トレドの7つのハイライト：歴史、伝説、ユダヤ人街。

We met Carmen, our guide for a tour of Toledo. She gave us a brief history of the city - Roman foundations, Visigothic from 5th - 7th century, Moorish from 7th - 12th century when it was recaptured by the Christians in 1085 and became their capital until this was moved to Madrid in 1561 leading to a massive population decline but saving the medieval heritage of the city from redevelopment. We wandered around the streets, thankful they were narrow and therefore shaded from the sun! We saw some traces of Visigothic and Arabic remains in the city and then visited the part of the Roman baths they have been able to excavate. This was a section of hypercaust, a part of the aqueduct pipeline and a small cistern but the rest of the baths remain buried under neighbouring houses. From the baths we walked into the Jewish area, a large element of the city for over a thousand years until being expelled in 1492. The area was marked with tiles embedded in the cobblestones and with wall plaques. We walked around the streets learning about various things such as the hidden streets where residents would block either end of the streets to stop homeless people sleeping there in the medieval period. The tour finished back near the cathedral around 1PM, we'd covered a large area of the city and had information on various places to visit and eat. Carmen was an engaging and informative guide with an excellent grasp of English. We said goodbye to her and stopped for a light lunch before heading off to visit some of the places on our Toledo Tourist Wristband, a bargain at 14 euros for entry to 7 of the city's attractions. Carmen also gave us all a little card with information on further recommendations for our stay in the city, several of which we used.

We met Carmen, our guide for a tour of Toledo. She gave us a brief history of the city - Roman foundations, Visigothic from 5th - 7th century, Moorish from 7th - 12th century when it was recaptured by the Christians in 1085 and became their capital until this was moved to Madrid in 1561 leading to a massive population decline but saving the medieval heritage of the city from redevelopment. We wandered around the streets, thankful they were narrow and therefore shaded from the sun! We saw some traces of Visigothic and Arabic remains in the city and then visited the part of the Roman baths they have been able to excavate. This was a section of hypercaust, a part of the aqueduct pipeline and a small cistern but the rest of the baths remain buried under neighbouring houses. From the baths we walked into the Jewish area, a large element of the city for over a thousand years until being expelled in 1492. The area was marked with tiles embedded in the cobblestones and with wall plaques. We walked around the streets learning about various things such as the hidden streets where residents would block either end of the streets to stop homeless people sleeping there in the medieval period. The tour finished back near the cathedral around 1PM, we'd covered a large area of the city and had information on various places to visit and eat. Carmen was an engaging and informative guide with an excellent grasp of English. We said goodbye to her and stopped for a light lunch before heading off to visit some of the places on our Toledo Tourist Wristband, a bargain at 14 euros for entry to 7 of the city's attractions. Carmen also gave us all a little card with information on further recommendations for our stay in the city, several of which we used.

Carmen is a local who knows her stuff! Easy to understand and knowledgeable. Took frequent stops to accommodate all ages/abilities.