The Aranjuez cultural landscape with its palace and 18th century French-style Baroque garden.

Historic Toledo

Toledo bears the imprint of more than 2,000 years of history. It originated as a Roman municipium before serving as the capital of the Visigoth kingdom, a fortress of the Emirate of Cordoba, a key point on the frontier between Christendom and the Moors, and Charles V’s capital in the sixteenth century. Three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, have left their mark on Toledo’s architecture and local traditions.

Away from the main attractions it is a surprisingly hilly town of narrow cobbled streets, some impassable except on foot or in small cars with their mirrors folded back. Stone buildings have intricate carvings in their doorframes and curved, black wrought iron window gratings and veranda rails. Painted ceramic tiles mark the names of the alleyways and plazas and potted plants hang overhead. Impressively solid iron and glass street lamps jut out from the sides of houses and somehow fit in with the architecture of earlier centuries.

Toledo Cathedral and Alcazar

Most visitors – and there are many of them, some traveling in little three- or four-car road trains – head for the churches and museos that Toledo is best known for. The Cathedral dominates distant views and was completed in the fifteenth century on the site of a seventh century church. Visitors will find much of interest, from the pretty, two-floored cloister to the Baroque marble altar, the carved wooden choir stalls and paintings by El Greco and Titian.

The fortified Alcazar houses a fine statue of Carlos V in battle with a Moor, and now includes an army museum. Nearby the peaceful Museo de Santa Cruz has collections of medieval and Renaissance art, and displays of the local craft of armour and weapons manufacture. Toledo is an ideal place to buy a lethal-looking three-foot long sword or a suit of armour.

Museo de Santa Cruz

From the balcony of the Museo de Santa Cruz there are panoramic views over one of the city’s distinctive roofscapes. In a lane outside is a statue of the writer Cervantes, Shakespeare’s contemporary, that local people touch for luck as they walk past.

Among other places of interest are the Sinagoga de Santa Maria la Blanca, the Puerta Antigua de Bisagra where El Cid entered the city in 1085, and the Casa-Museo de El Greco, the Renaissance artist who made his home in Toledo and whose paintings are displayed in several of the town’s public buildings. But beware, navigating around the town without a guide can be tricky and visitors are well advised to carry a good map and even a compass.

Toledo is easily accessible from Madrid by car or by train, as are the other five World Heritage sites. Several nearby mountain resorts offer hiking trails in the summer and skiing in the winter, and attract families for extended weekend lunches in picturesque little cafes and restaurants. Madrid is a great city, but also a great centre for explorations further afield.

The copyright of the article Short Trips Beyond Madrid in S Europe Travel is owned by Paul Lightfoot. Permission to republish Short Trips Beyond Madrid in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Roofscape from the Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo	One of Toledo's narrow streets	Suits of armour and customer
Miguel de Cervantes and friend	Domestic architecture in Toledo