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Castilla-La Mancha

Castilla-La Mancha not only has Spain’s lowest population density, but sees fewer tourists than any region outside Navarra. Located on a windswept fertile plateau, the landscape is richly patterned, with undulating plains of rich henna-coloured earth, neatly striped and stippled with olive groves and grape vines, stretching to a horizon you never seem to reach. This is the land where Cervantes set the fictional journeys of Don Quijote with quixotic reminders everywhere; from the solitary windmills to the abundant (mostly ruined) castles.

The area’s best known city is glorious Toledo, Spain’s spiritual capital, while Cuenca is another wondrous place, seemingly about to topple off its eagle’s-eyrie perch high above a gorge.

On a more sensory level, this is where saffron is grown and also the capital of Spain’s unrivalled Manchego cheese. The latter makes the perfect accompaniment to the local wines – La Mancha grows more vines than any other region worldwide.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Castilla-La Mancha.

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Catedral de Toledo
Toledo's illustrious main church ranks among the top 10 cathedrals in Spain. An impressive example of medieval Gothic architecture, its enormous interior is full of the classic characteristics of the style, rose windows, flying buttresses, ribbed vaults and pointed arches among them. The cathedral’s sacristy is a veritable art gallery of old masters, with works by Velázquez, Goya and – of course – El Greco. Admission also gives access to the nearby Museo de Tapices y Textiles de la Catedral. From the earliest days of the Visigothic occupation, the current site of the cathedral has been a centre of worship. During Muslim rule, it contained Toledo's central mosque, converted into a church in 1085, but ultimately destroyed 140 years later. Dating from the 1220s and essentially a Gothic structure, the cathedral was rebuilt from scratch in a melting pot of styles, including Mudéjar and Renaissance. The Visigothic influence continues today in the unique celebration of the Mozarabic Rite, a 6th-century liturgy that was allowed to endure after Cardinal Cisneros put its legitimacy to the test by burning missals in a fire of faith; they survived more or less intact. The rite is celebrated in the Capilla Mozarabe at 9am Monday to Saturday, and at 9.45am on Sunday. The high altar sits in the extravagant Capilla Mayor, the masterpiece of which is the retablo (altarpiece), with painted wooden sculptures depicting scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary; it's flanked by royal tombs. The oldest of the cathedral's magnificent stained-glass pieces is the rose window above the Puerta del Reloj. Behind the main altar lies a mesmerising piece of 18th-century Churrigueresque (lavish baroque ornamentation), the Transparente, which is illuminated by a light well carved into the dome above. In the centre of things, the coro (choir stall) is a feast of sculpture and carved wooden stalls. The 15th-century lower tier depicts the various stages of the conquest of Granada. The tesoro, however, deals in treasure of the glittery kind. It's dominated by the extraordinary Custodia de Arfe : with 18kg of pure gold and 183kg of silver, this 16th-century processional monstrance bristles with some 260 statuettes. Its big day out is the Feast of Corpus Christi, when it is paraded around Toledo's streets. Other noteworthy features include the sober cloister, off which is the 14th-century Capilla de San Blas, with Gothic tombs and stunning frescoes; the gilded Capilla de Reyes Nuevos; and the sala capitular (chapter house), with its remarkable 500-year-old artesonado (wooden Mudéjar ceiling) and portraits of all the archbishops of Toledo. The highlight of all, however, is the sacristía (sacristy), which contains a gallery with paintings by masters such as El Greco, Zurbarán, Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael and Velázquez. It can be difficult to appreciate the packed-together, poorly lit artworks, but it's a stunning assemblage in a small space. In an adjacent chamber, don't miss the spectacular Moorish standard captured in the Battle of Salado in 1340. An extra €2.50 gets you entrance to the upper level of the cloister and the bell tower, which offers wonderful views over the centre of historic Toledo.
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Casas Colgadas
The most striking element of medieval Cuenca, the casas colgadas (hanging houses) jut out precariously over the steep defile of Río Huécar. Dating from the 14th century, the houses, with their layers of wooden balconies, seem to emerge from the rock as if an extension of the cliffs. The best views of the casas colgadas is from the Puente de San Pablo footbridge. Today the houses host – somewhat improbably – an abstract art museum founded in the 1960s.
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Museo Paleontológico de Castilla-La Mancha
Cuenca’s cutting-edge palaeontology museum is a must for anyone interested in Spain's fascinating prehistorical record. Though anchored by its appropriately kid-friendly dinosaur exhibition (‘Tierra de Dinosaurios’), this is a serious paleontology museum, with key specimens on display that have been instrumental in scientific breakthroughs, and signage in Spanish and English. Spacious modern galleries are decorated with locally found fossils, skeletons and skulls, plus mock-ups of enormous Cretaceous-era reptiles like the Titanosaur, among the largest land creatures to ever walk the earth. Highlights include fossils of the Iberomesornis (a key species linking dinosaurs and modern birds), Spinolestes (a tiny prehistoric creature that upended notions of the simplicity of early mammals) and the remarkably intact skeleton of Concavenator, the unusual hump-backed dinosaur. There are some fun audiovisual exhibits and the landscaped grounds are home to more prehistoric giants that kids can pose beside for that ultimate photo op for show-and-tell back home. It's about a 15-minute (uphill) walk south of the centre.
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Museo de Arte Abstracto Español
From the outside, they look as if they’ve been sawn off from some high-altitude Tibetan temple, but, from the inside, Cuenca’s famous casas colgadas (hanging houses) have been transformed into a suite of airy, clean-lined galleries displaying some of central Spain’s finest abstract art. Highlights here include the ethereal canvases of Fernando Zóbel (the museum’s founder), meditative works by a trio of Basque luminaries (Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida and Néstor Basterretxea) and the radically stripped down creations of Catalan heavyweight Antoni Tàpies. Don't miss the extraordinary gouache landscapes by Eusebio Sempere, which really capture the colourful patterned plains of La Mancha, or Antonio Saura's fervent portraits of Brigitte Bardot and Felipe II.
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Sinagoga del Tránsito
This magnificent synagogue was built in 1355 by special permission from Pedro I. The synagogue now houses the Museo Sefardí, which provides a glimpse into Sephardic culture in Spain. The vast main prayer hall has been expertly restored and the Mudéjar decoration and intricately carved pine ceiling are striking. Exhibits provide an insight into the history of Jewish culture in Spain, and include archaeological finds, a memorial garden, costumes and ceremonial artefacts. Toledo's former judería (Jewish quarter) was once home to 10 synagogues and comprised some 10% of the walled city's area. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the synagogue was variously used as a church, hermitage and military barracks.
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Catedral de Cuenca
Luring visitors in with its impressive old-looking facade (it was actually cleverly rebuilt in neo-Gothic style in 1902), Cuneca’s cathedral is well worth a visit. It was built on the site of the main mosque after the city's reconquest by Alfonso VIII in 1177. Highlights include the magnificent Renaissance doorway leading to the cloisters and the chapter house artesonado (wooden) ceiling painted in pastel colours. The striking abstract stained-glass windows were added in the 20th century. An excellent audioguide delves into the details. For the complete experience, purchase a combination ticket (€8.50), which gives free access to the triforium (overlooking the nave), the treasury museum, the church of St Pedro (with its lofty bell tower affording fine views) and the Museo de la Semana Santa.
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Museo de Santa Cruz
It's hard to imagine that this 16th-century building was once a hospital. If only modern hospitals were equipped with the kind of ornate plateresque portico that welcomes you to this beautiful arts and ceramics museum. The pièce de résistance is the huge ground-floor gallery laid out in the shape of a cross. The various art and sculpture exhibits are backed up by interesting explanatory boards that place all the pieces into their historical context. Sitting at one end, almost as if it were an altarpiece, is El Greco's Sagrada Familia con Santa Ana. Equally salubrious is the cloister, which you must cross to access the extensive ceramics collection housed on the 1st floor.
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Museo del Greco
In the early 20th century, an aristocrat bought what he thought was El Greco's house and did a meritorious job of returning it to period style. He was wrong – El Greco never lived here – but the museum remains. As well as the house itself, there are pretty terraced gardens, fascinating excavated cellars from a Jewish-quarter palace and a good selection of paintings, including a Zurbarán, a set of the apostles by El Greco and works by his son and followers.
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Museo Sefardí
Housed in the magnificent Sinagoga del Tránsito, this museum provides a rare and important glance into erstwhile Sephardic culture in Spain. Entry is included with synagogue admission.