Toledo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site also considered to be one of the most beautiful places in Spain, rises up in layers. At the bottom there are narrow medieval streets and further up renaissance spires and bell towers. If you don’t know Toledo as the first capital of Spain (until Madrid took over in 1561), you know it because of the famous novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Here is the land where his knight explored and you will see evidence of this connection throughout the historic centre including all sorts of statues in honour of this knight (including one made completely out of marzipan). The region is known for its marzipan which is shapes into every form imaginable and sold throughout town. Known as the city of three culture, Toledo is a mix of the Christians, Jews and Muslims that lived here throughout history.
We were here because of the food. Toledo was the City of Gastronomy in 2016 and has a range of foods it is famous for including one that may be more familiar to you: manchego cheese. We didn’t realise though until we got here that we had underestimated how much time it would take us to eat our way through Toledo. We spent half a day here but if I were to do it again, I’d spend a night.
Once you have parked your car at the bottom of the hill and walked up to the historic pedestrian centre, one of the first shops you will come across is Chocolate Experience. They sell several products made of chocolate but we opted instead for their ice cream. After asking some locals where we should go for a good hot chocolate, we were directed to Cafe de las Monjas (Cafe of the Nuns), a busy cafe popular with locals. I had their Churros con Chocolate of course, not the best I’ve had on this trip but enjoyable. They offer a wider selection though including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, hazelnut flavour, white chocolate with coffee, and any of these topped with cream, all for around the 3euros. The cafe also sells a range of delicious looking snacks and cakes, including an impressive selection of marzipan products. Stop by and take look at the window display outside too which features dozens of small dolls dressed as nuns making marzipan.
Toledo gets very busy, so I’d recommend starting early so you can pretend to be a local for a bit before the tourists arrive (often in bus loads from Madrid which is only 70km away). Staying overnight would give you the chance to try some of the famous restaurants and food that the region is known for. Calle Alfileritos is a good place to start as it is full of bars and restaurants. Order the cocido (meat and chickpea stew), carcamusas (stewed pork with tomato) and, of course, a glass of wine from the region.
Cafe de las Monjas is located at 2, Calle Santo Tome, everyday from 9am to 9pm
