Segovia - A piece of Rome in Spain

Hello there :)
Did you know that if you wanted to see one of the most preserved Roman aqueduct, you would actually have to leave Italy for a bit and take a trip to the Hispanic peninsula. For only here you can find this marvelous piece of ancient architecture that not only stands as landmark on its own, but also serves as the main motive on the town's coat of arms and influences the whole country to that degree that almost all bridges in Spain are named after it - and I am not even exaggerate that much - only in Madrid itself, you can find two. Welcome to Segovia :)

Being located just about an hour drive from the country's capital of Madrid, Segovia makes it as one of the best one day trips you can take while there, and personally, probably my favorite... Being situated some thousand meters above the sea level in the beautiful Guadarrama mountains, the temperature is a bit lower than in the rest of the peninsula which makes it quite enjoyable even in the summer months while the rest of Spain is ruled by scorching heat.
Before I start mentioning the three top spots and tourist attractions in the town, I would like to point out that the whole compact old city is absolutely astonishing. Just take a walk through the old streets and look around and for sure, you will be amazed. The romanticising spanish architecture mixing with old moorish elements makes Segovia one of the most recognisable towns in the country.

El Alcázar
Originally a Moorish fortress built above the confluence of the two rivers has been one of the strategic landmarks of the area for centuries, the castle was rebuilt in the romanticising style in the late 18 century and ever since it has served as one of most iconic symbols of the city. Its dozens of Gothic castle-like towers and turrets as well as walls served as one of the many inspirations for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty's castle. Definitely worth checking out :)

The Cathedral
Located at the Segovia's main square, Plaza Mayor, this late Gothic beauty is another important landmark of the town. It was built in the late 16th century when Gothic architecture was already on retreat, but according to records, the inhabitants wanted a Gothic cathedral. THe legend even says the it was quite difficult to find an architect who would know how or even want to built in Gothic in the 16th century. But thankfully they did. This building is astonishing. Seriously, it may not look like much on the picture, but it is really enormous. I believe it belongs to the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world. And if you are not into architecture or sacral structures, just walk around. The surroundings in the center of the old town are worth checking out on their own :)

The Aqueduct
And last but not least, probably the most famous and iconic landmark of Segovia, the Roman aqueduct. Being built almost two thousand years ago, it makes it one of the oldest structures in Spain preserved to this day. No wonder that it ended up on the UNESCO World Herritage List in 1985. It may seem strange to today's visitors that it has been built from granite blocks without using any mortar - it holds together only thanks to the brilliantly distributed weight. And it isn't even such a long defunct relic as it looks - it was bringing water to the town even some 100 years ago. Pretty cool, right?

In conclusion
As stated above, Segovia is located in the region of Castille y León roughly an hour drive from the capital of Madrid. There are buses going there every half an hour and trains every two hours. The ticket price is about 6 euro. If you are not comfortable in traveling on your own, there are dozens agencies in Madrid that offer day trips to some of the surrounding towns (most notably Ávilla, El Escorial, Toledo and of course Segovia).
Obviously, the closest international airport is Madrid Barajas.
So what are you waiting for? Get your Spannish dictionary and vamos!

Hope you enjoyed this article and see you next time :)

Love

Lex