Madrid & Central Spain
Welcome to the Spanish heartland, to this most Spanish of Spanish regions where history is writ large and magnificently on seemingly every corner. On your journeys across the high plateau that surrounds Madrid you’ll encounter some of Spain’s most spectacular cities – from Cáceres to Cuenca, Segovia to Salamanca – as well as cathedral towns par excellance (Toledo, León and Burgos). This is also a region to savour castles and Roman relics, tilt at windmills in the finest tradition of Don Quixote, and tread lightly through some of the most beautiful villages (Covarrubias, Atienza, Chinchón) and medieval towns (Trujillo, Sigüenza, Cuenca) in Europe. Above all this is a region to get a taste for Old Spain and the stirring relics it left behind.
MATTEO COLOMBO / GETTY IMAGES ©
Madrid & Central Spain
Historic Castilla y León 7 Days
Madrid to Soria via some of inland Spain’s captivating towns and villages.
Back Roads Beyond Madrid 5–7 Days
Route running south and east of the capital through wonderfully historic towns.
Cáceres to deep canyons with villages and quiet back roads en route.
Spain’s Interior Heartland 5–7 Days
Journey through northern Spain with Roman and very Spanish attractions along the way.
Detective trail across La Mancha in search of Spain’s favourite literary hero.
Medieval towns, Roman ruins, remote castles and Extremadura’s home of jamón (cured ham).
DON'T MISS
Covarrubias
Stunning riverside village. Step behind its walls and into another world on Trip
Café de la Iberia, Chinchón
Eat where Goya ate overlooking a special square on Trip
San Martín del Castañar
Lost in the wilds of Spain’s west, this village ranks in Spain’s top five for at least one Lonely Planet writer. Find it on Trip 
Palacio Episcopal, Astorga
This whimsical Antoni Gaudí structure is surely his most unlikely. Track it down on Trip
El Toboso
If you really want to understand the cult of Don Quixote, visit El Toboso. We take you there on Trip 
Museo del Jamón, Monesterio
Extremadura’s most celebrated jamón-producing town now has a museum dedicated to jamón. Get a taste on Trip 