Architectural wonders of Cuenca and Toledo

24.07.2024 - 19:39 / lonelyplanet.com

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Jul 24, 2024 • 7 min read

The historic cities of Cuenca and Toledo, both within easy reach of Madrid, are replete with some of Spain’s most striking centuries-old architectural treasures.

Toledo beguiles with its labyrinth of cobbled, hilly lanes, its Alcazar fortress, Renaissance and Gothic churches, Moorish mosques and synagogues hinting at past glories. Cuenca, dramatically hemmed in by the deep gorges of the Huécar and Júcar rivers, is surrounded by mountainous countryside. Besides its enchanting mix of Gothic, Baroque and medieval architecture, it is renowned for its casas colgadas – balconied abodes that dangle over one of the gorges.

Come with us as we take a walking tour of these jewels of Castilla La Mancha. To experience them at their best, it pays to visit on a weekday, and to linger overnight, once the day trippers have gone home.

In Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its evocative medieval buildings are packed into the rambling, narrow casco histórico (medieval city center) that sits on a steep promontory, bookended by river gorges. Begin your exploration at the Plaza Mayor; it is overlooked by the Baroque arches of the ayuntamiento (town hall) and the deceptively old-looking, neo-Gothic cathedral, built on the ruins of an 11th-century mosque, its present incarnation dating to 1902. Look out for its magnificent Renaissance doorway, abstract stained-glass windows and the intricate artesanado (wooden) ceiling in the chapter house.

Follow the dog-leg Calle Canónigos east of the plaza to Cuenca’s most famous attraction: the gabled casas colgadas (hanging houses), dating from the 14th century, that jut out precariously over the Río Huécar gorge. Continue downhill to the Puente de San Pablo footbridge for the best views of these extraordinary houses that seem to emerge from the rock like organic parts of the cliff, then retrace your steps.

One of the casas colgadas houses the artistic highlight of Cuenca – the Museo de Arte Abstracto, founded in the 1960s, and its airy galleries display an excellent collection of ethereal abstract canvases of Fernando Zóbel (the museum’s founder), thought-provoking pieces by Basque luminaries Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida and Néstor Basterretxea, and mixed-media paintings by Catalan heavyweight Antoni Tàpies.

From Plaza Mayor, take Calle San Pedro north to the Iglesia de San Pedro, Cuenca’s oldest church, though its current incarnation is from the 18th century. Highlights include its handsome Baroque façade, a coffered Mudéjar ceiling in one of the chapels, and the opportunity to scale the lofty belltower (former minaret) for stellar views of Cuenca. Next door is the labyrinthine 17th century Carmelite convent that houses the Fundación Antonio Pérez, a