VISITING WONDERFUL AVILA AND SEGOVIA!

Visiting wonderful Avila and Segovia is one of Madrid’s must do day trips. Both are UNESCO World Heritage sites that will capture your imagination and inspire you to learn more about Spain’s unique and illustrious history. We got to see and experience them both on an all day tour. I will share my thoughts and tips on how to get the most of this must do day trip.

Getting There – Ride in comfort and style on tour bus

There are 4 ways you can go about getting to Avila and then Segovia. By bus, car, train, or taking an organized guided tour. We chose the guided tour route as this best fit our situation. We are a family of 5 and this made sense but had it been just my wife and I we would have picked the car route. I will provide all the information you need should you want to take any of the other modes of transportation

I selected the Full Day Tour Ávila and Segovia from Madrid with Tickets to Monuments package from Trip Advisor’s Viator. It included stops at everything we wanted to see, entrance fees to the sites, and the schedule didn’t seem rushed. We paid $358 Euros for the 5 of us (4 adults, 1 teen) and left all the planning (and driving) to them. Not cheap for sure but you are paying for convenience and this tour company provided it in spades.

This is an all day tour so plan accordingly. We met at the meeting point at 8:30 am and promptly left at 9 am sharp. Our guides were bilingual (Spanish/English) so there were no issues with language barriers. They would point things out along the road to Avila and it was a fun start to the tour. They made sure to instruct us on what to expect when we got to the first stop and they passed out the listening devices.

Getting there – Train, Bus, and Car options.

For those of you with more time to explore or looking for more economical alternatives while visiting wonderful Avila and Segovia, see below.

• By Train – The national rail service is named Renfe and they offer several daily trains to Ávila. They leave about once an hour from Príncipe Pio station. Tickets can be purchased in advance on their website, or you can buy them at the station.  Estimated time is 1 hour and 30 minutes, Cost is from $14.

• By Bus – Taking a bus is less expensive than the train and it also gets you there in less time. Estimated time is 1 hour and 15 minutes, Cost is from $9.  Buses leave from Madrid’s South Station near the metro stop Méndez Álvaro.

• By Car – If you want to visit neighboring towns and don’t want to be rushed or tied to a schedule, then rent a car. Estimated time is a little over an hour and you will have the freedom to visit whatever city you want.  I will offer a couple of tips. Make sure you have some euros for the tollways. Be prepared to walk as cars on not allowed in some city centers.

Arriving to Avila – Getting Medieval

This was day 4 of our Madrid family vacation (see days 1 & 2 here and day 3 here). Up to this point it had been all city points of interest and site seeing within a 5 mile radius of Puerta del Sol. As we left the city limits it was nice to look out the window and see Spain’s country side. Time seemed to slow down the further we got from Madrid. And when we arrived to Avila it was like being transported to another era back in time.

The tour bus makes a stop just outside the city so passengers can use the restroom, buy snacks, and take pictures. The most popular being the city sign and Los Cuatro Postes viewing area. From this vantage point you can see Avila in all her glory. The well built fortified walls are still protecting her and you could easily imagine how formidable this city might have seemed back in her day. Pro tip – DON’T forget/leave your freaking camera at your hotel like I did!

Avila – Inside the city walls

Once we got our first glimpse of the city, we couldn’t wait to travel inside the walls to explore it. Seeing the walls up close was a thrill for me. They are huge and imposing and I kept trying to imagine what it would have been like to attack this city in medieval times. Yes I used to play a lot of war and strategy games when I was younger, don’t judge me, lol.

After the tour bus parked we visited the Catedral de Avila, Basilica de San Vicente, and finally the Convento de Santa Teresa. The guide was really good at keeping the group together and providing us rich details of where we were and what we were looking at. They also gave insightful historical information and the story telling was fun. The flow was good and they did a good job of explaining and answering questions.

I’m a huge fan of all historic religious buildings. Whether cathedrals and basilicas or mosques, or temples, they fascinate me to no end. The attention to detail, the creativity and ingenuity involved, and the fact that they were made without modern tools or techniques makes it hard not to be impressed.

Avila – Lunch at Las Murallas Restaurant

There are plenty of places to eat both inside the city walls and outside. We had our lunch at Las Murallas Restaurant which is located just inside them and next to the Basilica de San Vincente. The tour company pays for a glass of wine and a tapa but that’s not going to be enough fuel for you. What you need to order is the cochinillo asado! For my English only readers that translates to suckling roast piglet, which doesn’t sound as appealing. This is why everything sounds better in Spanish 😉.

In my opinion this was hands down the best dish of our entire Madrid vacation. Just peel back the outer pig skin and get ready to experience greatness. Just pure juicy succulent pork to feast on. Damn, my mouth is literally watering thinking back on it. I have to find a restaurant in Houston that serves this dish. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Avila – So much to see, so little time

After lunch we walked around to see other parts of the city and I found myself wanting to stay and explore on my own. The tour was great, don’t get me wrong, but there is nothing like getting lost and venturing onto side streets to see what surprises are around the corner. I couldn’t take enough pictures, I wanted to capture every moment. But we had to keep it moving. We still had the Roman aqueduct and Segovia on deck. Here’s some other pics from our Avila stop.

Segovia – The Roman Aqueduct

Now this is a super cool and impressive structure from the ancient world. How ancient? Most historians believe it was built during the first century AD. That it’s still standing and in remarkably good shape is a testament to Roman construction and engineering. It’s so impressive up close that I thought about using a picture of it as the feature for this post. But then I realized that 99 out of 100 posts about Segovia have either a pic of the Roman aqueduct or the castle as the backdrop. And you can see why.

So back to the Aqueduct and the tour. We spent all of our time here at the base of it and the tour guide filled us in on the history and use of this incredible structure. It was hard not to stand in awe and admire this ancient man made achievement. After the guide was finished with her portion, they gave us a little time to roam around before heading to the cathedral.

The Segovia Cathedral

As beautiful as the Avila cathedral was, our eyes lit up when we seen the Segovia cathedral for the first time. For starters, it was huge! And because it sits on the highest ground, it stands out even more. But aside from the sheer size, it was just a gorgeous building to marvel at. Our tour guide mentioned that it is 500 years old and took around 50 years to complete. 50 years! That’s an awfully long time to build something. Unless you’re talking about Houston freeways then it’s on par.

Once you’re inside the wow factor gets kicked up a notch. The level of detail in the paintings, the layout, and the entire interior design is something else. Every room and area we wandered into was beautiful. There are massive columns that hold this cathedral up and allow it to have such majestic high ceilings. It made me wonder what it would cost in today’s dollars to create something like this.

Segovia – Other points of interest

Before I get to telling you about our last stop at the world famous castle, I want you know that this tour does allow a little time for souvenir shopping (about 20 minutes) and there are also brief stops at other points of interest in between the main sites. I won’t go into detail here because we didn’t spend any significant amount of time at them but there is plenty to explore and get into if you have the time. I snapped a few pics of these spots so maybe you can check them out.

The Alcázar of Segovia

It is said that Walt Disney himself was inspired by this castle and based his creation off of the Alcázar of Segovia’s features. You can see several pics here and judge for yourself. Being huge fans of castles and having visited several in England, Scotland, and Ireland, we couldn’t wait to tour this one. It did not disappoint. The Segovia castle looked and felt like being in a fairytale setting.

We arrived around 4 pm and made our way across the draw bridge, over the moat, and gathered inside. They had us meet at the Patio de Armas where we were divided into English and Spanish speakers. They did this because we were assigned new castle guides. The tour guide then took us to every room of the castle and provided details and commentary of what life was like back in those days. We also learned about the many kings and queens who lived in the castle and the history of its construction and use. The history is fascinating and I recommend reading up on it before you arrive.

Castle rooms and views were fantastic!

While exploring, we thought about the royalty that inhabited this place all those hundreds of years. Between the reading I had done prior to our arrival, the informative tour guide, and watching all those Spanish documentaries, it all came together as we walked room to room. My wife and I were overjoyed as we took it all in. She’s been an avid reader on English and Spanish aristocracy so of course she didn’t want to leave and frankly neither did I.

One of my favorite rooms was the room with the little kings in it. Each king had a little statue made of himself and displayed in the ceiling. I told my wife I was going to have one made of me for our bedroom. She didn’t’ think it was funny 😂.

There were several paintings to admire as well.

Final words

This is an excellent tour if you are vacationing with limited time. It covers all the main points and doesn’t feel rushed at all. That being said, I highly recommend taking at least a day and half at Avila and 2 days in Segovia. There is just too much too see and do. Our tour was 9 hours and it left us wanting more. Much more. The sun started to set on us and we had to make our way back. But we left with amazing memories and desire to come back.