Toledo stands on a rocky height ringed on three sides by the Tagus, about 70 km south of Madrid. With about 87,000 inhabitants it is the capital of Castile-La Mancha and one of Europe's most beautiful historic cities, a UNESCO site since 1986. Its centre, a maze of steep lanes, is an open-air museum.
The city of three cultures
A Roman town, in the sixth century it became the capital of the Visigothic kingdom and the seat of the great councils of the Spanish Church. After the Arab conquest of 711 it became Tulaytula, a rich and learned city, and in 1085 it was the first great city taken by the Christians, under Alfonso VI. In the following centuries Christians, Muslims and Jews lived side by side, and the School of Translators promoted by Archbishop Raymond and Alfonso X translated Arabic and Greek scientific and philosophical works into Latin and Castilian, spreading them across Europe. Toledo was capital of Castile until 1561, when Philip II moved the court to Madrid. See al-Andalus and the Reconquista.
What to see
- The primate cathedral, a masterpiece of Spanish Gothic, with its carved choir, the Baroque Transparente and the sacristy, a picture gallery with El Greco, Goya, Titian and Van Dyck.
- The church of Santo Tomé, with El Greco's Burial of the Count of Orgaz, and the El Greco Museum (see sixteenth-century art).
- The Santa María la Blanca and Tránsito synagogues, with the Sephardic Museum, and the Cristo de la Luz mosque, built in 999 (see Mudéjar).
- The monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, founded by the Catholic Monarchs.
- The Alcázar, the fortress on the highest point, now the Army Museum.
- The medieval Alcántara and San Martín bridges and the city gates, such as the Puerta de Bisagra.
- The Mirador del Valle, across the Tagus, with the city's most famous view, the one El Greco painted.
See the full itinerary in what to see in Toledo.
Festivals and flavours
The most important festival is Corpus Christi, with the procession of Arfe's monstrance through streets hung with awnings and strewn with herbs (see festivals in Toledo). Toledo is famous for mazapán, the nuns' marzipan, game dishes such as Toledo-style partridge, carcamusas and manchego cheese, and the crafts of damascene work, steel inlaid with gold thread, and swords.
Getting there
The Avant high-speed train from Madrid Atocha takes 33 minutes to the beautiful Neo-Mudéjar station; there are also frequent buses. Escalators climb to the old town from the Recaredo area. Toledo can be seen in a day from Madrid, but staying a night lets you see it lit up and without crowds.