SPAIN 2026
3 Cities in one day
Tuesday
What we booked was called a “Small” group tour to Segovia, Avila and Toledo with an english speaking guide. I guess 16 is a small group? and funnily, we are the only English people on the bus they load us in to. Our main guide Fatima was good, but switching between Spanish and English just for us, was going to make for a long day of standing and waiting.
Once we finally get loaded on the bus, it's about an hour and a half drive to our first stop, the city of Segovia.
Segovia
We arrive in Segovia, and it is impossible not to see the giant aqueduct. A nice surprise to us, we are broken off from the rest of the group, and are given Flora, the guide in training. For most of the tour, the two of us would have our own private guide.
The Aqueduct of Segovia is a Roman aqueduct, built around the first century AD to channel water from springs in the mountains 17 kilometres (11 miles) to Segovia's fountains, public baths and private houses, it was in use until 1973. Its elevated section, with its complete arcade of 167 arches, is one of the best-preserved Roman aqueduct bridges and the symbol of Segovia,appearing on the city's coat of arms. The Old Town of Segovia and the aqueduct were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
According to legend, it was laziness, not Rome, that gave birth to the Aqueduct...
A young girl who worked as a water carrier, fed up with dragging her jug up the steep
streets of the city, agreed to a deal with the devil. He would claim her soul if, before
the cock crowed, the aqueduct was finished and the water reached her front door. The
little devil worked all night long, and was admiring his work when the cock crowed. The
girl pointed out that there was one missing stone and the Devil let out a blood-curdling
scream... because of a single stone left unplaced, he had lost the girl’s soul. And they
say… that the holes still visible in the stones are the hoofprints of the little devil.
Today, the city pays tribute to this legend with the sculpture of the little devil of Segovia, the ‘true’ architect of the Aqueduct. This sculpture depicts the defeated devil holding the last stone of the Aqueduct that he had yet to place, taking a selfie with his unfinished work.
We walk up through the old town, learning about the unique decorative patterns used in the construction of their buildings.
A little disappointed that we didn't get time to go inside the Cathedral of Segovia, but there wouldn't be a shortage of seeing churches and cathedrals in Spain. The exterior of the Cathedral is stunning! The cathedral had three construction stages: the first between 1525 and 1557. The second stage took place between 1578 and 1607 and the last construction campaign was carried out between 1607 and 1685.
Embedded in roadways and sidewalks are small brass plaques, designating the original route of the aqueduct, indicating the jewish quarter, and the last one marks locations associated with the life and travels of Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Spanish nun and mystic.
We were given free time to go explore the Alcázar of Segovia though. The Alcázar of Segovia is a medieval castle that has existed since at least the 12th century, and is one of the most renowned medieval castles globally and one of the most visited landmarks in Spain. The fortress stands on a rocky crag at the western end of Segovia's Old City, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. The castle's silhouette and overall appearance inspired the castle in Disney's 1937 animated classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The views from the upper walls are fantastic.
The white storks nesting around the castle in the parks just add something special to the visit.
One thing that surprised us around Spain, was seeing the wild poppies growing alongside roads, and little patches around old stone walls, such a nice touch of colour.
We walked back through the town and loaded on our bus for the 1 hour drive to the next stop of our tour.
Avila
Ávila is sometimes called the "City of Stones and Saints" due to its well-preserved medieval architecture and its connection to prominent Spanish mystics. In pre-Roman times (the 5th century BC), Ávila was inhabited by the Vettones, who called it Obila ("High Mountain"). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ávila became a stronghold of the Visigoths. Conquered by the Moors (Arabs), it was repeatedly attacked by the northern Iberian Christian kingdoms, becoming a virtually uninhabited no man's land. It was repopulated about 1088 following a reconquest of the area which included the construction of a stone frontier town and creation of the walls that still stand.They are the first things you notice as we come into the city.
The
typical travel injury story... Our first stop in Avila is for lunch at Restaurante Las
Murallas. I cut across the street to take a picture of this massive stone gateway, then
run back to the restaurant to catch up to the group. That's when I slam my shin into this
small pillar, trip and crack my phones screen protector as I slide superman style across
the stone walkway. One of the waiters and Norine run over to make sure I am ok, more than
anything embarrased, but I have big scrapes and less flesh on my knee, shin and hand,
that's going to require some bandaids and some antiseptic. Luckily Norine had some small
ones in her backpack, and I could fix myself up in the bathroom before I bled through my
pants too much.
The restaurant was higher end, Norine went for simple soup, and I had an Iberian lunch, which was soup full of Iberian Ham, followed up with Iberian Ham, and a side of Iberian Ham. The dessert was a traditional egg yolk dessert,apparently the whites of the eggs are used in everything else, so they had to make something that used the yellow yolks. It was sweet, and a little soft.
You can see the %$#@ing dangerous pillar in front of the door
We walked along the medieval walls and towers, learning about how some repaired portions used old tombstones.
The Cathedral of the Saviour (Catedral de Cristo Salvador) is a Catholic church, It is not known exactly when the construction of the cathedral began. Two theories exist; One states that its construction started in 1091 inside the remains of a previous Romanesque Church of the Saviour, which was left in ruins as a result of successive Muslim attacks. Other historians believe the cathedral to be the work of the maestro Fruchel in the 12th century coinciding with the repopulation of Castille. The Cathedral of Ávila is considered by its age (11th or 12th century), along with the Cathedral of Cuenca, as the first two Gothic cathedrals in Spain.
It is surrounded by lions, apparently the prominence of lion imagery originally stems from the historic Kingdom of León, which integrated the "Lion" into its heraldry, or "The Gate of the Loyal Ones" got a nickname somewhere along the way.
Once again, we weren't really given a chance to see inside the cathedral, other than a brief peak from the entry/ticket area.
We loaded into the bus again, this time our next stop was a 2 hour drive.
Toledo
Toledo, perched dramatically atop a gorge overlooking the Tagus River, is an ancient city with historic Roman references dating back to 193 BC. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Known as the "City of Three Cultures," it uniquely preserves centuries of harmonious - and often turbulent - coexistence between Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities. The city has a Gothic cathedral and a long history in the production of bladed weapons, which are now commonly sold as souvenirs. Walking through the city streets is more like climbing through the city streets, luckily the city has built a large escalator to escort you to the upper area much easier.
Overlooking the river is a statue of Federico Bahamontes. Since the victory of Bahamontes, 'The Eagle of Toledo', in the 1959 Tour de France, cycling has been one of the most popular sports in the city. But you have to be prepared to do a lot of hill climbing, which most likely led to his victory.
Large fabric canopies (known as toldos) are installed over the winding pedestrian streets. These cream-colored awnings create shaded "cool corridors" in the medieval historic center, dropping temperatures to protect pedestrians from the intense summer heat.
The Toledo City Hall is a historic 16th-century building. It sits directly across from the majestic Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary
The Primate Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo is one of the three 13th-century High Gothic cathedrals in Spain and is considered, in the opinion of some authorities, to be the magnum opus of the Gothic style in Spain. It was begun in 1226 under the rule of Ferdinand III, and the last Gothic contributions were made in the 15th century. We were given a moment to look inside, but no photos were allowed.
We wandered back through the streets, and down the escalator towards our bus.
After a last 2 hour drive, we were back in Madrid. A Tale of Three Cities… Segovia, Avila, and Toledo. Not as slow paced as we are used to, and we didn't get to see inside some major landmarks, but we got a taste of each city all in one day.
We stopped for dinner at Taberna Los 4 Robles on the way back to the room, more traditional Tapas.
Then we picked up some more Pastel de Natas and medical supplies for the road.
We never did figure out why this Cerveceria la Campana (calamari sandwiches) place was always lined up night and day. A bocadillo de calamares is lightly breaded, crispy fried calamari squid rings, nestled within a crusty bread roll.
Wednesday
The next morning we got up and made our way to the train station, time to leave Madrid, and start heading North.
