Tourist Bracelet with Entry to 7 Monuments Toledo

Toledo, the City of Three Cultures

Toledo stands on a rocky hill wrapped by a deep bend of the Tagus River, about 70 kilometres south of Madrid. For centuries Christians, Muslims and Jews lived side by side here, and the city's mosques, synagogues and churches tell that shared story better than anywhere else in Spain. The whole old town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

The bracelet links seven of these monuments in one self-guided route through narrow, steep lanes. Most visitors on a Toledo day trip from Madrid arrive by high-speed train in about half an hour or by road in around an hour, and with the bracelet you can spend your day walking between sights instead of queuing at ticket windows.

Mosque of Cristo de la Luz

The Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, known in Arabic as Bab al-Mardum, is the best-preserved building from Toledo's Islamic period. An inscription in brick on its facade records that it was completed in 999. Inside, four columns support nine small bays, each crowned by a different ribbed dome, a miniature version of the great mosque architecture of al-Andalus.

After the city passed to Christian rule it became a church and gained a Mudéjar apse decorated with Romanesque wall paintings. Set in a small terraced garden beside the old Puerta del Sol gate, it takes about 20 minutes to visit and is one of the most photographed corners of Toledo, especially in the late afternoon light.

Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca

Santa María la Blanca was built around the end of the twelfth century as a synagogue for Toledo's Jewish community, by craftsmen trained in the Islamic tradition. The result is unique: five aisles separated by rows of white horseshoe arches resting on octagonal pillars, with capitals carved in delicate pinecone and scroll patterns.

It was later converted into a church, which explains its Christian name, and today it stands as one of the oldest synagogue buildings in Europe. The calm white interior is a highlight of any visit to the Jewish quarter of Toledo, and it lies only a few steps from the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, so the two are easily seen together.

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

The Franciscan Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes was founded in 1477 by the Catholic Monarchs to celebrate a military victory, and it was first planned as their burial place. It is the finest example of the Isabelline Gothic style, with stone lace, royal coats of arms and carved heraldic eagles throughout the church. The church interior is light and lofty.

The two-storey cloister is the highlight: Gothic tracery below, a Mudéjar coffered ceiling above and a garden of orange trees in the centre. On the outer walls hang iron chains of Christian captives freed during the wars in Andalusia. Allow 40 minutes, and do not miss the upper gallery views of the courtyard.

Church of Santo Tomé and its famous painting

The Church of Santo Tomé, with its slender Mudéjar brick tower from the fourteenth century, holds one of the most admired paintings of the Spanish Renaissance: The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, completed in 1586 for this very chapel. The huge canvas shows a local nobleman being laid to rest by two saints, while heaven opens above the mourners.

The painting is displayed in its own chapel, where it was always meant to hang, and visitors come from all over the world to see it. Queues can form at busy times, so it is worth coming early in the day. Santo Tomé tickets are included in the bracelet, so you simply show your wrist at the entrance.

El Salvador, the Jesuits and the Noble Maidens

The Church of El Salvador was built over a former mosque and keeps some of its horseshoe arches, along with a rare Visigothic pillar carved with scenes from the life of Christ. Nearby, the Baroque Church of the Jesuits, dedicated to Toledo's patron saint Ildefonso, has twin towers you can climb for one of the best panoramic views over the city's rooftops, the cathedral and the Tagus valley.

The Royal College of Noble Maidens was founded in the mid-sixteenth century to house and educate young women, and its cloister, chapel and historic rooms show how the institution lived for centuries. Together these three visits complete the bracelet route and reveal the city's Christian, Islamic and Renaissance layers.