Alcazar Fortress/Museum (Toledo, Spain) – UNESCO site

The Alcazar has an interesting history, having changed hands and purposes many times over the centuries.

What is now the Alcazar was originally built as a Roman palace in the 3rd century.  It was rebuilt as a fortress in the 10th century because of its advantageous positioning at the peak of the hill in Toledo.

In the mid-1500s, it was restored to be a residence for Charles I  of Spain. Later, the royal family moved to Madrid and it became a military academy.

It was damaged during the Spanish Civil War when the Alcazar was under siege.  Surviving damaged pieces of the building are on display in the museum it has become.

Now it continues serving Spain as a military and history museum. It contains the requisite suits of armor, uniforms, and medals, that any military museum would have. But as a nice touch it also has toy soldier displays Oddly, it also has a full-size tent held in its interior.

The best part of it for me though was the historical section. Here, signs explain much of Spain’s history (in English too).  Depending on how much you are enthralled by beautiful armor, and detailed historic displays, you can spend between 2 and 5 hours here easily.

One unusual part of the Alcazar has a suspended walkway with see-through panels. It allows you to walk over the ruins of an old Moorish building, with the requisite markers about what the features are or are thought to be.

For more on Toledo (and Madrid), Rick Steves has a book on them:

Click here for more info on Toledo.