Alcázar of Toledo

Toledo is a city with an exceptional patrimony, which is why it was Spain’s capital until Philip II.

It is located in an island, surrounded by the Tajo, and it possesses an out of the ordinary aesthetic. I personally like to photograph it from the back. The Alcázar stands out from the tangle of gothic-mudejar buildings as a symbol of the Franco regime. It is in the center of the city, in the Zocodover plaza.

You used to be able to go up there from the Puerta de Bisagra, but now it’s closed and you have to take the Túnel de Sindicatos that will take you to the back of the Alcázar. There are two underground parking lots there, many restaurants and magnificent views of the region, since you are at the edge of the hill.

If I remember something from Toledo are its numerous hills, with or without stairs, and its marzipans. Oh the marzipans! But this corner is about the Alcázar of Toledo, a construction located in the highest hill of the city, where you can also find the old part of town.

The history goes back to Roman times in the 3rd Century, when it was built as a palace. Throughout the centuries, its function has changed; its history is quite varied.

We know that it has been a Roman palace and also the house of Charles V; that in 1963 it was a state prison and during the Civil War it housed the military academy. It is also known as a military fortress, a medieval castle and the headquarters of the Casa de Caridad (a poorhouse).

I think that I’ve been in Toledo a total of four times: with school, parents and friends. One of the things I always remember seeing since I was a little girl was the Alcázar of Toledo, a fortress that crowns the city with its entire splendor. I specially remember seeing it by night, illuminated, standing out from the rest of the city. I don’t mean to say that the rest of the city is not worth seeing, because Toledo in all its totality is beauty, culture and good food.

The Alcázar is a building that transmits a feeling of hardness, as if nothing could take it down. On its backside there are gardens, which are beautiful in the summer.

It contains a museum and a terrace from witch you can see the city from above.