Spain > Castile and León > Segovia
Segovia
N 40°56.875', W 4°7.055'
2014-09-18
http://visitsegovia.turismodesegovia.com
Our rating: 8.60
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Segovia is a very unusual town. To understand why, you need to look on the following image from Google maps.
Aqueduct of Segovia ©maps.google.com
Aqueducts remained in some European cities, but the longest preserved ancient Roman aqueduct is in Segovia.
Aqueduct of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Aqueduct of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Aqueduct of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Most of the restaurants are located near the aqueduct of Segovia, so most tourists spend their time in the evenings here. We strongly recommend to spend the night in Segovia or at least stay until dark. Here is really very comfortable, quiet and beautiful.
Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Most visitors come here only during the day. They all are strolling in the old town, but we started from viewpoints. To get to them, see the following diagram. There are two viewpoints, one overlooks the cathedral, and other the castle (Alcazar).
Segovia viewpoints ©pizzatravel.com.ua
First viewpoint is easy to reach on foot or car from the aqueduct. It's a big, empty, unpaved area, that is used during the festival of balloons. It offers a good view of the old town and the Cathedral.
Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
To get to the second viewpoint is more difficult. There are two main ways. We have been there twice, the first time through entrance 1, the second time in the evening through entrance 2. From entrance 1 your have to walk about one kilometer. From entrance 2 you have to walk not much, but uphill. In the corner of the parking lot find stairs and use them to get to the viewpoint. If you want to make evening photos, then use only entrance 2. And be sure to have a flashlight or a phone with a flashlight, as you will need to come down from the mountain in the dark. Despite the fact that the entrance 2 is located near the castle, I do not think that it is possible to go there directly from the castle. There is a path from the old town, you can try to find it. We walked along the main roads from the aqueduct (approximately 15-20 minutes), through the district of San Milan, it can be seen on the following map.
Map of Segovia ©@
City map in PDF can be downloaded here . In general, why you need to visit the viewpoint? 99.9% of the tourists visiting Segovia see the following.
Alcazar of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
And that is what we have seen.
Alcazar of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Alcazar of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
We also flew a little using the drone.
Castle in the town of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Alcazar (Castle) of Segovia is one of the most important royal residences in Spain, the first mention of it relates to 1120. For a long time Kings of Spain lived there, but when the court moved to Madrid, the castle became a prison for two centuries. Since 1953 it became a museum. Castle can be visited, find information here (PDF). After visiting viewpoints, we settled in the hotel (Hotel Acueducto, booking.com , 35 euros per night, 200 meters from the aqueduct) and went for a walk to the old town.
The main square in the old town Plaza Mayor ©Yuriy Buriak
Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
The main square in the old town Plaza Mayor ©Yuriy Buriak
Artillery Square of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Cathedral of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Cathedral of Segovia ©Yuriy Buriak
Getting to Segovia By bus from Madrid (schedule ). It is important that from 2014 buses to Segovia run from the new terminal Intercambiador Moncloa. Travel time is about 1 hour 30 minutes, bus comes almost to the aqueduct. You can also take the train C-8 from Atocha station or Chamartin station. Segovia is reachable by high-speed trains (30 minutes from Madrid and 40 minutes from Valladolid). From the train station take the bus number 11 to aqueduct.
Tags, Spain: castle , city , unusual structures Tags, all countries: castle , city , unusual structures
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 8.60
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help