After being a military trading centre under the Roman Empire, Segovia lived its golden age during the Middle Ages, when it became the place of residence of the court of the Trastámaras and an important centre for cattlebreeding and textiles. This period was responsible for the construction of a large number of Romanesque buildings, a wealth of heritage that is still conserved today.

Inside the city are important medieval and Renaissance buildings, such as the Casa de los Picos, the Corn Exchange or the Tower of los Lozoya.

On our way to the Plaza Mayor and the Cathedral, called "the grand lady of cathedrals", don't miss the Medina del Campo square, the church of San Martín, where Mozarab, Romanesque and Mudejar elements are spread around the series of arches and capitals. The old Segovian Jewish quarter must have been in an area near the city walls since the Convent of Corpus Christi is built over a former synagogue. San Miguel, incidentally, was the place chosen for the coronation of Isabel the Catholic Monarch as the Queen of Castile.

A short distance away from the arcaded Plaza Mayor we find one of the last gothic buildings to be constructed in Spain, the Cathedral. Started in the XVI century in flamboyant Gothic, in its execution are some pieces of the old cathedral such as a gothic Hispano Flemish cloister, the choirstalls and the main façade. More recent additions are the San Frutos gate, the apse, the high reredos (a work by Sabatini in the baroque style) and the Neoclassic retrochoir by Ventura Rodríguez. In the side chapels we can observe sculptures by Juan de Juni and Gregorio Hernández. These names belong to some of the greatest craftsmen of the Spanish baroque and neoclassic periods. The Cathedral Museum also offers us a large collection of religious art from various periods of history.

The los Caballeros quarter is also inside the city. Here you can find luxurious large houses and palaces belonging to noble families such as the palaces of Floresta, Count Cheste or Uceda-Peralta. Numerous Romanesque churches can be found in this quarter, such as the church of San Juan de los Caballeros (which houses the Zuloaga Museum), San Nicolás (now the Municipal Theatre Workshop) or San Esteban, a XIII century building whose tower and atrium are one of the jewels of late Spanish Romanesque. Among the beautiful displays of medieval military architecture, such as the Hércules Tower and the Arias Dávila Tower, is the church of la Trinidad, one of the best preserved vestiges of Romanesque in the city.

At one end of this walled enclosure is the profile of the Alcazar fortress behind the Queen Victoria Eugenia gardens (this is where the old cathedral was located). On the outside is the impressive group formed by an 80 metre high tower with twelve more smaller towers, and a moat for defence. Several courtyards, halls and rooms can be visited, and you can even go up to the top of the crenellated tower and admire the Segovian landscape.

Any point in the province is a good place to try Segovian cusine. La Granja broad beans, Castilian soup (made from garlic and bread) and roast lamb and suckling pig, are added to calderetas (meat stews) and game dishes. Cantimpalo spicy sausage is well known as is ponche Segovian (a typical cake). Designation of Origin wines from the Ribera del Duero will accompany these delicious dishes.

The restaurant at the Parador in Segovia offers us a wide menu from which we can try some of these dishes, prepared in a wood oven. Its modern facilites offer us one of the best views in the city.

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Marketing intern at Barcelonapoint.