Segovia historic old town

From is hill top location the historic old town Segovia has been limited in its development and constrained in its modernisation by the old city walls. This means that the visitor to Segiovia finds the historic center to be very well preserved even though it is in daily use.

The old town has now been dwarfed in size by the new (basically all that is outside the city walls) but still retains the majority of important offices and in a tourism sense all the tourist attractions. It is also possible to walk from one end of the historic center to the other in around 20 minutes however stopping and wandering off to look at places of interest is sure to increase this.

Places of interest:

Whilst most visitors will simply want to walk around, visit the shops and try the Tapas there are a few sites along the way that are of particular interest.

By no means exhaustive we believe the visitor on a day trip or a one night stop would do well to visit:

• Tourist information - Conveniently located at the Aqueduct entrance to Segovia this building is easily found and offers information services in English. There are a wide range of pamphlets covering everything from tourist attractions to tempotrary exhibitions in the many small museums. We advise visitors and day trippers to take advantage of this free service especially as the medieval streets of the old town can sometimes be difficult to navigate.
• Aqueduct - Not to be missed and impossible to miss, its covered in detail here.
• Segovia Cathedral - Located next to the Plaza mayor the Cathedral of Santa Maria is the last built in Spain in the Gothic style having been constructed in the mid 1500's. Its highly large size is testament to the wealth and importance of Segovia in medieval times and even today is one of the better maintained cathedrals. Entrance is free for religious services although for touristic visits there is a small charge of 3€.
  

• Plaza Mayor - As in keeping with most Spanish towns and cities Segovia has its own Plaza Mayor (Mayor meaning big / older and signifying it to be more important than the other plazas) which plays host to a series of temporary expositions and festivals as well as restaurants and bars. The odd tourist / souvenir shop canj also be found here. If one is walking the city then the road leading uphill next to the tourist information office takes you direct to the Plaza.
• El Alcazar - Leaving the Plaza Mayor by the small road, that runs alongside the Cathedral, a quick 10 minute walk through the old Jewish quarter sees the visitor infornt of the famous caste of Segovia. A detailed guide to which can be found here.
  

• Town Stables - Curiously for a city in Spain the town (as it was then) stables are built from stone and have survived through to the modern day. Providing a welcome break from the chruch and Roman themes that tend to dominate Spain this building is a curious study in medieval building techniques. Unfortunately it is not possible to access the interior.

Unique and curious:

• Bullet holed buildings - throughout the old town numerous buildings show battle damage and bullet holes either in the masonry or wooden doors (which can be over 200 yrs old) relating to either the Peninsula / Napoleonic wars or the Spanish civil war.
• Statue of Romulous and Remus - This bronze statue stands at the enterance to the old city is somewhat of a curiosity as niether was deemed to ever having visited Segovia.

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