Ever been to Toledo in Spain?

Toledo is set on a hill above the plains of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. It’s known for the medieval Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments in its walled old city, and as the former home of the artist El Greco.

It´s a beautiful, old, historic city and well worth the visit…

What to do in Toledo Spain

I recently visited Toledo with my family and fell in love with this city on sight. Living in Spain has opened up so many doors for us to travel. This is a huge WOW FACTOR for someone who comes from the southern part of Africa (and who loves, YES L-O-V-E-S to travel). Travelling from South Africa is firstly, very expensive, and secondly it consists of many hours of traveling time!

Sweet Treats in Toledo

We visited the famous Pastilería Santo Tomé where marzipan (photo below) is artfully handcrafted into works of art that taste so good, and because of their premium quality and 100% natural ingredients used in them i.e. almonds, honey, sugar and eggs.

Santo Tomé, a company with a long history of more than 150 years, have always sought to maintain and improve line quality in all its products and services.

We tried their homemade chocolate bombones because they looked just too good to pass up (photo above).

Our Day Trip To Toledo

We took a bus from Madrid which took just under 1 hour. Toledo is 74km south of Madrid. We wanted to go with the Renfe train but there was a strike that day (just our luck) and most of the trains were cancelled for the morning.

So we decided to go by bus. Going there it was relatively quick, but the return trip was a nightmare because the “fast/direct” bus was full and we needed to take the 2nd option available, which stopped so many times I can´t even count. Note to self: don´t take that bus EVER again!!

That Red Double Decker Bus

We decided to use the Toledo City Tour, to explore the city. You know those hop on, hof off, red double decker ones that you can find in most cities that attract tons of tourists..? Toledo is not that big so there was only 1 route with a few stops, but it was well worth it!

Things To See In Toledo

1. The Cathedral

The Cathedral of Toledo is one of Spain’s finest cathedrals and was built on top of a Moorish mosque.

2. Town Hall 

Across from the Cathedral is the Town Hall (Ayuntamiento), a beautiful building with a small park in front, planted with colorful flowers. The Town Hall building was designed by the famous architect Juan Herrera, who designed El Escorial.

3. Museum of Santa Cruz

The Museum of Santa Cruz is the city museum and is located at Calle Cervantes, 3, near the Zocodover Square. Inside are exhibits of the city history. The building is from the 16th century and one can see the patio, where there are Roman statuary.

4. Church of San Tome

This small church contains El Greco’s most famous painting, “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz”, painted in 1586 in a very large format (460 cm x 360 cm). This is a marvelous painting and one of El Greco’s best, and it is considered one of the great art masterpieces of Spain.

5. Bisagra Gate

The Bisagra Gate is located at Calle de Alfonso VI. The Moors built the gate and its name comes from the Arabic word Bab-Shagra, which means “Door of the Sacred”.

6. Railway Station

The railway station was designed by Narciso Calveria and opened in 1920. The beautiful building uses the Neomudejar style. The shape of the building is rectangular with three sections. It looks like a Moorish palace and has many Mudejar details, such as beautiful ceramic tile and plaster moldings. See image below of the inside and the beautiful glass windows!

7. Alcantara Bridge

This is one of the bridges that crosses the Tajo River and during the Middle ages, it was the only bridge leading to the town.

To see more points of interest, go to TripAdvisor.com

Now for the cutest photo of them all… (my boys strutting their stuff in Toledo!)

Oh how I love them 🙂

I hope that I have inspired you guys to travel to beautiful Toledo! Book your ticket to Madrid and make sure Toledo is in your list of top places to visit, when there!!

Looking for more things to do in Toledo? Then this post is a must to see: 15 Best Things To Do In Toledo!

Johlene

xoxo

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