Escapades from Madrid (I): Segovia

Madrid, as the capital of Spain, provides one of the best cultural offers in the whole country, and has hundreds of things to see both in the capital itself and in the towns that you'll find on the outskirts. However, outside of the province of Madrid you can find some cities that any person who lives in Madrid should have visited at least once.

One of these cities is Segovia, which can be found in Castilla y León, approximately 100 kilometres away. It's quite a short distance away, which makes it a perfect city to escape to with a group of friends, even for only one day so you don't need to look for accommodation.

How do you get there?

There are a lot of ways to get to Segovia from Madrid. The quickest way without a doubt is by car, but as not everyone has a car they can travel with, there are only two more motorway-based options: BlaBlaCar (or similar), or bus. In both cases, the duration of the trip will be about an hour, and the price in both cases would be between €5 and €7. The option to take a BlaBlaCar has an advantage as it won't be necessary to find somewhere to park (which is not always easy), in addition to the possibility of finding trips that both cost less than €5 and leave you in the heart of the city.

When it comes to other options like not arriving by road, there is only the train. Places close by offer medium-distance trains that get to Segovia in approximately 2 hours. The price is €7. 5, and although it's a slower option, this offers the possibility of being able to enjoy the landscape of Madrid's mountain ranges.

One day in Segovia

Segovia is one of the most touristic cities in the whole of Spain. It's not very big, but even so it has a huge number of things to see. Seeing them all in one day would be impossible, but according to my experience in the city, it's perfectly possible to plan a route that encompasses the whole of Segovia in one day, by visiting the most important monuments. And with that plan, it's possible to then have more of an idea of what the city is like.

The best place to start the trip around Segovia would be the most visible part of the aqueduct, the most recognisable part of the city. It's one of the best conserved Roman aqueducts in all of Europe. You can pass underneath it and touch the very foundations. It's also possible to go up to some of the viewpoints that are found in the two most visible parts. These offer some great views of the monument, as well as allowing you to see the other less visible parts of the aqueduct as it extends a few metres further, but it's poorly conserved.

Afterwards the best thing you could do is lose yourself in its chaotic streets until you reach the Cathedral of Segovia, another of the symbols of the city. It's especially important to move around the city by walking, as, for me especially, the city's main attraction is to see the buildings from the street on foot. Also, you have to bear in mind that this visit was only going to last a day. The price to enter the Cathedral is €3, a pretty affordable price that I think is worth paying for.

After leaving the Cathedral, it might be that it's time to eat. When it comes to choosing somewhere to eat, I think of the place that would help me gets results easily. With a simple search on Google you can find hundreds of restaurants and the like nearby. The city is full of restaurants of many types. The majority of them do traditional Spanish food, so it'll be very easy to find the par excellence Segovian dish: el cochinillo (suckling pig).

After eating the ideal meal, you should take a stroll towards the Alcázar of Segovia so you can see the sunset over the city from the wall. The Alcázar is found in the highest part of the city, so you have to keep in mind that it will take you a lot longer to get here because of the long up-hill trip. Even then it's a pleasant walk. Entry to the Alcázar costs €3. 50 for students and €5 if you're not. That is also worth a trip, as well as the Cathedral, although there are so many more things to see both in the centre and on the outskirts. And, the views of the grassland below from the plateau above the city are spectacular.

I would personally recommend that afterwards you should climb downwards from there until you reach the Pradera de San Marcos viewpoint, which is a grass meadow from which you can see the Alcázar from below. They are very pretty views, it makes you feel like you're in a medieval movie.

After all this you won't have time for much else left, you would then just go back to Madrid by whatever means of transport you have decided, and put one of the best visits you can make outside of Madrid whilst living in the capital, to an end.

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