.

TravelTips24 : Europe : Mediterranean Europe : Iberia : Spain : Segovia

Segovia

Segovia is a town in Spain, known for its Aqueduct. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Travel to Segovia & Visa Requirements

The city of Segovia is located 50 miles from Madrid. Segovia is only one hour away by bus, two hours by train (Cercanias) or thirty minutes by AVE (high speed train). Please, note that it shares name with the province of which is the capital.

Busses between Segovia and Madrid run once or twice an hour depending on the time of day. In Madrid, they arrive/depart from Principe Pio bus station. The Segovia bus station is on Paseo de Ezequiel Gonzalez, near the Aqueduct. In December 2007 has been inaugurated the new high-speed train line, which segovia is connected to many cities in Spain, especially Madrid in 30 minutes and Valladolid 40. The new AVE (high-speed train) station is called Segovia-Guiomar and is 5km from the capital of Segovia having links every 15 minutes from the aqueduct in urban bus.

Trains to Segovia from Madrid are typically an extension of the C-8b suburban rail line (beyond Cercedilla), and cost slightly less than 6 EUR for a one-way ticket.

Segovia is one of the Spanish cities candidate to chair the European capital of culture in 2016, is one of the favorites for their hard work in the field of culture and the greatness of their heritage

Tours & Getting around Segovia

The walled Old Town is easily accessible by foot.

Segovia attractions and sightseeing

  • Alcázar [1] was built sometime around the 11th Century. The current facade was built by Phillip II. The Alcázar's interior is decorated in a variety of styles including Romansque, Gothic, Mudejar, and Renaissance. The Alcázar has played a very interesting and important role in Spanish History. It has had a variety of uses throughout history including: the home of the royal court of the Trastamara Dynasty, residence of Isabella the Catholic, the site of the wedding of Phillip II, home of the Spanish Artillery Academy, and currently as a museum and home of the Spanish General Military Archive. The Alcázar is also widely known to be Walt Disney's inspiration for Cinderella's Castle, and scenes from the Orson Welles film Chimes at Midnight were filmed on its premises. Entry 6 EUR.
  • Aqueduct was built by the Romans around the late 1st Century AD to supply the roman military fort on the hill. The Aqueduct's highest point is 28 meters in Azoguejo Square.
  • Casa de los Picos "The House of the Points" is a house located in the old city decorated with pyramid shaped points on the facade. The facade dates from the renaissance.
  • Cathedral Segovia's cathedral was built in the Gothic style. Construction on the Cathedral was started in 1525 and completed in 1768. Visiting hours Nov-Mar 9AM-5:30PM, Apr-Oct 9AM-6:30PM. Entry 3 EUR (includes cloister and museum).
  • Azoguejo Square is where you can see the aqueduct of Segovia in all of its glory. The aqueduct reaches its highest point of 28 meters in the middle of the square. The square is a great starting point for your exploration in Segovia.
  • Museo de Segovia, C/ Socorro 11, Tel 921 460 613/15, museo.segovia@jcyl.es. The "Museum of Segovia" contains artefacts, models, and art related to the history, culture, lifestyle, etc of the city and the surrounding region. Visiting hours Su 10AM-2PM; Tu-Sa 10AM-2PM and either 4PM-7PM (Oct-Jun) or 5PM-8PM (Jul-Sep). Entry 1.20 EUR.

Segovia city tours

Segovia souvenirs & shopping

You will find nice pottery which is something very typical not only in Segovia but also in the whole Castilla. Take a look at the botijos, pottery pieces to store fresh water on them.

Segovia Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Segovia, being one of the Castillian provinces, shares with them the famous Castillian cuisine. There are a number of meals which are worth to be tried.

  • Roasted suckling pig
  • Roasted Lamb
  • Veal/Beef
  • Salads made from local vegetables and cheeses
  • Judiones: a kind of huge stewed beans
  • Sausages raw and cooked and seasoned pork
  • Tapas: Yes! there a tapas away from Madrid.
  • Fish: Being near Madrid, the good restaurants of Segovia use to have very good fish dishes. If you can, try the seasoned verdel. This is usually served as a little hors d'oevres while you take a look to the menu.

The typical restaurants on Segovia (and, by the way, in all Castilla) are called mesones. There are some examples:

  • Meson Candido, Azoguejo, 5, ☎ +34 921 425 911, [2]. One of the most famous mesones edit
  • Restaurante Jose Maria, Cronista Lecea, 11 (Near Plaza Mayor), ☎ +34 921 461 111, [3]. An excellent meson. It is almost impossible to get a table if you do not call in advance edit
  • Meson Duque, Calle Cervantes (near Acueducto), [4]. One of the most prestigious one edit

You will find also another kind of restaurants:

  • Cafeteria Orly, Bajada del Carmen, 2, ☎ T. 921 46 13 18.  edit

Also, try the local desserts. The ponche segoviano and the natillas are something you will not forget. You will find the original ponche at: Pasteleria El Alcazar. Look for it in the Plaza Mayor edit

You will find also excellent restaurants in all the Segovia province. For example:

  • La venta vieja, Ctra.Nac-603 Km.80. Ortigosa Del Monte. An excellent (but a bit pricey) meson in the middle of the Castillian plains  edit
  • Restaurante Bar Marcial, Ctra. Nac. 110, Km. 227. Villacastin. Very good meals edit

Segovia nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

Try the red wine. Particullary, the "Ribera del Duero" variant. There are as well good white wines which are perfect for a good fish dish. Let me advice you: please, do not ruin a roasted lamb with a coke. If you must drive, the bottled water is also excellent. Moreover, for the people which likes them, they will be offered strong liquours at end of a good meal, after the almost mandatory coffee. Segovia (the province, not the city) has also the DYC whiskey distillery. The 10 years version has a good reputation among the local population even it is something which a whiskey expert (which I am not) must confirm.

Segovia cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging

  • Hostal-Bar Plaza [5], C/Cronista Lecea 11, tel 921 46 03 03. Just off the main square, they have clean, comfortable rooms, nearly hotel quality, at reasonable prices.

Get out

Near the Plaza del Azoguejo you will find a number of nice bars.

This page was last edited at 20:03, on 21 October 2008 by Bill Johnson. Based on work by cristóbal garcía garcía, Gabriel Alexander Cei, Stacy Hall, Ryan Fujitani and Paul N. Richter, Wikitravel user(s) WTDuck2, Morph, Soty29, Jonboy and Huttite and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.

Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license