| .SURROUNDINGS |
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Alcalá de Henares
Aranjuez
Á vila
Cuenca
Chinchón
Monasterio El Paular
Navacerrada
Segovia
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32 km
47 km
114 km
167 km
45 km
90 km
50 km
91 km
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El Escorial
Gredos
Guadalajara
La Granja
Sigüenza
Toledo
Valle de los Caídos |
49 km
60 km
58 km
77 km
50 km
71 km
47 km |
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| Alcalá de Henares |
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World Heritage Capital of cultural tourism in Madrid. Is located at 30 kilometres at the East of Madrid by the N II road. It is a rich and young cultural capital in the important area of the Henares River. Its foundation came with the Celtic city of Ikensankom Kombouto, later known as Complutum during the Roman period, where the gentilic name of its inhabitants comes from. It was known as Alcalá during the Muslim domination, later changed into Alcalá de Santiuste and finally Alcalá de Henares, since the rule of the Archbishops of Toledo between the 12th and 19th centuries. The Cardinal Cisneros founded in 1499 a university which became the most modern and dynamic one of the Renaissance.
The University of Alcalá transformed the city and developed an urban plan thought out for and by mankind. The idea of Alcalá as a cultural place of development of the Spanish language was even increased in 1547 with the birth in Alcalá of Miguel de Cervantes, “Don Quixote’s” author Currently, the historical precint of the city, which was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1998, is once of the nicest and best preserved ones of Europe. Alcalá also belongs to the Spanish Group of World Heritages Cities (with nine member cities) and to cultural ways like the Spanish language Road. |
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| Chinchón |
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All over the province, and especially up in the Sierra, you will find villages which have managed to preserve their character despite the housing estates which have sprung up nearby. But if one had to name a village near Madrid set in scenery very different from the Sierra, undoubtedly would say Chinchón, which has a beautiful square, full of local colour, lined with irregular but tremendously harmonious columns and galleries. Chinchón is a medieval town. Traditional bullfights and craft markets are held in its square. It is known for its excellent food. |
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| The Royal Palace of Aranjuez |
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Is situated in a 18th century town centre. Set in the midst of lovely and romantic gardens, it was the summer residence of the Spanish Royalty, from whom the beautiful palace was built. Phillip II entrusted the naturalist Dr. Laguna with the creation of the first botanical garden in
Spain and one of the firsts in Europe; in the 18th century, it was moved to Madrid by Charles III. The royal of the Hapsburg dynasty abandoned Aranjuez after a fire there, and was not to regain its status until the time of the first Bourbons, when several architects collaborated to build the palace, with its splendid surrounding gardens. |
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| The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial |
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The Monastery (49 Km), is one of the greatest architectural works in the world. Built by Juan de Herrera, in the 16th century. The nearby village, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, is set in the majestic mountains surrounding Madrid.
For King Phillip II, who built El Escorial to commemorate victory at the battle of St. Quintin, it was his life's work.
El Escorial was seen by King Phillip as a monastery, a palace and a crypt for the sarcophagus of his father, the Emperor Charles. All the Kings of Spain are buried in its impressive crypt. The monastery also has a very fine art collection and an outstanding library. |
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| Toledo |
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It is called a museum-city because of the historic splendour and beauty of its centre. Within the medieval wall is the town which was the capital of a Kingdom in which Christian, Arab and Jewish cultures lived together and where the best of all three have left their traces. It is thus a city with both a cathedral and synagogues. Greco's spirit is still alive in the city's streets. His studio and an infinite number of his paintings can be seen here.
One writer used to say that anybody who's never been in Spain and wants to get a flavour of the country in just one day should visit Toledo. It is a good saying because this city on the River Tajo, situated only 70 Kilometres from the capital, has a series of monuments from all different epochs which make it, as a whole, the quintessence of Spanish civilisation. |
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| Ávila |
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Is surrounded by 2.500 metres of 12thcentury walls. A city which still dreams of the past, where the Gothic cathedral, churches, palaces and romantic corners breathe history.
There are few cities in the world so completely and perfectly walled as Avila. It is one of the Dukes of Burgundy, Raimundo, son in law to King Alfonso VI of Castile, who began this amazing wall adorned with elegant towers, to complete the Arab fortifications. Avila has been called "the city of stones and saints" because it is made of stone and because it was here that Saint Teresa de Jesús, one of the greatest mystic writers in the history of the Church, lived and flourished in the 16th century. |
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| Segovia |
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Can be defined by two of its monuments: The Roman Aqueduct, still crossing the city after over a two thousand years, and the 11th century fortress. The cathedral and
Romanesque churches are additional attractions. The Aqueduct was probably built under Trajan, and is one of the most imposing testimonies to the engineering feats of these times still standing.
There is so much to see in Segovia, it is reccomended that the visitor go up to the Calle Real to the lively Plaza Mayor and then see the beautiful temples and museums adorning the city, and walk around the streets looking at the numerous Segovian stucco façades before going down to the Santuario de la Fuencisla, the patron Virgin of Segovia.
A few kilometres away, the Palace of the Bourbons "La Granja de San Ildefonso" is surrounded by a beautiful garden, boasting numerous monumental fountains. |
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