INTRODUCTION
Before you read this article, you need to have read "Finding Great Food in Spain - Part 1. Once you have read that, we can continue our trip. In this part 5, we will cover the central plateau which is split into three regions: Castilla la Mancha, Madrid and Castilla y León. So let´s dive in.
CASTILLA LA MANCHA AND MADRID.
We will start our visit by going to the charming little town called Chinchón. The parador there is a 17th century augustine convent. This is a beautiful parador with nice gardens, comfortable rooms, a swimming pool and excellent food. The link to book is:
https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/5Er1mO2S While you are there, you will want to spend time exploring Chinchón and relaxing in it´s Plaza Mayor. There are three day trips which we recommend you do, one to Madrid, one to Aranjuez where the Royal Palace and its gardens is well worth visiting, and one to Toledo, the capital of Madrid before the civil war. We do not recommend driving in Madrid - it is full of one way systems, fast aggressive drivers, areas where only local residents can park, and areas where you get heavily fined if you are driving a vehicle that does not meet the latest emissions requirements. Having a chauffeur and guide is by far the least stressful most enjoyable way of experiencing Madrid.
From Chinchón we will travel to Almagro, a charming town which used to be the capital of Spain before Toledo became it´s capital. The parador is a renovated 17th century convent, the Santa Catalina convent. Here is the link to book it: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/EmqkHYua While staying here you will want to wander around Almagro, visiting a corral de comedia, the iglesia de San Agustín, the convent of la Asunción de monjas de Calatrava, and the Plaza Mayor.
The Plaza Mayor in Almagro.- Note how the pavement by the houses is sheltered from the rain. j
We now head for Salamanca, one of the oldest cities in Spain dating to well before the 3rd century before Christ. We recommend two hotels here, both in the heart of the historic area of the city, both renovated palaces, and both renowned for the quality of their service, their food and their attractive comfortable surroundings. One is called the Grand Hotel Don Gregorio, the link to book being: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/IRVOwFpQ and the other one is called Hotel Rector, the link to book being: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/qwnfEMcY There is a lot to see and do in Salamanca but we particularly liked the Convento de las Duenas, the University and the Plaza Mayor. To cover these, we suggest taking two private walking tours, the 3 hour tour in the morning and then the 2 hour tour after lunch. Here are the respective links to book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/67lrsrMa and https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/0zLtlKZv
Lean in Plaza Mayor, Salamanca
View of Salamanca at night.
For a nice day trip, we recommend driving to Avila, a medieval walled city, and there taking a two hour private walking tour of the town including the famous alcazar; here´s the link to book: https://getyourguide.tpk.mx/dcVhjw9e Another nice day out is a visit to the beautiful villages and wine bodegas of the grape growing countryside - here´s a tour that includes a nice lunch and who will pick you up from your hotel: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/ie3H25XQ Another nice day trip is to the Monfrague national park where you can often see large birds of prey flying around such as vultures, falcons and eagles. If you get up early and drive south to Hervas aiming to arrive there at about 08.30 in time for your 09 o clock tour, you can go in a 4 x 4 vehicle with a guide. Here´s the link to book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/dPrlXswD Otherwise you could drive yourself to the area and explore it on your own, hoping to find the birds and best views without the help of an expert. You could also try booking all the places on the tour so that you end up with a private personalized trip, and ask the operator to leave several hours later so that you can at least enjoy a good leisurely breakfast before you set off for Hervás.
Our next and final leg of our journey is to Siguenza. The parador in Siguenza sits at the top of the town and is an 11th century castle which itself was built on a much older arab citadel. Indeed it has all the charm and intrigue of a medieval castle along with all the modern comforts. Here is the link to see it and book: https://tripadvisor.tpk.mx/zRbLHvoW
Siguenza itself is a charming small town where even the pace of life seems stuck in history. Whilst there, try and see the Santa Maria cathedral and walk through the narrow streets of the historic area.
That concludes our tour of Castilla la Mancha, Madrid and Castilla y Leon. We hope you have enjoyed our gastronomic tour of paradors and experiencing the rich variety of food that the different regions of Spain are known for.
We hope you have enjoyed this blog. The links in it recommending places can benefit us financially - we humbly ask you to make your bookings through these links as that helps us to keep this site up and running - and it won´t cost you any more than if you were to book directly on the provider`s own website. Also, in the event of a problem, it makes it easier for us to resolve it. Happy Travels! And we would very much appreciate it if you could forward this to those of your friends who love historic towns, beautiful countryside and travelling. Thank you, and may God bless you. Lean and Anthony, the travelling donkeys.
