Toledo

useful
information

The city was conquered by the Romans in the year 192 and given the name of Toletum. In the 5th century it would pass to the Visigoths to become the capital of the kingdom of Hispania. It subsequently developed under the Arab domination until in 1085 it was named the capital of the kingdom of Castile. Alfonso X was to make the city the most important scientific centre of medieval Europe.

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TOLEDO ESSENTIALS

Population: 42,489 (2010) Area: 232.1 km² (89.69 sq mi) Density: 355.4 (920.46 sq mi) Elevation: 529 m (1,736 ft) Mayor: Emiliano García-Page

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Tourist Information: Toletvm Tourism Welcome Centre, Av. de Madrid ( 902 10 39 09). Entrance hall for the tourists visiting the city, open daily 8:00 to 23:00. Tourist Office, Plaza del Ayuntamiento, 1 ( 925 25 40 30). Open daily 10:00 to 18:00. AVE Station Tourist Office, Paseo de la Rosa ( 925 239 121). Open daily 9:30 to 17:30. Castilla-La Mancha Tourist Office, Puerta de Bisagra ( 925 22 08 43) Open from Monday to Friday 9:00 to 18:00, Saturday 9:00 to 19:00 and Sunday 9:00 to 15:00. Toledo Province Tourist Office, Subida de la Granja ( 925 24 82 32). Open from Monday to Friday 10:00 to 17:00 and weekends 10:00 to 15:00. More information at www.toledo-turismo.com

Telephone: Toledo code number is 925, even necessary for local calls. For international calls dial 00 plus the country code you wish to call. Public telephones works with coins and prepaid cards on sale at newsagents. For telephone information dial 11888 or 11822.

Train Station: Renfe Station, Paseo de la Rosa. Open from Monday to Friday from 6:00 to 22:30 and weekends and bank days from 8:00 to 22:30 ( bus 5, 6 and 9). Twelve high speed AVE trains per day to Madrid Atocha Station (ticket 9 € and 30 minutes).

Bus Station: Avenida Castilla La Mancha ( 925 21 58 50). Continental Auto ( 925 22 36 41 ó 91 527 62 17) offers buses every 30 minutes from 6:30 to 22:00 to Méndez Alvaro Bus Station in Madrid. Trip takes 1h 20min or 50 minutes with express service.

Taxis: Daily fare applies Monday to Saturday from 6:00 to 22:00, with a start fare of 1.10 € plus 0.72 € each kilometre and minimun charge of 2.54 €. Night fare applies weekdays from 22:00 to 6:00, with a start fare of 1.44 € plus 0.94 € each kilometre and minimun charge of 3.30 €. Bank days fare applies Sunday and bank days from 6:00 to 22:00, with a start fare of 1.65 € plus 1.09 € each kilometre and minimun charge of 3.81 €. Radiotaxi, 925 22 70 70. Radiotaxi, 925 25 50 50.

Emergencies: All the emergencies: 112; Medical Service: 061; Local Police: 925 25 04 12; National Police: 091; Firemen: 925 22 60 80.

Medical Assistance: Toledo Hospital Complex, Av. de Barber, 30 ( 925 26 92 00). Misericordia Hospital, San Servando ( 925 25 93 50). Nuestra Señora del Rosario Medical Center, Peraleda Road, 3 ( 925 26 61 00).

Para comer: El Alcázar, Plaza de la Magdalena, 10. A typical tavern in the heart of Toledo. They offer outdoor seating, daily menus and tapas. Mesón La Montería, Bajada de Castilla-La Mancha, 1. Another typical Castilian tavern with a famous ‘cocido’ which attracts many public. La Abadía, Plaza de San Nicolás, 3. Weel done menus in an ancient Toledo palace. Restaurante Adolfo, Hombre de Palo, 7. Hunting dishes. Casón de los López de Toledo, Sillería, 3. Typical tavern in a XVI century building. La Judería, San Juan de Dios, 7. A wide range of wines in a typical Toledo restaurant. La Lumbre, Real del Arrabal, 5. Country-side decoration in a popular spot. El Palacete, Soledad, 2. Probably, the most expensive restaurant in Toledo, on an ancient building. La Campana Gorda, Hombre de Palo, 11. Typical venue with affordable menus. Kumera, Alfonso X El Sabio, 2. “Tapas” in a modern restaurant.

Cafés: Santo Tomé, Santo Tomé, 5. Even it has no place for sitting, it’s the most famous bakery in Toledo. Their marzipan boxes are so delightful that is impossible to pass by without entering the shop. El Café de las Monjas, Plaza del Salvador, 5. Just next to the previous, it offers a nice window made of marpizans and anguilas, with a group of plaster nuns making breads and sweets. Kiosco Base, Camino Valle. In a hill next to the ancient hermitage of Nuestra Señora del Valle, en la orilla sur del río, this kiosk offer one of the best views from Toledo. Even is not a place for lunch, they offer tapas, coffee and a wide tea selection.

Pubs y discotecas: El Último, Plaza Colegio de Infantes, 4. A nice bar with a small cave at the back. Quite scene except the days of concerts. Dublin City, Chile, 2. Imported beers and a wide range of whiskeys and rhums. La Cala del Ron, Plaza de Cuba. A great bar based on a pirate’s ship in Cuba square. They offer also tapas at reasonable prices. Discoteca Sithon’s, Callejón Lucio, 4. From 1969 pop-rock music for youngsters. Garcilaso, Rojas, 5. Dancing and dinner at the same spot. Katanga, Av. América, 16. A new venue in the best night area of Toledo. Círculo de Arte, Plaza de San Vicente, 2. An old church transformed into a culture venue with art exhibitions and coffe-shop.

Gays y lesbianas: Café Bar Pícaro, Cadenas, 5. Live music at the corner of calle Nueva.

travel
guide

Alcázar

The visit can be started in the historic centre of the city where most of the city bus lines converge, the Plaza de Zocodover. This name is a Spanish rendering of an Arabic term meaning a livestock market. The square, which was built during the period of Roman domination, is almost triangular in shape and has hardly changed in structure since the Middle Ages. From here via the Cuesta de Carlos V the Alcázar (or citadel) can be reached, from where the line of the city walls of Roman Toledo began. Alfonso VI rebuilt it during the Reconquest and Alfonso X the Wise finished off one of its façades with circular towers in the 13th century. In the time of Charles V it would become the Royal Palace with the help of the architects Covarrubias and Juan de Herrera until the court was established definitively in Madrid. It currently houses the Army Museum in one of its rooms (close under refurbishment).

Starting from the Alcázar, we will stroll through the streets to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where stands the Cathedral initiated in 1226 on the largest mosque in the city during the reign of Fernando III. It is constructed in pure Gothic style and its main façade stands out with its Torre de las Campanas (“tower of the bells”) and its three gateways, the Puerta de Chapinería or Puerta del Reloj (which faces north) where part of the original rose window can be appreciated, and the Transparente (the part behind the main altar) built by Narciso Tomé. The Treasure Room, the Chapter House, the Choir, and the Sacristy are open to the public Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:30, and on Sundays and holidays from 14:00 to 18:30. The entrance to the Cathedral Museums is opposite the Puerta Llana ( adults 7 €, children under 12 free, free for Spanish citizens on Sunday afternoons). By following the Calle de Pozo Amargo we come to the Palacio del Rey Don Pedro, an ancient Mudejar construction; and to the church of San Andrés, a replica of that of San Juan de los Reyes, which contains Visigothic pilasters and Renaissance altarpieces. In Calle de Santo Tomé, near the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, stands the church of Santo Tomé, the Palacio Fuensalida, and the Taller del Moro or “workshop of the Moor”. The church of Santo Tomé, rebuilt in the 14th century under the orders of the Sir of Orgaz, contains one of the most famous paintings of El Greco: the Funeral of the Sir of Orgaz. It is located in the chapel of Gonzalo Ruiz de Toledo, known as the Señor de Orgaz ( on winter from 10:00 to 18:00, on summer from 10:00 to 19:00; adults 2.30 €).

Funeral of the Sir of Orgaz, from El Greco

The Taller del Moro is a civil building in the Mudejar style built in the 14th century that houses a collection of Toledo ceramics and tiling from the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as woodcraft of the period. The Palacio Fuensalida was built in the mid-15th century by the first count of Fuensalida and became the residence of Charles V’s wife, Isabel of Portugal. Nearby in the heart of the Jewish quarter can be found the Museum and House of El Greco -in Samuel Leví- near where the popular artist lived. It is decorated and furnished in the style of the 16th and 17th centuries, which suggests that it was a well-to-do house of the period. Moreover, several works of El Greco are exhibited here such as Saint Bernardino, the View and Plan of Toledo, and the Saviour ( October to February from Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 18:00 & Sunday 10:00 to 15:00, March to September daily 9:30 to 19:45; adultos 3 €, concesiones 1,50 €). Very close to it stands the Synagogue of the Transit, the construction of which was ordered between the years 1336 and 1357 by Samuel Ha Levi in the Toledo Mudejar style. In 1494 the building became a hospital and refuge for knights from the Order of Calatrava, and during the 16th century it became a church. The building houses the Sephardic Museum, which is divided into five rooms exhibiting historical and religious aspects, together with those reflecting the local customs, of Toledo’s Jewish past ( Tuesday to Saturday on winter time 9:30 to 18:00, on summer 10:00 to 15:00, Sunday 10:00 to 15:00; adults 3 €, reduced 1.20 €). The Calle de la Judería leads us to the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca -in Reyes Católicos, 4- which according to an inscription was built in the year 1180, converted into a Christian temple in the 13th century, and also used for other purposes. An example of Spanish Almohad art, the building consists of five naves separated by horseshoe arches and three chancels containing an altarpiece attributed to Berruguete or to Juan de Borgoña ( daily from 1 October to 31 March 10:00 to 17:45 and from 1 April to 30 September 10:00 to 18:45; 2.30 €).

Cloister of San Juan de los Reyes

Some metres further on, next to the School of Arts and Trades, we come to the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes -in Reyes Católicos, 17- which was erected by the Catholic Monarchs to commemorate the battle of Toro in 1476. The work of Juan Guas, the complex is a magnificent example of Spanish-Flemish Gothic art, of which the single-nave church is a noteworthy example. It is characterised by the numerous motifs related to the Catholic Monarchs, such as the cloister adorned with plants and fantastic animals ( church daily in winter from 10:00 to 17:30, in summer from 10:00 to 18:30, cloister in winter from 10:00 to 18:00, s
ummer from 10:00 to 18:45; cloister 2.30 €). We can approach the Bridge of San Martín, which dates from 1203 and from where a magnificent view of the river Tagus and Toledo can be enjoyed, before visiting the Cambrón Gate which has been identified as the Gate of the Jews mentioned in the 12th century. It originally consisted of two towers flanking the gate, to which two further towers were subsequently added to form an inner patio. Other gateways to the city are the Puerta Nueva de Bisagra, the Puerta Vieja de Bisagra, and the Puerta del Sol. From the last of these (in the north of the historical centre of the city) we will visit the mosque of the Cristo de la Luz -in Cuesta de los Carmelitas Descalzos, 10- which dates from the 10th century under Arab domination. Small in size, the building is square with a caliphal ribbed vault and horseshoe arches, although it also contains later Christian elements such as the transept and an apse ( daily on winter from 10:00 to 17:40, on summer from 10:00 to 18:40; adults 2.30 €, reduced 2 €, free access on Wednesday from 16:00 to European Union citizens).

The tourist wristband allows free entry to main museums and monuments in the city at 8 € (Santo Tome church, Santa María la Blanca synagogue, San Juan de los Reyes monastery, Cristo de la Luz mosque, Jesuitas church and Salvador church). It gives unlimited use anytime on the wrist.