Just 48 minutes away from the International Airport of Madrid, the capital of Spain, is Guadalajara, located in the autonomous community of Castilla – La Mancha. It is the capital of the Province of the same name.
Guadalajara enjoys a Mediterranean climate with continental influences for being well inland. Lying on the central part of the Iberian Peninsula at roughly 685 meters (2,247 ft) meters above sea level, the city straddles the Henares River.
Alleged identification with Arriaca
A Roman town called Arriaca, possibly founded by a pre-Roman culture, is known to have been located in that region.
It is the perfect destination for a multi-day getaway because there are not only things to see in Guadalajara city, but the province is just as interesting. Being located in the heart of the Iberian Peninsula, it has witnessed conflicts, conquests, reconquests and different artistic trends. The passage of time has left its mark on the city and the province in the form of buildings of great architectural value, works of art and natural landscapes that will leave you speechless.
Iberinbound iberinbound@iberinbound.com incoming travel agency in Mijas, Costa del Sol, specialized in Group tours if they are Educational, Students, Leisure , ad-hoc groups, Shorex, MICE, shows you some of the places of interest in Guadalajara city and in the surroundings.
Palace of the Infantado
It is one of the emblematic places to see in Guadalajara. It is a palace ordered by Iñigo López de Mendoza y Luna, second duke of the Infantado. And it is that in the history of the city, the Mendoza family has a leading role. In addition to nobles, they dedicated themselves to political life in Spain, and in Guadalajara they ordered buildings as important as this palace. It was built at the end of the 15th century in the Elizabethan Gothic style. Currently, it is the headquarters of the Historical Archive and the Provincial Museum of Guadalajara.
Convents of the Carmelites of San José and La Piedad
Two convents survive in the city: that of the Carmelites of San José, and that of La Piedad. The first was built in the 17th century by the architect Fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios and the master builder Jerónimo de Buega. Inside there are two important works: the Transverberation of Santa Teresa, from 1644, and the Three Carmelite Martyrs.
The convent of La Piedad is also known as Palacio de Antonio de Mendoza. It was built in the 16th century and renovated in the 19th century, changing the style of the building a little. As a convent it existed until 1836. Afterwards it has fulfilled different functions: noble palace, convent, headquarters of the Guadalajara Provincial Council, museum, prison and even the Institute of Secondary Education. A must see in Guadalajara.
Pantheon of the Countess
One of the places of interest to see in Guadalajara is the Pantheon of the Condesa de la Vega del Pozo and Duquesa de Sevillano. It was built between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th by order of María Diega Desmaissières y Sevillano, Countess de la Vega del Pozo and Duchess of Sevillano. He had it built in honor of his deceased relatives.
The pantheon has two floors and in the upper one there is a painting on wood of a forged christ and a monument in which the duchess is buried.
Alcazar Real de Guadalajara
As we said, Guadalajara is the reflection of the different cultures that have passed through the area. And an example of this is the Alcázar Real, a fortress of Andalusian origin to see in Guadalajara. It was built in the 9th century as an enclosure of more than one hectare. He intended to protect the entrance to the city and monitor the passage through the valley of the Henares River. With the passage of time it has fulfilled other functions and has been a royal palace, factory and military barracks.
The Beech Forest of Tejera Negra
If there is a beautiful place to see in Guadalajara province is the Hayedo de Tejera Negra, which is located in Cantalojas and is integrated into the Sierra Norte Natural Park.
The beech trees give the forest a fairytale atmosphere, and it is one of the best places to enjoy autumn in Spain. The ground is covered with moss and the boletus edulis grows, a very precious fungus.
In 2017 it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, making it one of the essential places to visit in Guadalajara.
The Route of Travel to La Alcarria
The region of La Alcarria, in Guadalajara, is the protagonist of Viaje a la Alcarria, one of the novels of the Nobel Prize for Literature Camilo José Cela. And around this travel novel a tourist and cultural itinerary has been created that you can find here. This route follows in the author’s footsteps during his trip through 22 towns of Guadalajara and is one of the best hiking routes in Spain. Camilo José Cela made the trip in 1946, published the novel two years later, and still constitutes an essential travel guide to get to know the area from his point of view.
Atienza
Another town to visit in Guadalajara is Atienza, one of the places to see in Castilla-La Mancha. In this Villa you can follow the steps of El Cid, Don Quixote and the Rural Romanesque Route also passes through its streets. It is, without a doubt, one of the places to see in Guadalajara for its important Romanesque buildings, traditional architecture buildings and the nature that surrounds it.
We recommend that you go up to the Torre del Homenaje to enjoy the best views in the area.
Brihuega
Brihuega is one of the towns to visit in Guadalajara that has gained more popularity in recent years. Especially thanks to its lavender fields (the name of the plant from which lavender is extracted), which have looked like never before on Instagram. It is no longer necessary to go to the French Provence to find hectares and hectares of that characteristic lilac color, if only a brief getaway is enough.
Brihuega has found a tourist attraction in this and in July, when the lavender blooms, the Lavender Festival is celebrated.
Sigüenza
We finish this list of places to see in Guadalajara with another essential: Sigüenza. In fact it is one of the essentials of Castilla-La Mancha.
This medieval town is full of interesting monuments and with a long history: the castle, which has been converted into a Parador, churches, squares and cobbled streets and its cathedral, which is quite an icon. The Cathedral of Santa María de Sigüenza is a mixture of styles: the nave, in Gothic; the Romanesque style access doors, and the towers, reminiscent of a fortress.
And if you get hungry, stop by the Convent of Poor Clares, where they make some delicious truffles that you can buy as a souvenir.