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. Population: 80,810

Tourist Information: Centro de Recepción de Turistas Toletvm, Av. de Madrid ( 902 10 39 09). Entrance hall for the tourists visiting the city, daily from 8:00 to 23:00. Tourist Office, Plaza del Ayuntamiento, 1 ( 925 25 40 30). Open daily from 10:30 to 14:30 and 16:30 to 19:00, close on Monday afternoon. Tourist Office, Puerta de Bisagra ( 925 22 08 43) Open daily from 10:30 to 14:30 and 16:30 to 19:00, close on Monday afternoon. Tourist Office, Plaza Zocodover. Open daily from 11:00 to 19:00. More information at www.ayto-toledo.org

Weather: Winters are cold and summers mild, with moderate precipitations along the year.

Telephones: 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: 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, 1 ( 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.

Public Transport: There is a bus network (Unauto) of 12 lines. Tickets are sold inside the bus or in Zococentro (besides Plaza Zocodover). Single ticket cost 0.80 € and special ticket for the heritage city center 4.20 €.

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).

Pharmacies: Echevarría Manso Pharmacy, Ronda Buenavista. Pérez de Gracia Pharmacy, Plata, 23. Maria Mercedes González Pharmacy, Hombre Palo, 1. Díaz García Pharmacy, Avenida Rio Guadarrama, 27. José Marcos Marcos Pharmacy, Cardenal Talavera, 18.

Restaurants: El Alcázar, Plaza Horno de la Magdalena, 3. A typical tavern from Toledo. Mesón La Montería, Bajada Castilla La Mancha, 5. A typical Castilian tavern. 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.

Pubs & Clubs: El Último, Plaza Colegio de Infantes. Oki Oki Rock, Alfileritos, 26. One of the meeting points for the youngsters. Dublin City, Chile, 2. Imported beers and a wide range of whiskeys and rhums. La Casa del Ron, Costa Rica, 1. La Estación, Costa Rica, 1. Discoteca Sithon's, Callejón Lucio, 4. From 1969 pop-rock music for youngsters. Taberna de Garcilaso, Rojas, 5. Dancing and dinner at the same spot. Katanga, Av. América, 16. A new venue in the best night area of Toledo.

Gay venues: Café Bar Pícaro, Cadenas with calle Nueva. Live music. Garcilaso, Aljibillos, 1. Concert hall with theatre, humour and live music.

Times changes, timetables and prices vary continuously, attractions that were once interesting are no longer so a year later, and others that were not even mentioned become a must in no time. For this reason, at infoidiomas.com we are always updating and we would be grateful if our clients would tell us about details and information that has become obsolete. We will acknowledge them by publishing their names in future editions.

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).

Alcazar (citadel)

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 Count of Orgaz, contains one of the most famous paintings of El Greco: the Funeral of the Count 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 Count 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- 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 ( closed under refurbishment). Very close to it stands the Sinagogue 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 ( from 1 December to 14 February Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 18:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 14:00, from 15 February to 30 November Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 21:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 14:00; adults 2.40 €, reduced 1.20 €). The Calle de la Judería leads us to the Sinagogue 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 18:00 and from 1 April to 30 September 10:00 to 19:00; 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 ( daily in winter from 10:00 to 17:30, in summer from 10:00 to 18:30; 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 Cambrión 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).