A weekend in Toledo!

The medieval city of Toledo, once the capital of Spain, is located in the center of the country, about an hour Southwest of Madrid. It is a gorgeous city, and we chose to spend a weekend there for our Anniversary a few weeks ago. Yes, most people see Toledo as a day trip from Madrid, and there are numerous trains and busses that run between Toledo and the capital every day. However, we have come to realize that our family does things at a slower pace, so a day trip for some people is a perfect weekend getaway for us. We preferred to spend one weekend relaxing in one place and enjoying the city, without driving back and forth to other points of interest (and there are many in that region! Segovia and Avila are each about an hour away. We considered adding them to the itinerary, but that would have been too much driving.) From Rota, Toledo is a straightforward 5 hour drive, and the only toll is the one near Sevilla.

Toledo is famous for several reasons. First, the city is surrounded on 3 sides by the Tagus River, so it has not expanded or changed much since the Middle Ages. The streets are still ridiculously narrow, designed for pedestrians long before motorized traffic. Therefore, it is NOT advised to drive in Toledo. Get very clear directions to your hotel, verify that there is parking somewhere, and then don't plan to use your car again until you leave. The upsides to this are that the city is very quiet, and still maintains huge amounts of Medieval charm. Besides, you can cover the whole city easily on foot, so there is no need for taxis. The second famous element is the Alcazar castle (pictured here at the top of the hill), which has been a stronghold for millenia--for the Romans in the 3rd century, the Moors in the 1000's, the Christian Kings in the 1500's, and it even withheld a siege of Republicans during the Spanish Civil War in the 1940's. It was mostly destroyed after that, and has been rebuilt, and is now an army museum. But it certainly dominates the skyline, just as it was painted by El Greco in the late 1500's.

Speaking of El Greco, he is one of the city's most famous inhabitants. The name means "The Greek," and was the nickname used by the famous painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos, who moved to Toledo toward the end of his career, in 1577. Although he struggled to gain approval from the Spanish court, and was criticized by his contemporaries for some of his unusual styles and ideas, he is now universally renowned for his use of light and color (he studied in Italy under Titian), and for his elongated human figures used in altar pieces. Toledo is quite proud of him, and has several places where you can view his work. His famous painting "The Burial of Count Orgaz" is an enormous work covering a whole wall in the church of Santo Tome. We stopped in to see it (paying 2 Euro per adult, kids free) and it was totally worth it to see the amazing details and use of color in the original setting. There is also the Museo El Greco, a recently restored and reopened museum on the Western edge of the city. 

The Museo El Greco is not at the location of the artist's actual home in Toledo, but the museum has been built to imitate his house as much as possible, and to give insight into wealthy households in the 1500's. No longer entered through the old stone doorway, the museum now has a fancy glass facade entrance. Entrance fees were about 5 Euro per adult, kids free. There are not a lot of Greco works here--his paintings have been scattered throughout the world. However, there is one long gallery with all the originals of his painting of Christ and the Apostles. Greco is famous as a portrait artist, and managed to put quite a bit of expression and personality into the Apostle's portraits. At the end of the room stands another famous work, "Peter in Tears." You can see by the bright colors, the light surrounding the angel at the left, and the shaft of sunlight over the saint's head that this is certainly a Greco piece. St. Peter's eyes are truly glassy ad shiny with tears, and it is thought that he is expressing repentance over his denial of Christ, while in the background the angel is announcing the news of the Resurrection to Mary Magdalene. Conveniently, my husband was able to use this as a project for an art class he is currently taking online. The kids did alright, but it was probably not the highlight of their trip.

Something the kids did enjoy immensely was window shopping, and Toledo is a perfect city for this. The two specialty products of Toledo are swords and damasque (the unique art of inlaying gold on burnished silver), and both can be viewed in almost every shop in every area of the city. The city was a center of sword-making since Roman times, when the weapons for the Punic Wars were forged here. (Although the swords in the picture are replicas from The Lord of the Rings movies, you can see plenty of traditional bejeweled swords in the shops as well.) The reason these beautiful art forms flourished here is that for several centuries of Moorish rule, the Muslims, Jews, and Christians all lived side-by-side peacefully in Toledo. It is called the "city of three cultures," because all three were allowed to thrive and influence each other. Damasque, for example, was an Islamic art form, that used gold provided by the Jewish community, and images and scenes provided by the Christian community. You can now see gorgeous damasque plates, jewelry, wall art, and medical tools because of the cooperation between the cultures. In this way, Toledo is unique among Spanish cities. In most places, once the Christians reconquered in the 1500's, Moorish buildings were destroyed and their culture erased. While the Jews and Muslims were eventually driven out of Toledo by a Christian majority, it was not a destructive removal, and the cultural respect remained. So you can see numerous Moorish mudejar style buildings, and their architectural influence is more evident than in most cities in Southern Spain.

Another fun thing to shop for in Toledo is pastries and marzipan. Marzipan is a sweet paste made from almonds and honey, which can be formed into almost any shape or design. Here, at one of the most upscale candy shops in the city, it was used to create a replica of the city gate! It is more frequently seen shaped into small fruits or animals, which can be dyed in bright colors. Frankly, it is not my favorite treat. It is sweet, but with an interesting gritty texture. The legend is that it was created by nuns during one of Toledo's many famines. They did not have any flour, so they ground up almonds (which grow plentifully in this region) and mixed them with honey to create a substance that was nourishing and supposedly saved the city. If marzipan is not your fancy, you can still find numerous other pastries and treats made by nuns and sold in pastry shops throughout the city. In addition to almonds and honey, citrus flavors are common, as well as cinnamon. A Toledana is a pastry roll filled with thick almond jelly.

One of our favorite activities in the city was going on the "train" ride. This is actually more like a trolley, shaped like a train, that drives on city streets and takes you across the river to get wonderful views from every side of the city. It makes a big circle from the Plaza Zocodover, and the trip lasts just under 1 hour. Their website is: Toledo Train Vision. I think adult fees were 6 Euro, and we only paid 3 Euro for our 5-year old (younger kids were free), so for 15 Euro the whole family got a break from walking, had some amazing views and photo opportunities, and we were even able to listen to historical information in English through their headsets. The headsets were probably the children's favorite part. They were so proud to each have their own. We all shared a long bench, so I sat on the right side to get the best pictures.

The train drove us around the Alcazar, then past the main gate and out of the city. We crossed the traffic bridge, and had excellent views of the pedestrian bridge, which was once the only way to enter the city. It was so cool to see the city from an outside perspective and hear some of the interesting history. We also got to see some of the villas in the hills around the city, which are impressive. About halfway through the tour, the train stopped at a beautiful overlook, near the place El Greco painted his skyline picture,where you could take the famous panoramic shots of the city.

It was funny for two reasons. First, I had been at this exact overlook during a high school trip to Spain in 2000. It was so cool to be sharing that moment with my family now, when I had once smiled and linked arms with high school girlfriends. Secondly, our apartment where we spent the weekend was right near the Cathedral, and had a gorgeous tower room, with 360 degree views of the city. From our tower, we could see the train stop every hour, and see people's camera flashes from the vista. So we took our own pictures and got a kick out of finding our apartment from the overlook. 



I have saved the best for last: Toledo's Cathedral. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, of course, it is an amazing structure that took over 200 years to build--from the 1200's to the 1500's, which was Toledo's Golden Age. So you see every style of Renaissance art inside: Gothic, High Gothic, and Baroque. It is one of the most impressive Gothic cathedrals in Spain, and certainly a refreshing break from the simplistic brick churches in most of Southern Spain. So light and tall and airy!  The stained glass windows are gorgeous. There are more than 700 in the Cathedral, and their colors are phenomenal!


The best time to visit the Cathedral is probably in the morning, when the sunlight shines through the Transparente. This is a unique Baroque element in the Cathedral. In the 1500's, a huge hole was cut into the ceiling to allow more light to shine on the back of the altarpiece. The area around the transparente is decorated with painted Baroque saints and angels, as well as carved 3-D figures surrounding the hole, making it look like it is truly a window to heaven. A small hole is also present in the altarpiece, near the tabernacle, so in the morning the sun lights up the tabernacle from behind. In the photo at right, the transparente is in the upper-left corner, and you are looking at the outside of the elaborately carved wall that surrounds the altar on 3 sides. Peek through the wall, and you get a glimpse of the Gothic golden retable, or elaborate wall of paintings behind the altar, that stretch from floor to ceiling, and show important scenes from Jesus's life painted in bright colors on gold and silver backgrounds. It is truly gorgeous and breathtaking. We came on Sunday morning for Mass, and were disappointed to celebrate in the small Eucharistic chapel. When we returned in the afternoon for a tour, the lighting was much more dim.

The Cathedral has a number of other additional interesting sights. In the Treasury you can see an enormous monstrance,  over 10 feet tall, made from 18 kilos of gold and 183 kilos of silver! It is used in the city's Corpus Christi procession, in early June, which is their largest annual festival. Apparently the streets are decorated weeks in advance, and the monstrance is processed carrying the Body of Christ. The Treasury is located in one corner of the Cathedral, and admission is included with your general tour ticket. Tickets are 6 Euro per adult (kids free), and can be purchased in the shop directly across from the tour entrance, on the Southern side of the church.


We were also very interested to see the Chapterhouse, or Salla Capitular, in the Cathedral. This room, designed and built around 1500, serves as the meeting place for Spain's bishops. Although Toledo ceased to be the political capital of the country when the Kings moved to Madrid in the 1600's, Toledo is still the religious center of Spain. So the Cardinal here has authority over all the other Spanish bishops or cardinals. On all 4 walls are portraits of the Archbishops of Toledo, literally going from the present back to Saint Eugene in 300 A.D.! What a amazing piece of Church history, to see that the authority of the bishops can be traced back in an unbroken line for several millenia.


A final note: you will see the figure of the 2-headed eagle throughout the cathedral: carved on doors, carved into stone portals, and flown on flags. This image is the symbol of the city Toledo, and part of their crest. The 2-headed eagle is a mythical character. It is the same symbol used by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, who was King Charles I of Spain. Traditionally, the arms of the kings were the symbol of the city of Toledo as well, so when a Spanish king became Emperor, Toledo retained his arms. The imperial crown is above the eagle's heads, and you will also frequently see them wearing a coat with the Lion image of King Ferdinand and the Castle image of Queen Isabella, the royal couple who defeated the Moors and commissioned Columbus to sail to the New World. Ferdinand and Isabella intended to be buried in Toledo, and built themselves a beautiful chapel overlooking the city's secondary (Eastern) bridge. However, after they successfully defeated the Moors in Grenada, they decided to be buried in Grenada instead, and that is where you will find them today.



In summary, Toledo is an amazing, gorgeous, enjoyable city, with tons of Medieval charm, and lots to entertain lovers of art, history, or shopping. Strolling around any area of the city, particularly the old quarter, is unforgettable. A note of caution: summer in central Spain is much hotter than the weather on the coast, so Toledo is usually 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) warmer than Rota. It was about 100 degrees each day during our August visit. Luckily, the Toledanos are used to this, and accommodate by shuttering their windows as soon as the sun comes up, and then leaving them open all night long. Of course they take a long siesta in the afternoons, and we did too. Walking around was not so bad either, because the roads are so narrow that the sun barely shines on most of the narrow alleys, so you can easily stay in the shade. The plus side to all this is that August is QUIET. Most of the Spanish are on vacation, and escape from the city if they can. Most of the tourists come in the Spring and the Fall, so while there were certainly tourists everywhere we went, there were no lines and few crowds. So as long as you have some air conditioning in your hotel or apartment, don't be intimidated! I highly recommend a weekend in Toledo over a weekend in Madrid, for anyone who wants to relax in a charming historic location, and just soak up hundreds of years of history. This town was totally our style, and we had a wonderful time!