Toledo

Toledo sits on a rocky hill wrapped on three sides by a gorge of the Tagus, an hour south of Madrid: the old capital of Visigothic Spain and then of Castile, where Christians, Muslims and Jews lived side by side for centuries. The whole old town is a UNESCO site.

Inside the walls, a maze of steep lanes leads from the Gothic cathedral and its treasury to two medieval synagogues, a small mosque from the year 999 and the Alcázar fortress on the highest point. El Greco lived here, and his Burial of the Count of Orgaz hangs in the church of Santo Tomé. The classic view of the whole town is from the Mirador del Valle across the river.

Day-trippers from Madrid fill the centre from late morning to early evening, so stay the night to walk it quiet, and avoid the heat of high summer. Madrid is about half an hour away by high-speed train.

Eat carcamusas, a pork and tomato stew, partridge Toledo-style, manchego cheese and marzipan, made here since the convents of the Middle Ages.