Toledo

The earliest known settlement on the site of Toledo was a Bronze Age hill fort, with later occupation by the Carpetani people who built a walled town. The Romans followed, and then the Visigoths, before Arab forces took the city, calling it Tulaytula. Its large Mozarab Christian population made it a persistent problem for the Córdoba emirate.

In 797 a revolt broke out, and the emir's representative crushed it by massacring the local leaders at a banquet, an event said to be the origin of the Spanish phrase for a sleepless, troubled night: una noche toledana. After further rebellions, Abd al-Rahman III finally subdued the city in 932 after a two-year siege. Alfonso VI of León took Toledo on 6 May 1085, guaranteeing the safety of its Muslim inhabitants and granting separate legal codes to its Mozarab, Muslim, and Jewish communities.

This opened Toledo's greatest period of cultural life, including the famous translation school that flourished over the following two centuries. Jews were expelled in 1492, and Queen Isabel, who had built her intended tomb at the monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, was eventually buried elsewhere.

Toledo's historic centre was declared a protected heritage site in 1940 and received UNESCO World Heritage status in 1986. The old city is partly encircled by walls with several monumental gateways, the Mudéjar Puerta del Sol, the Puerta Nueva de Bisagra, the Puerta Vieja de Bisagra, the Puerta del Vado, and the Puerta del Cambrón, and the Almofala tower. Two historic bridges cross the Tajo: Alcántara and San Martín.

The churches range across styles and origins: the Gothic cathedral of Santa María, the Baroque San Ildefonso, the Mozarab San Román, and several Mudéjar buildings including Santiago del Arrabal, Santo Tomé, the ermita del Cristo de la Vega, and San Sebastián, which was built over a mosque. The monastery of San Juan de los Reyes is a major example of Isabelline Gothic. Two synagogues survive: Santa María la Blanca and the Tránsito, now the Museo Sefardí.

The mosque of Bab al-Mardum, also known as Cristo de la Luz, still stands, as does the ancient mosque of las Tornerías. The hilltop Alcázar, which has housed the Museo del Ejército since 2010, and the riverside Castillo de San Servando are the main military monuments. The Plaza de Zocodover is the city's central square.

Notable civil buildings include the Palacio de Fuensalida, the Palacio de Galiana, and the Museo-Hospital de Santa Cruz.

From Madrid, Toledo is around 70 km southwest on the A-42 motorway (signed "Toledo"; older maps may label it the N-401). Buses run every 30 minutes from Madrid's Plaza Elíptica bus station (grey Circular metro line) until 21:30, operated by Alsa (alsa.com); the journey takes about an hour and a return ticket costs €9.75. From Toledo train station, urban buses 5, 22, 61, or 62 go to Plaza de Zocodover (€1.60, pay the driver).

City buses are blue; red buses outside the station run the same route for €2.50. Walking back downhill to the station takes about 30 minutes. For nightlife, try Círculo de Arte (a bar in a converted church, good dance music, and reportedly the best milkshakes in town) or Picaro.

O'Brian's has reliable tap beer and a regular tourist and student crowd.