10 Things to Do in Toledo in Winter

Toledo is one of the most beautiful and impressive cities in Spain. With centuries and centuries of history, the capital of La Mancha attracts numerous tourists at any time of the year. During the winter, it has a wide and varied proposal of plans for all tastes.

If you are going to the City of the Three Cultures in winter and do not know what are the best things to do in Toledo, read on. Here you will find fun and winter activities, with which you can take shelter from the rain or forget about the cold.

From the end of November to the beginning of January, Toledo's Town Hall Square is decorated with different stalls for the Christmas Fair. So, if your visit to the City of the Three Cultures coincides with these dates, I recommend you to take a look at this event.

You will find food stalls with typical Christmas sweets and other local products, as well as nativity scenes, craft stalls with jewelry or decoration, fun activities for families or children's workshops for the little ones of the house. In addition to all of the above, the fair has a carousel where you can have fun with the kids.

You can make this plan as part of a tour, to further organize your trip to the city. There are many tours or routes that can be done in Toledo to learn about its history and culture, all of them with their own charm.

Take advantage of the cold winter in Toledo to do one of the most typical winter plans: ice skating. Every year, the City Council of Toledo sets up an ice rink so that residents and tourists of the city can have fun during these months of the year. Depending on the year, the ice rink is placed in one place or another.

In general, the location of the same is in the fairground of La Peraleda; although other years it has been located in the square of the City council. The rink has a sound system and a skate rental store. In addition, there is a skating club that watches over visitors for safety.

Beyond this rink, there is also another ice rink in the famous La Vega park, which is located between the Bisagra gate and the Tavera hospital. You can stroll through the park and even visit the well-known Casa del corcho, a 19th century house designed by the architect Ramiro Amador de los Ríos.

Another of the best things to do in winter in Toledo is to visit the Arab baths and spas in the city. This way, you will be able to warm up while enjoying a relaxing moment.

The most famous Arab baths in Toledo are those of Medina Mudejar, which are located in the Plaza de Santa Eulalia 1, next to the church of the Jesuits and the convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. It is an original Arab bath, which retains an Islamic wall of the twelfth century, as well as the cisterns and authentic tiles of the building.

The Arab bath Medina Mudejar has several pools at different temperatures, as well as a massage service and a Turkish bath. It also has a patio where you can have tea. Undoubtedly, this is a great way to escape from the cold while teleporting you back to the time of the Arab conquest of Toledo.

The best spas in Toledo

On the other hand, you can also go to one of the best spas in the city, the Domus Aurea. It is located in the Hotel Comendador, in Serranillos street. In this place you can enjoy a wellness experience, which you can complete with a hydrothermal circuit, relaxing massages or facials.

The Beatriz Toledo Auditorium spa, which belongs to the hotel of the same name, also stands out. This spa is located closer to the center of the City of the Three Cultures, on Concilios de Toledo street.

If you go in December to Toledo, you will be pleased to know that you will have the opportunity to be able to attend the Feria del Dulce. This event has been held since 2017 and takes place at the San Marcos Cultural Center. This building was built in the 13th century, although its shape evolved, until it finally became what it is today.

Throughout its history, it has gone from being an infantry barracks to different municipal dependencies. However, the San Marcos Cultural Center suffered heavy damage during the Spanish Civil War, so it was completely emptied. Today it is used as a venue for exhibitions and events.

The Feria del Dulce is undoubtedly the perfect excuse to visit this place. There are 7 convents and 10 bakeries that participate in the fair, putting on sale typical sweets of the town and more specifically of the Christmas period.

There is no Spanish plan more typical of winter than a snack based on churros with chocolate. As you can imagine, there are many churrerías in the city. In some of the best parks in Toledo, you will find kiosks where you can buy churros with chocolate while you take a walk and enjoy the greenery. Undoubtedly, this is an ideal plan to do with young children in Toledo.

Beyond these stalls, Toledo has a churrería par excellence: the Catalino kiosk. This establishment is located next to the Puerta de Bisagra, one of the main tourist attractions of the City of the Three Cultures.

Important personalities of the Spanish political sphere have visited the Catalino kiosk to taste its famous churros with chocolate. The establishment has a terrace with chairs and tables where you can sit and savor your snack.

Oropesa is one of the most famous towns in Toledo. It is located just over an hour from the city and stands out for its medieval character, thanks to its historical and architectural heritage. One of the main monuments is the Count's palace and the castle of Oropesa, an architectural ensemble dating from the 14th and 16th centuries.

It is in the castle of the town where the traditional Oropesa Winter Market is held, which normally takes place in December. The event occupies the different rooms of the castle, as well as the parade ground of the medieval enclosure.

Throughout this space, you will find different craft stalls where you can buy pieces of jewelry, as well as decorative items or typical gastronomic products of Castilla La Mancha.

A great way to escape the cold and at the same time enjoy a cultural session is to go to the theater. The great theater of Toledo is the Teatro de Rojas, which is located in the historic center of the city, in the Plaza Mayor. It has a capacity of 464 seats and it shows all kinds of plays, as well as opera, dance and cinema.

On the other hand, the famous Rojas Theater also hosts concerts and different events of importance to the city. During the winter months, the Classical Theater Cycle takes place, in which you can enjoy plays of this category.

During these months, also takes place the Cycle of Theater and Dance in Family, a set of theatrical and musical works designed for all ages. This is a great plan to do with the whole family and with which children can be entertained while learning.

As you know, Toledo is a very rich city artistically and culturally speaking. Much of the heritage in this sense is found in the museums of the City of the Three Cultures. There are many museums in Toledo, so you have a plan for several days of your winter visit to the city. These types of plans are ideal to do in winter, as you can enrich yourself culturally, while protecting yourself from the cold and rain.

One of the most famous is the Museum of Santa Cruz, which is located in what was once the hospital of Santa Cruz. This hospital was built in the 15th century and was founded by Cardinal Mendoza. One of the most striking features of the architectural ensemble is its beautiful Renaissance staircase.

On the sides of the museum you can see the bullet impacts it suffered during the Spanish Civil War. At the time, the hospital of the Santa Cruz was built to provide shelter for orphaned children who previously attended the cathedral itself.

Today, in this beautiful building full of history, you can discover impressive works by El Greco, as well as different rooms dedicated to archeology. The museum is open from Monday to Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., approximately. On Sundays, the opening hours are only in the morning.

Other museums in Toledo

Beyond the Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo also has other cultural spaces of great importance. One of them is the Army Museum, which is located in the Alcázar of Toledo, sharing space with the Regional Library.

The Alcazar is located in the highest part of the city and has its origins in Roman times. During the Visigothic period it underwent certain modifications, as well as under the reigns of Alfonso VI and Alfonso X the Wise, when the fortress was turned into an Alcazar.

The museum occupies both the Alcazar and a modern building, which are joined through the archaeological remains found during construction. The Alcazar area is divided into 13 thematic rooms for permanent exhibitions. On the other hand, in the other building, temporary exhibitions are shown. The Army Museum is open from **10 a.m. to 5 p.**m., practically every day of the year.

On the other hand, in the church of San Román, a beautiful Mudejar style temple from the 13th century, is the Museum of the Councils and Visigothic Culture. Beyond the church itself, which is a treasure in itself, the museum contains a reproduction of the well-known treasure of Guarrazar, which was found in the municipality of Guadamur. If you want to know this and other curiosities, I recommend a tour of the city with a local guide.

If you go in December to Toledo, you will be pleased to know that you will have the opportunity to attend the Sweet Fair. This event has been held since 2017 and takes place at the San Marcos Cultural Center. This building was built in the 13th century, although its shape evolved, until it finally became what it is today.

Throughout its history, it has gone from being an infantry barracks to different municipal dependencies. However, the San Marcos Cultural Center suffered heavy damage during the Spanish Civil War, so it was completely emptied. Today it is used as a venue for exhibitions and events.

The Feria del Dulce is undoubtedly the perfect excuse to visit this place. There are 7 convents and 10 bakeries that participate in the fair, putting on sale typical sweets of the town and more specifically of the Christmas period.

There is no better excuse to warm up than a good hot dish. Toledo's gastronomy is nationally recognized for the exquisite flavors of its dishes. Therefore, I recommend that you take a gastronomic tour of the city, in which you can learn about the most typical recipes of Toledo in winter. Among all the typical dishes of this season, the Castilian soup, also known as garlic soup, stands out.

This dish consists of a broth with eggs, bread, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and olive oil. You can try it in the most typical bars and taverns of the city. I also recommend that you try the lamb stew, a very popular recipe in Castilla la Mancha and is usually made with wood fire. To top it off, give the pickled partridge a try. In this recipe, the partridge meat is cooked with vinegar, which gives it a different and very pleasant texture.

Take advantage of the winter to get in the car with the heating and head to some of the most beautiful villages in the province. The truth is that the province of Toledo has countless towns of great beauty, so I can not mention them all. However, I am going to recommend some of the most important ones.

The first of them is Consuegra, which is characterized by its La Mancha windmills and is part of the route of the Mills of Don Quixote. Among the monuments that stand out in Consuegra, I can mention the castle of La Muela, which has its origins in the Muslim period and was later ceded to the Order of San Juan.

It is also advisable to stroll through the historic center, where you will find the Clock Tower, the Town Hall and the Plaza de España.

Speaking of windmills and Don Quixote, I cannot leave behind El Toboso, a municipality nationally known for being the birthplace of the famous Dulcinea. In this town you can visit the house where Ana Martínez Zarco de Morales lived, the woman who inspired Miguel de Cervantes to give life to his character.