Ciudad Real, with about 76,000 inhabitants, is a provincial capital in Castilla-La Mancha, in the middle of the great La Mancha plain, the land of Don Quixote. It is a university and service city, linked to Madrid and Andalusia by high-speed rail, and a convenient base for exploring the region.
History
It was founded in 1255 by King Alfonso X the Wise as Villa Real, a royal town to counter the power of the Order of Calatrava, and was granted city status in 1420. In the Middle Ages Christians, Jews and Muslims lived side by side here.
What to see
- The 14th-century Gothic-Mudéjar Puerta de Toledo, the last surviving gate of the walls.
- The Gothic cathedral of Santa María del Prado, with a large Baroque altarpiece.
- The Plaza Mayor, with the modern town hall and a clock with automata of Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.
- The Quixote Museum, devoted to Cervantes's novel, with a library of editions in many languages. See Spanish classics.
- The Gothic church of San Pedro and the Ciudad Real Museum.
Around Ciudad Real
- Almagro, about 25 km away, with its arcaded Plaza Mayor and the 17th-century Corral de Comedias, the only theatre of its time preserved intact, home in July to the International Classical Theatre Festival.
- The windmills of Campo de Criptana, in the province, and those of Consuegra, in neighbouring Toledo province, recalling Don Quixote's "giants".
- Tablas de Daimiel National Park: see Daimiel.
- Cabañeros National Park, between Ciudad Real and Toledo.
- The Ruidera lakes and the Valle de Alcudia, with the extinct volcanoes of the Campo de Calatrava.
- Valdepeñas, La Mancha's wine capital.
Food
Pisto manchego, migas, gachas, Manchego cheese, berenjenas de Almagro, small marinated aubergines with designation of origin, mojete and wines from Valdepeñas and DO La Mancha.
Getting there
The AVE links Madrid and Ciudad Real in about 50 minutes and continues to Córdoba, Seville and Málaga. See also Albacete.