Toledo – the Ancient City of Three Cultures
Toledo has been on the bucket list for so many years.
We left Marbella on a sunny day and drove 5 hours through beautiful landscapes, hills – over and over with olive trees until we reached our first destination Toledo.
The end of August, we were hit by a wave of dry heat when finally arrived at our hotel AC Ciudad de Toledo by Marriott in the outskirts of Toledo overlooking the ancient city set on a hill in the province of Castilla-la Mancha famous for the story of Don Quijote de La Mancha y Sancho Panza where you almost saw them fighting against the wind mills through the blurriness of the heat.
We left the hotel early evening to avoid the strong sun and the heat and were recommended to enter and explore Toledo by foot as maneuvering and parking in the narrow alleys of Toledo was only manageable for locals.
So we started our walk and passed the first bridge, San Martin Bridge, over the River Tajo, heading towards the impressive Monastery San Juan de los Reyes. In this moment we started living and breathing history and walked the hilly cobble stone streets up and down.
Toledo is the city of the Three Cultures where you find within short distance a cathedral, synagogue and mezquita, a city bearing more than 2000 years of history, absolutely overwhelming and must-see for all history lovers.
Toledo’s citizens – old or young – are extremely fit as they need to make their way to work, to the supermarket or to the bars mainly by foot. “Toledians” are super friendly and helpful.
Be advised that the day ends early in Toledo. By 6.30pm most of the shops are closed and there is also not too much life in the streets.
We visited some tapas bars to try the world famous “ciervo” (venison) and had some amazing red wine called “Paso a Paso” for very little money.
The next morning we walked the city again and found the city much livelier. Every corner is worth visiting, little chaples, churches, synagogues and a museum with an amazing collection of the famous painter, sculptor and architect El Greco (Spanish Renaissance). His nickname was due to his Greek origin.
Toledo is famous for its Marzipan and Sword production. Both products can be bought in several souvenir shops throughout the city.
As a summary – we were impressed by the history of the city but as ancient as the story is its liveliness. I left Toledo with a bit of dense and heavy melancholic feeling and was happy to continue the journey to Segovia. Just 1,5 hrs drive and coming from 33C dry hot hot heat to beautiful 24C grey – a bit rainy – very green Segovia…….