Alcázar of Segovia

The Alcázar of Segovia sits on a rocky spur above the meeting point of the Eresma and Clamores rivers, with the prow shape that gives it a famous silhouette and the look of a ship pointing down the valley. It forms part of the Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct, which UNESCO named a World Heritage Site in 1985. People often suggest it inspired the castle in Disney’s Snow White, though that connection is a popular story rather than a documented fact.

A fortress stood here long before the present building, though the early history is poorly documented, and whether it began with a Roman fort is uncertain. The structure that visitors see developed mainly from the twelfth century, when Segovia was a favoured seat of the kings of Castile, and many monarchs added to it. Alfonso X, known as the Wise, held court and worked on astronomy and law here. In 1474 Isabella was proclaimed queen of Castile in Segovia, and she set out from the city to claim her throne. Philip II, among the Spanish kings who used it, later married his fourth wife, Anna of Austria, in the Alcázar in 1570. Over time the building also served as a state prison.

In the 1760s Charles III established the Royal Artillery College in the building, which gave it a military function for generations. A fire in 1862 destroyed much of the roofs and upper rooms, and the present towers and conical slate roofs come from a rebuilding in the later nineteenth century that followed older models, which accounts for the fairy-tale outline.

The interior of the Alcázar, one of Spain’s best-known castles, combines Gothic, Mudéjar and Renaissance features. The Hall of Kings, with its painted frieze of Castilian and Leonese monarchs and a rich coffered ceiling, is among the showpieces. Other rooms, including the Throne Room and the Hall of the Galley with its elaborate ceiling, hold tapestries, furniture and paintings, and the Armory has displays of weapons and armour. The Tower of John II can be climbed for a long view over the city’s rooftops, the cathedral, and the plain of Castile to the Guadarrama mountains.

Segovia lies north west of Madrid and is easy to reach by train or bus for a day trip. Pair this with the Segovia Aqueduct and the Segovia Cathedral, both in the old town. Opening hours and ticket prices are on the official site.