I got to Toledo just before 12pm and already I was in awe of the train station itself with its Mudejar architecture and incredibly detailed and colourful tilework on the inside of the main station
The train station was a sight for sore eyes! It was so beautiful and people were hanging out at the train station a while to check out the beauty of it
The tile work from Seville covering the walls on the inside of the train station
One of the beautiful things about arriving in Toledo is the walk up to getting into the city!
From either side over the Tagus River the view is incredible!
There were SO many day tourists and everyone was stopping in awe taking photos and appreciating the view – I was like, ok, ill go quickly and drop my bag and go wandering around then…. NOPE! I took like 1.3 million photos and pitt stops going across this bridge alone! LOL
MY HOTEL
My accomodation for the next 2 days was amazing! I highly recommend Sercotel Hotel as it has the best views and fantastic central location and only 25min walk from the train station – check out my review below to see what I mean!
LOCATION
The bridge leading into the city from the train station which is North East and an easy 25min walk (uphill and upstairs mostly!)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Hx525ugpqSnMfjKt7?g_st=ic
Nature is one with humans here, the green surroundings the birds twittering and flying in groups the insects chirping or doing whatever the hell they do in spain, the serene flow of the water… It’s all one here … Oh and also the chattering of tourists! This is a day-trippers dream spot!
Toledo is primarily located on the right bank of the Tagus and known as City of the Three Cultures – the influences of Christians, Muslims and Jews throughout its history
Said to be the capital from 542 – 725 CE of the Visigoth Kingdom and the venue for the Councils of Toledo (seat of the powerful archdiocese)
Walking around the old city was so surreal, it was like going back in time, Medieval churches were everywhere and you stumbled upon one randomly getting lost in the back streets and trying to fit it into one photo was a mission in itself!
The cute and intrictae detailings of the old buildings which have been left in their medieval ways – cute signs and artworks are still found all over
Some confident Toledo car drivers make their way through the streets – so I have to duck into door ways and holes in the wall to make sure I dont get run over! – they still drive crazy even in these tiny assed streets lol
The cats are really ZEN here, they are so relaxed and friendly and wander all over the old street walls and buildings, locals love them and stop and talk and pet them, its cute!
A ruined medieval church built on the site of a mosque and has some Mudejar features to it
Toledo has large communities of Muslims and Jews and there is a large mix of different styled buildings as you walk through the old town and the back streets
I NEVER got tired of eating like this 😍
The fresh food Market is key to the lives of the locals in each city or town I went to, so I would visit and grab the local veggies and fruits and then pop in to the local Mercadona and get some hummus or avocado and dried bread sticks or a fresh baguette – I also couldn’t do without tumeric and chilli -YUM!
The building is of medieval origin, and as is common in this city, is a mix of different styles
The outskirts of the town is very quiet! I was basically on my own most of the time around the perimeter, every one is in the main areas so was nice to have the streets on my own
Walking around the town you come across a few squares made for parking, its all a random pizazz of buildings and roads but it somehow seems to work and looks beautiful while doing it! I had to explore every nook and cranny of this old town…
Once you get outside the old town backstreets, cars, bikes, mopeds speed along past you on the roads
This was once a Mudejar Palace and then a temple – built in Gothic style
The fraternity here is only made up of 11 members
Look at this impressively massive and strong looking door!
I can barely reach the top of the door let alone the “HANDLE” of the door which seems to be made for giants not humans! – whats going on in Toledo, there were many many doors like this where the handle was placed high up where you just cant reach it unless youre a basketball player
Church of San Bartolomé is a medieval building – stands out in the old town – i love the different mix of styles
The building is a blend of Gothic, Renaissance and Mudejar
The bell tower of San Bartolomé stands as a majestic landmark visible from various points in the city
SANTA MARIA LA BLANCA MOSQUE
It was once the Toledo’s major synagogue and today it is known as Santa María la Blanca, one of Toledo’s icons
Its easily missed if you dont know what you are looking for!
The front is very basic and unassuming… you walk in past the front entrance and there is a shop and ticket office on the left and when you buy your ticket you can walk in the building and around the property
As you walk in you see this huge forrest of white pillars!
This once popular and important synagogue for the Jews of Toledo, the remains are still beautiful!
Looking up and around is important as you walk through because the top of the columns, the stuccos are so intricately detailed and need to be appreciated!
Decorations of ribbons, scrolls and pine cones
The buikding is said to be Mudejar and inherited from the Muslim masons and the columns architecturally has characteristics of Almohad Art, late medieval Castilian construction
CHURCH OF SAN CIPRIANO
This church is on the outskirts of the town and it had a really cute courtyard so I walked in and after taking a look around a priest comes out and starts talking to me I ask if he speaks English he says no no so I try to communicate in sign language saying can I come in and look (pointed my 2 fingers to my eyes) he doesn’t get it
Then luckily 2 locals come in they start talking to him and I walk around a bit more take my camera out then all of a sudden he speaks English! “No photo!” Oh great, here I am quacking on about “me go inside take look?” So anyway they keep speaking I just walk around them and into the church and start taking photos of the inside, who puts these stupid rules “no photo no photo” it’s a shared church for all to enjoy… Anyways don’t get me started lol
Can you spot the 4 different keyholes!? (Gotta apologise! I’m such an architectural geek! I find this so cool!)
CORTES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA
“Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha – is the unicameral legislature of Castilla–La Mancha, an autonomous community of Spain. The Cortes consists of 33 elected deputies”
(what is this? I took this from Wikipedia need to look more into it but sounds suss lol like a secret men’s club tbh 🤣 anyways will look more into this and update) -update* this is the meeting place for the elextrol commity
Palace of Fuensalida – the current headquarters of the Presidency of Castilla-La Manch
The president of the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha is the head of Government of the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha
The building is of Toledo Mudejar style which is a merge of 3 styles, Gothic, Plateresque and Mudehar
Said to be founded in 1551 but why so big? And how many girls went to this school back then?
Population of whole of Toledo was 30,000 back then…
It’s now the president of Castila la Mancha residence, so it’s part of the EU and owned by the state, lucky them…
Still retains its Mudejar architecture which gives it a unique look on the facade
Beautiful gardens overlooking the river on the south side – said to be built in 16th C. It is one of the most beautiful gardens in Toledo and also one of the oldest
I walked around here a bit and relaxed and enjoyed the views
TOLEDO CATHEDRAL
Bought my ticket online €12 easy – decided to get in there as soon as it opened at 10am to try to miss the big tour groups – you have a set time to get inside but can stay as long as you want – I explored for 4 hours! That’s how amazing this place was! (To me any way!)
The foundations of this cathedral have been built where there once stood a mosque
Constructed in Gothic style with French influence
A huge Cathedral… It is 120m long and 60m wide and contains 5 naves supported by 88 pillars and 72 vaults
This square has the Town Hall and the Palace of Justice facing the Cathedral
Best time to visit this side of the Cathedral is when the sun sets, the colours cast building make the statues come to life!
The door frames themselves were so beautifully created
Now we step inside and I was seriously blown away!!! 🤯🤩
Trancept – Portal of the Lions
Named after the 6 lions guarding this door from the outside
A GIANT SAINT
10m I’m height a giant carries Jesus across the waters
St Christopher is seen as providing good luck and just by seeing him they are protected from death for the day!
Main Altarpiece
The Eucharist tower is made of wood, guilding and polywork and rises 25m high
Created to exhault the eucharist and depicts the life of Christ
Also known as the Custodian as it seems to guard the “Blessed Sacrament” which is housed in a chapel behind the tower
The Choir
This is seriously the most beautiful and detailed choir I have ever come across! (I’ve seen quite a few in my time!)
Wow! The details on the seats I couldn’t get over!
The people of Toledo are very fond of this sculpture, usually these type of artworks don’t have them smiling, so this is very special to them
I couldn’t get over it! There are 120 seats and each seat had a different artwork and story to it depicting the reconquest of the Battle of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs – each seat has individual arm rests and seat detailing was different from the next
It’s so sad, apparently the choir is not used a lot these days only for special occasions
The Antechamber of the Chapter Room
This area of the cathedral was a synagogue and has a total different style to the rest of the cathedral
The first room has a really beautiful detailed ceiling with vibrant colours and designs
The difference in art you can see straight away in this room!
The Chapter Room
The main chamber of Cardinal Cisneros
This is where the main meetings and deliberations of the chapter took place
The Transparente – the Sacred Light of the Dives Toledo
Baroque scenic architecture… this is from another world!!! Said to be created in 1750s using marble and Jasper
But as you turn the corner you see the most beautiful angelic scene!
The virgin Mary offers baby jesus to the world
You should see this in person! The photos just don’t do it justice! I can’t fit it all in and tell the story as I see it… The colours, the marble figures – are just from another world!
The Museum & Sacristy
If the Cathedral wasn’t overwhelming enough! I then step into the museum section and the Sacristy… Oh boy… I’ve already been over 2hours in here and my batteries on all my cameras are depleting as well as my own battery lol but I couldn’t stop looking around in awe at what I saw!
Arch Bishops Sacristy
This was the dressing room for the bishops and wow what a room!
The ceiling is covered by murals painted by Jose Donoso and Claudio Coello in 17th. c
Treasurer’s courtyard
This was designed and built as the residency for the custodian of the Cathedrals Treasury
The Clock portal
A unique 1 handed clock installed in 18th C – one of its kind in the world and visible from both inside and outside of the Cathedral
The Cloister
The artwork on the walls!!
Said to be designed by the master builder Rodrigod Alfonso
Chapel of Saint Blaise
Created as a burial place for the Archbishop – It’s an octopartite ribbed vault ceilings painted in rich painting of a starry sky and dragons and symbols of protection and scenes of life of Christ and saints
Some of the murals have been lost due to dampness
The Chapel of the Descent
The Cathedral of Toledo has been consecrated under the protection of the virgin Mary
The Choir enclosure
The stained glass windows
There are 750 of them in this cathedral!
These old world buildings are some of my favourite places to explore as each one in every city or town is so different and so much love and effort and time has gone into building and creating this masterpiece!
Mezquita-Iglesia de El Salvador
Used to be an ancient mosque and converted into a church
It’s the most ancient mosque in the city
The courtyard is at the head of the apse with an area made up of 3 columns with Roman and Visigoths capitals supporting 4 brickwork horseshoe arches
When the mosque became a church in the 11th C.
Crossing over and looking back towards the old town – water running wild around this beautiful scenery
I loved every second of my time in Toledo, I would 100% make sure to stay at least 1 night here to explore the dark alley ways when the sun sets – a day trip from Madrid just isn’t enough time to explore!
MAR 24
The Wandering Passport 