Castles Near Madrid

Spain is a land of castles. In fact, two of its autonomous communities (like states in the U.S.) are named Castilla y León and Castilla La Mancha, where "castilla" means "land of castles." Lucky for us, many castles are near Madrid, within a two-hour train or bus ride from where we live. Here are photos that we took of each of the fifteen castles we have visited. We have been inside of all of these except those which are in such a state of dilapidation that no visitors are allowed. (Unless otherwise indicated, the castle has the name of the city in which it is located.)

Castillo de Arévalo:

Castillo de Belmonte:

Castillo de Buitrago de Lozoya (this castle has not been restored, although we went inside):

Castillo de Cuéllar:

Castillo de Garcimuñoz (this castle is in the process of being restored and we could only go inside part of it):

Castillo de los Mendoza in Manzanares El Real:

Castillo de la Mota in Medina del Campo:

Castillo de Peñafiel:

Castillo de Portillo:

Castillo de Simancas:

Castillo de Almodóvar del Río:

Castillo de Coca:

Castillo de Sigüenza. This is our favorite, not because it is the most beautiful or interesting but because it is a "parador" (state-owned hotel within a castle, convent, or monastery) where we stayed to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Another view of the Castillo de Sigüenza, which from this view, seems to be out in the middle of nowhere. Actually, the city of Siqüenza comes right up to the castle on the other side.

Castillo de Uclés. We actually went to Uclés to see the monastery, shown here on the left. This castle (on the right) has not been restored and we could not go inside:

Alcázar (Arab castle) de Segovia:

All of these castles have their own history. Some castles include a museum, a palace, or an outdoor concert area. All of them are interesting.