Our first sighting of Segovia was glorious. The magnificent city skyline, framed by the snow covered Sierra de Guadarrama, was breathtaking. Close up, the town becomes even more exquisite. As we drove into the centre in an attempt to find our hotel, we passed the ridiculously dramatic Acueducto de Segovia, a perfectly preserved Roman aqueduct that was built in the 1st Century AD, and has survived intact for close to 2,000 years. It’s an awe inspiring sight, that put me in mind of the Roman city of Jerash in modern-day Jordan.
If a 2,000 year-old aqueduct was the only reason to come to Segovia, it would be more than enough. But this town of fewer than sixty thousand people, punches well above its weight in many other ways. The whole of the medieval old town is an UNESCO World Heritage site. Segovia is a place that perfectly embodies the history of Roman, Moorish and Christian Spain, and the grandeur of the country’s Golden Age, beginning with the Reconquista and encompassing the discovery and conquest of the New World.
Walking the streets of the ancient centre between the turreted 11th century Alcázar, the 16th century Gothic cathedral and the 1st century aqueduct, is a little like being in an open air museum, only one with far more life. Despite its many historic monuments, Segovia during the day is a vibrant place with pleasant squares where families gather, and narrow winding cobbled streets that ring with the sound of voices. At night it was much quieter, the action transferred indoors to a selection of excellent tapas bars and even better restaurants.
Segovia is a weekend destination for Madrileños, and has fabulous places to eat its legendary food. This is the home of the cochinillo asado, or roast suckling pig, served with head and feet, and ‘carved’ using a plate. Not sure why, but that’s the way they do it in Segovia. Even more special though is the cordero lechazo asado, or the roasted leg of lamb. We ate this dish at La Concepción in the Plaza Mayor and it was truly delicious – they also do the finest carajillo I’ve ever had in Spain. Nobody comes to Segovia to lose weight apparently.
We were staying in the Hotel Convento Capuchinos, a former monastery and church that date from 1637. It was a fittingly historic place to spend the night and had views over the Río Eresma and valley below, including the 13th century Templar church of Vera Cruz. Built not long after the city had been captured from the Moors in 1079, it’s modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The day I made the effort to walk all the way down hill, and make the steep climb back up, to visit, it wasn’t open. This was a shame because the church was built, or so legend has it, to house a fragment of the cross that Christ was crucified upon. It was brought back to Spain from the Holy Land after one of the Crusades. Inside, the church is said to contain a unique chamber where new members of the Knights Templar would stand vigil, night and day, over this famous piece of wood as part of their initiation
We’d arrived in the late afternoon and once we’d found somewhere to park – always a challenge in medieval Spanish towns – we checked in and set off to unearth a tapas bar or two. Luckily for us, that is not difficult. The Plaza Mayor, which is dominated by the cathedral, has several good options running around the outside of the square. We started in one corner and worked our way around, stopping at places that looked good or had a crowd. We weren’t disappointed.
Afterwards, we were just in time to clamber up the bell tower of the cathedral before it closed. The views were magnificent, the whole town was laid out before us, as were the same snow capped mountains that we’d driven through to get here. From our vantage point we planned the next day’s excitement and then went to see if we could book a table for dinner at one of Segovia’s most popular restaurants, Restaurante José María. The cochinillo asado was calling to us.
Notes from Camelid Country 