Spain: El Escorial, Segovia and Toledo – three days around Madrid

At the end of September 2023 (25 September – 3 October) I was once again visiting my sister on the Costa Blanca – this time without Patrycja. Together with my sister and my aunt, we got away for a three-day road trip to central Spain, around Madrid: to El Escorial, the Valley of Cuelgamuros, Segovia and Toledo. Each of these places deserves a day of its own – we saw the most important sights.

Table of contents

1. El Escorial – monastery and palace of the Spanish kings
2. The Valley of Cuelgamuros
3. Segovia – the Roman aqueduct and the Alcázar
4. Toledo – the old town and the cathedral

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El Escorial – monastery and palace of the Spanish kings

We started in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, at the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial – a huge monastery and palace complex built in the 16th century by order of King Philip II and listed by UNESCO. It includes a monastery, a palace, a basilica and the pantheon of the Spanish kings, and the interiors are decorated with, among other things, Baroque ceiling frescoes (there is a photo of the complex at the top of the post).

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The Valley of Cuelgamuros

A few kilometres further on, in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains, lies the Valley of Cuelgamuros (called Valle de los Caídos until 2022) – a mausoleum commemorating the victims of the Spanish Civil War, with a basilica carved into the rock and a cross on the hill over 150 metres tall.

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Segovia – the Roman aqueduct and the Alcázar

Our next stop was Segovia. Its symbol is the Roman aqueduct, which has been crossing the city above the rooftops for almost two thousand years.

At the other end of the old town, on a rock above two rivers, stands the Alcázar – a beautiful castle with a tall tower and pointed slate roofs.

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Toledo – the old town and the cathedral

Finally we went to Toledo, with its impressive old town on a hill above the Tagus river, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What impressed us most was the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Mary, especially in the evening, in the light of the setting sun.

I spent the rest of my stay around Torrevieja – the day before my flight, my sister and I also took a boat to Tabarca island.

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