After Toledo, SEGOVIA is the outstanding trip from Madrid. A relatively small city, strategically sited on a rocky ridge, it is deeply and haughtily Castilian, with a panoply of squares and mansions from its days of Golden Age grandeur, when it was a royal resort and a base for the Cortes (parliament). It was in Segovia - in the unremarkable church of San Miguel, off the Plaza Mayor - that Isabel la Católica was proclaimed queen.
For a city of its size, there are a stunning number of outstanding architectural monuments. Most celebrated are the Roman aqueduct , the cathedral and the fairy-tale Alcázar , but the less obvious attractions - the cluster of ancient churches and the many mansions found in the lanes of the old town, all in a warm, honey-coloured stone - are what really make it worth a visit. Just a few kilometres outside the city and reasonably accessible from Segovia are two Bourbon palaces, La Granja and Riofrío .
The City
Segovia has more than a full day's worth of sights. If you're on a flying visit from Madrid, obvious priorities are the cathedral and Alcazár in the old town, and the church of Vera Cruz and aqueduct , just outside the walls to west and east respectively. Given more time, take a walk out of the city for the views , or just wander at will through the old quarters of the city, away from the centre: each has a village atmosphere of its own.
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