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Author Topic:   Spanish Castles
Marko
Senior Member
posted 04-18-2001 04:53 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Marko   Click Here to Email Marko     Edit/Delete Message
I'm going on vacation to Spain this June. I'll be visiting the area of the provinces of Guadalajara and Madrid and maybe Toledo. I've already made up a little list of castles I wish to visit.
Maybe someone has some recommendations of castles(ruins) I should go visit or other tips? Anyone ever visited that area in the past?

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"A man's house is his castle"
Visit my website at http://www.castles.nl/


Erik Schmidt
Senior Member
posted 04-18-2001 09:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Erik Schmidt   Click Here to Email Erik Schmidt     Edit/Delete Message
Hi Marko,
Yes, I've visited much of spain to seek out castles, covering Northern, Western and parts of Central and Southern Spain. I managed to visit about 30 castles over the space of a month.
How long are you going for?
Which castles are on your list to visit?????
I think you are leaving yourself short by staying in the cities you mention. My guide book says that Guadalajara is just a grubby provincial capital and I know Madrid is not much for a castle/history fan, it was only a small village until 1561 when it was made capital. Good museums though!
Toledo is great. There is a castles there(which you can stay in) but by far the best thing are the very intact walls of the old city.
Near Toledo I can recommend Almonacid Castle next to the village of Almonacid de Toledo, which is reachable by bus. Other than that I can recommend Avila for it's town walls and Segovia for the same, as well a great old city, monasteries, Roman aqueduct, and the castle is OK as well.
Word of warning, public transport to castles is often non-existent and if so then usually only one way. I spent one day visiting 2 castles near Toledo. If I had had a car I could easily have visited 11. Buggar!!!
I can highly recommend you go straight for the tourist information and ask for info on castles. Most(if not all) provinces have very good guides to castles which list castles with text(not in English) and often pictures also.

That's about it. Ask if you have further questions.

Erik

Marko
Senior Member
posted 04-23-2001 01:33 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Marko   Click Here to Email Marko     Edit/Delete Message
Wow, Erik, 30 castles. I'm afraid my wife won't agree with that much but I'll guess we'll visit about 15. We're going for 3 weeks with our own car (so no busses for us).
And you're right about the city of Guadalajara but there are several great castle(ruins) in the province of Guadalajara.
The castles already on my list are:

  • Zafra
  • Almalaf
  • San Juan
  • Atienza
  • Pioz
  • Zorita de los Canes

I'm still considering others like: Riba de Santiuste, Cifuentes, Embid and Arbeteta. All these are in the Guadalajara province. For my castlesearch I found Castillos de Guadalajara very usefull.
I'm also thinking about visiting Penafiel and the one you mentioned; Almonacid.
You said the castle guides were available at the provincial tourist offices so not at the entrance of the castle themselves?
Also, do you know anything about campings in the area? (because we're going by tent)

Erik Schmidt
Senior Member
posted 04-23-2001 05:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Erik Schmidt   Click Here to Email Erik Schmidt     Edit/Delete Message
You have 3 weeks and your own car!!!!!
Envy......You should do 30 castles no problem.
I have as yet not been to any of the castles you mention in the Guadalajara area.
You're right, the area around Guadalajara is full of castles, so too are areas to the North, South, East and some to the West.
Thanks for the link.
I was back packing, so I don't know about camping. As for the guides, they may be available at some castles, but I didn't ask there. Many of the smaller castles scattered around the countryside are either partly ruined, private, closed or have been converted to other functions, so they have no ticket office, and in some cases cannot be viewed from inside.
If you're going up Penafiel way there is another grand castle up that way which I wasn't able to get to. I'll try and dig up the name for you. Penafiel is very impressive from the outside, which is all I got to see as it was getting a wine museum installed in it's keep at the time and the guards wouldn't even let me in to the coutyard. That's when the impregnability of castles becomes an annyance!

One aspect of Spain that you will miss by camping are the coutyards. Many of the cheap pensions/hotels/hostels I sayed in are centered around an open space with a clear roof and are draped in hanging plants(and washing). Fantastic. Look out for them as you walk around the towns and villages, but usually you can't see them from the street unless they have a glass door or the door is open.

Erik

Erik Schmidt
Senior Member
posted 04-25-2001 05:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Erik Schmidt   Click Here to Email Erik Schmidt     Edit/Delete Message
I found out the name of that other castle, it's Gormaz. The guide says it's the largest in Europe!!! In fact, if you head North from Guadalajara you can also visit Berlanga de Duero castle which is somewhat like Penafiel.
Further North from Gormaz there is also Vozmediano Castle, Ucero and ........what can I say. Pick up the Castilla Y Leon castle guide and wish you had all year.

Erik

Marko
Senior Member
posted 06-24-2001 02:40 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Marko   Click Here to Email Marko     Edit/Delete Message
Heho!
I'm back from my vacation in Spain. Visited around 15 castles but could have visited numerous more if I had had the time. Never knew Spain to be so full of castles. If you're a admirer of great early medieval castle ruins; go to Spain! Almost every little village I drove through had its own castle, incredible! Shot a lot of pics that will be appearing on the european part of my website. Also collected several nice castle books and booklets. Yep, it was a great vacation.
Erik,
Did you visit Ucero Castle? I thought it to be one of most beautiful; not only because its location but also the carved corbels.

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"But round about the castle there began to grow a hedge of thorns, which every year became higher...."
Visit my website at http://www.castles.nl/

Erik Schmidt
Senior Member
posted 06-24-2001 06:55 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Erik Schmidt   Click Here to Email Erik Schmidt     Edit/Delete Message
Welcome back Marko!
Great to hear you had a good holiday, but that's what happens to a castle lover in Spain.
I hope your wife didn't mind the castle hunting, I'm sure she would have found plenty to enjoy too.
How was the weather? Not too hot yet?

No, missed Ucero. Next time perhaps.
You have done a great job of the web site.
I really look forward to seeing the pics.
I'd love to hear the path you took and the highlights.


I see you visited Peyrepertuse once, I so wanted to see it when I was in the Carcassonne region, but without a car it's difficult. I love the Cathar castles, I really need to spend some more time in that area.

Erik

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