Third Trip with Kids to Spain: Toledo

Toledo, the capital of Spain at its zenith, is located 70 kilometers south of Madrid and is the capital of both Castile-La Mancha autonomous community and the Province of Toledo, with a population of about 50,000. We took the high-speed train to Toledo in the early morning, and the glass roof and curtain walls of Madrid Atocha Railway Station were beautifully enchanting in the dawn light. ✅ Must note: It's best to drive with kids, and pay attention to two things when renting a car: choose an automatic transmission, and make sure the car is not too big, or rather, narrower, 1.8 meters at most. 👍 Highly recommended: In the not-so-large old town, with its ups and downs, lefts and rights, you can reach every corner by foot. There are plenty of places to sit down and rest, and many attractive shops that keep you moving, always something drawing you to explore. The streets in the town are narrow and sloping, crisscrossing like a spider web. Along the streets, there are shops, inns, taverns, and cafés, one after another. There are no modern buildings here, all are genuinely antique and old, and perhaps because it's the off-season for tourism, once you step off the main street, it becomes quiet and quaint, as if you've stepped back into the Middle Ages. 📝 Note tips: Head straight from the train station to the lookout point outside the city. It's a walk of over half an hour, and there isn't actually a designated lookout point, just a spot along the river road on a high place, with a small bar next to it. 👍 Highly recommended: See picture two The best view of Toledo must be from this lookout point on the opposite side of the river outside the city, which faces the old town and offers a panoramic view of Toledo. From here, the beauty of the entire city is in full view. Bathed in the warm winter sun of the Iberian Peninsula, it's exceptionally enchanting and breathtakingly beautiful. 🧳 Pre-trip preparation: Many people refer to Toledo as a small town or ancient town, but in reality, Toledo is not small at all; it is a true historic city of Europe, an ancient capital for a thousand years. It was occupied by the Romans in 192 BC. In 527 AD, the Visigoths ruled Spain and made it their capital. In 711, it was conquered by the Moors. After King Alfonso VI of Castile recaptured the city in 1085, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Castile and the national religious center. In 1561, Philip II moved the capital to Madrid, and Toledo declined from then on, but its religious status remained unchanged, and it is still the seat of the Cardinal Archbishop of Spain to this day. It is evident that Toledo was not only the political center of Spain for a long time but also remains its religious center to this day. Moreover, Toledo is a complete and living ancient city.