Toledo's Old City

Moorish, Gothic, and Renaissance architecture mingle and blend into a city that El Greco captured in one of his most famous paintings. High on a granite hill and surrounded on three sides by the deep gorge of the Tagus River, it presents a stunning profile; approaching it from below is an unforgettable sight.

The layout of the town, with its irregular pattern of narrow streets and numerous blind alleys, reflects its Moorish past, and the architecture of the Christian period is represented by the numerous churches, convents, and hospices. This makes the old city a kind of open-air museum, illustrating the history of Spain, and it has been listed by UNESCO as part of mankind's cultural heritage. The Gothic cathedral is splendid, its interior richly decorated, and the two synagogues in the atmospheric old Juderiaare ornate in the Moorish style. While in that quarter, be sure to see the church of San Tome for its El Greco masterpiece.