Toledo Information - Tourist Information on Toledo

TOLEDO TOURIST INFORMATION

In this tourist guide to the tourist resort of the historic city of Toledo just south of Madrid we help visitors who are planning a trip with useful and practical advice on many tourism related subjects such as car hire, accommodation, hotels, hostels, map, sightseeing, weather, where to go, where to stay, travel information and what to see and do in Toledo.

To make the best of your visit and holiday we cover everything you need to know about Toledo. We also have photos, picture galleries, views, videos and webcams of Toledo.

Toledo is one of the most visited cities in Spain by tourists because of it's rich history. Toledo has a great many important tourist attractions, so much so that the city of Toledo has been designated a World Heritage City by the United Nations organisation of UNESCO - a prestigeous award indeed.

When you enter Toledo you go across the medieval bridge and through a gateway built into the old stone wall that used to defend Toledo. From this point a visit to Toledo makes you feel you have gone back in time by hundreds of years.

As well as many historic buildings, Toledo has many museums. Toledo is also well known for swords due to it's historic reputation for making fine swords.

WHERE IS TOLEDO?
HOW TO GET TO TOLEDO

Toledo is located in central Spain only 69km southwest of Madrid so that would be the obvious gateway to access Toledo. Transport and getting to Toledo from Madrid is straightforward as there are many buses, trains and organised tours running daily.

Toledo is located in the Spanish province of Toledo, it is the capital and it is situated in the Spanish community of Castilla La Mancha.

HISTORY OF TOLEDO

Toledo has become such a major tourist destination because it was the capital of Spain right until the year 1560. When you visit Toledo you will understand why - the city is located in the centre of Spain and sits on a hilltop making it a great strategic location when it came to defending itself against attackers. Adding to this is the fact Toledo is also mostly surrounded by the river (rio) Tagus.

It is difficult to imagine this today in times of conflict but in the city of Toledo there was a mixture of races and religions such as Jews, Arabs, Moors and Christians and in general they lived in relative harmony. Because of this great ethnic mix, Toledo has many different sights and tourist attractions.

TOLEDO TOURIST SIGHTS AND MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

THE ALCAZAR FORTRESS

The Alcazar fortress is perhaps the first thing you notice when you approach Toledo. The four towers are unmistakable. It dates back to the 10th century. As recently as the Spanish Civil War in 1936, the fortress was used for defence and was mainly destroyed and had to be rebuilt.

THE JEWISH QUARTER

There are two synagogues remaining in Toledo which had a large Jewish population in the Middle Ages these being El Transito (14th century) and Santa Maria la Blanca (12th century). Although the Jews were expelled from Toledo in 1492 much history remains.

TOLEDO CATHEDRAL

Toledo cathedral dominates the skyline of Toledo. A true work of art, the cathedral took over two centuries (the 13th to the 15th) to complete! The architecture of the cathedral is a mixture of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Inside Toledo cathedral are many works of art including works by Velazquez, Goya and El Greco as well as the golden monstrance which is taken outside through Toledo during Corpus Christi.

EL GRECO

The famous renaissance artist known as El Greco lived in Toledo (he originally came from Crete hence his nickname), many think El Greco was the greatest Spanish painter of the 16th century. All throughout the city you will find works by El Greco. The most famous being ' El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz' which is in the seen in the church of Santo Tome.

WORKING IN TOLEDO

If you are coming to the Toledo area to search for jobs and work, then this English jobs Spain page will help you.

MOVING TO TOLEDO - LIVING IN TOLEDO

If you have found this guide on Toledo because you are thinking moving to the Toledo area you may also find our moving to Spain section with expat interviews and accounts of how they found their move to Toledo Spain, useful and informative, as well as our living in Spain section which has more tips and advice.

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TOURIST INFORMATION VIDEO OF TOLEDO

This excellent video below shows video images of Toledo featuring the most important tourist attractions of Toledo inluding the cathedral, the Alcazar fortress and the Jewish quarter of Toledo.

 

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Toledo Tourist Information - Page Summary - This page contains unique content about the city of Toledo which has a rich history.

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