We took a high-speed train from Madrid to Toledo, a world heritage UNESCO site, for a day trip. The train whisked us 45 miles away in just 30 minutes, to a Moorish styled train station. Toledo is a medieval city and sits atop a hill above the plains of Castilla-La Mancha. The walk from the train station gave us great views of the city walls, its castle and numerous churches.
Toledo used to be the capital of Spain and was an important hub for many civilizations throughout history, including Romans, Visogoths, Moors, Jews and Christians. At its heyday in the 14th century, Christians, Muslims and Jews were all living in relative harmony. You can see the influence of this mix of cultures on the buildings, with Moorish arches and mosaics showing up even on Christian churches.
Speaking of churches, Toledo’s cathedral was amazing inside with over-the-top altars, carvings and artwork – including some important paintings by El Greco and Francisco Goya.
Toledo is the former home of Mannerist painter El Greco and the church of Santo Tomé houses his most famous painting “The Burial of Count Orgaz”.
We enjoyed walking through the old city center and exploring the little winding streets, stopping to admire the architecture along the way.
One thing Toledo has been renowned for since the 16th century is Toledo steel, and sword making. Toledo is also famous for Masapan (marzipan- a sweet confection made with almonds) invented by the nuns of the San Clemente convent. We did try the marzipan but didn’t buy any swords!
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