10 Things to Do in Toledo in Winter

Toledo is one of the most beautiful and impressive cities in Spain. With centuries and centuries of history, the capital of La Mancha attracts numerous tourists at any time of the year. During the winter, it offers a wide and varied range of activities to suit all tastes.

If you are going to the City of Three Cultures in winter and don't know what are the best things to do in Toledo, read on. Here you'll find fun and wintry activities to take shelter from the rain or forget about the cold.

From the end of November to the beginning of January, Toledo's Town Hall Square is decorated with different stalls for the Christmas Fair. So, if your visit to the City of the Three Cultures coincides with these dates, I recommend you come and take a look at this event.

You'll find food stalls with typical Christmas sweets and other local products, as well as nativity scenes, craft stalls with costume jewellery and decorations, fun activities for families and children's workshops for the youngest members of the family. In addition to all of the above, the fair has a carousel where you can have fun with the children.

You can make this plan as part of a tour, to better organise your trip to the city. There are many tours or routes that you can take in Toledo to get to know its history and culture, all of them with their own charm.

Take advantage of the cold winter in Toledo to do one of the most typical winter plans: ice skating. Every year, the Toledo City Council sets up an ice rink so that the city's residents and tourists can enjoy themselves during these months of the year. Depending on the year, the ice rink is placed in one place or another.

Generally, the location is in the fairgrounds of La Peraleda, although in other years it has been located in the Town Hall square. The rink has a sound system and a skate rental shop. In addition, there is a skating club that watches over the visitors for safety.

Beyond this rink, there is also another ice rink in the famous La Vega park, which is located between the Bisagra gate and the Tavera hospital. You can stroll through the park and even visit the famous Casa del corcho, a 19th century house designed by the architect Ramiro Amador de los Ríos.

Another of the best things to do in winter in Toledo is to visit the Arab baths and spas in the city. This way, you will be able to warm up and enjoy a relaxing moment at the same time.

The most famous Arab baths in Toledo are those of Medina Mudéjar, which are located in Plaza de Santa Eulalia 1, next to the church of the Jesuits and the convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. It is an original Arab bath, which preserves an Islamic wall from the 12th century, as well as the cisterns and the authentic tiles of the building.

The Medina Mudejar Arab bath has several pools at different temperatures, as well as a massage service and a Turkish bath. It also has a patio where you can have tea. Without a doubt, this is a magnificent way to escape the cold while at the same time teleporting you back to the time of the Arab conquest of Toledo.

The best spas in Toledo

On the other hand, you can also go to one of the best spas in the city, the Domus Aurea. It is located in the Hotel Comendador, on Calle Serranillos. Here you can enjoy a wellness experience, which you can complete with a hydrothermal circuit, relaxing massages or facials.

Another highlight is the Beatriz Toledo Auditorium spa, which belongs to the hotel of the same name. This spa is located closer to the centre of the City of Three Cultures, on Calle Concilios de Toledo.

If you're going to Toledo in December, you'll be pleased to know that you'll have the chance to attend the Feria del Dulce (Sweets Fair). This event has been held since 2017 and takes place in the San Marcos Cultural Centre. This building was built in the 13th century, although its shape evolved until it finally became what it is today.

Throughout its history, it has gone from being an infantry barracks to different municipal buildings. However, the San Marcos Cultural Centre was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War and was completely emptied. Today it is used as a venue for exhibitions and events.

The Feria del Dulce is undoubtedly the perfect excuse to visit this place. There are 7 convents and 10 bakeries taking part in the fair, offering typical local sweets for sale, especially for the Christmas period.

There is no more typical Spanish wintertime treat than a snack of churros with chocolate. As you can imagine, there are many churros shops in the city. In some of the best parks in Toledo, you'll find kiosks where you can buy churros with chocolate while you stroll around and enjoy the greenery. Without a doubt, this is an ideal plan to do with young children in Toledo.

Apart from these stalls, Toledo has a churrería par excellence: the Catalino kiosk. This establishment is located next to the Puerta de Bisagra, one of the main tourist attractions in the City of Three Cultures.

Important figures from the Spanish political sphere have visited the Catalino kiosk to taste its famous churros with chocolate. The establishment has a terrace with chairs and tables where you can sit and savour your snack.

Oropesa is one of the most famous towns in Toledo. It is located just over an hour from the city and stands out for its medieval character, thanks to its historical and architectural heritage. One of the main monuments is the Count's palace and castle of Oropesa, an architectural ensemble dating from the 14th and 16th centuries.

It is in the town's castle that the traditional Oropesa Winter Market is held, which normally takes place in December. The event occupies the different rooms of the castle, as well as the parade ground of the medieval enclosure.

Throughout this space, you will find different craft stalls where you can buy pieces of costume jewellery, as well as decorative items and typical gastronomic products from Castile-La Mancha.

A great way to escape the cold and at the same time enjoy a session of culture is to go to the theatre. The great theatre of Toledo is the Teatro de Rojas, which is located in the historic centre of the city, in the Plaza Mayor. It has a seating capacity of 464 and hosts all kinds of plays, as well as opera, dance and cinema.

On the other hand, the famous Teatro de Rojas also hosts concerts and different events of importance to the city. During the winter months, the Classical Theatre Cycle takes place, in which you can enjoy theatrical works of this category.

During these months, the Ciclo de Teatro y Danza en Familia also takes place, a series of theatrical and musical works designed for all ages. This is a great plan to do with the whole family, where children can be entertained and learn at the same time.

As you already know, Toledo is a very rich city in artistic and cultural terms. Much of the heritage in this sense can be found in the museums of the City of the Three Cultures. There are many museums in Toledo, so you can plan for several days of your winter visit to the city. These types of plans are ideal for winter, as you can enrich yourself culturally, while at the same time protecting yourself from the cold and rain.

One of the most famous is the Museum of Santa Cruz, which is located in what was once the hospital of Santa Cruz. This hospital was built in the 15th century and was founded by Cardinal Mendoza. One of the most striking features of the architectural ensemble is its beautiful Renaissance staircase.

On the sides of the museum you can see the bullet holes it suffered during the Spanish Civil War. At the time, the Santa Cruz hospital was built to provide shelter for orphaned children previously cared for by the cathedral itself.

Today, in this beautiful building full of history, you can discover impressive works by El Greco, as well as different rooms dedicated to archaeology. The museum is open from Monday to Saturday, from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm, approximately. On Sundays, the museum is only open in the morning.

Other museums in Toledo

In addition to the Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo also has other important cultural spaces. One of them is the Army Museum, which is located in the Alcázar of Toledo, sharing space with the Regional Library.

The Alcázar is located in the highest part of the city and has its origins in Roman times. During the Visigothic period it underwent certain modifications, as well as under the reigns of Alfonso VI and Alfonso X the Wise, a period in which the fortress was turned into an Alcazar.

The museum occupies both the Alcázar and a modern building, which are linked by the archaeological remains found during construction. The Alcazar area is divided into 13 thematic rooms for permanent exhibitions. The other building, on the other hand, displays temporary exhibitions. The Army Museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm, practically every day of the year.

On the other hand, the Church of San Román, a beautiful 13th century Mudejar-style temple, houses the Museum of Councils and Visigothic Culture. Apart from the church itself, which is a treasure in itself, the museum contains a reproduction of the well-known treasure of Guarrazar, which was found in the municipality of Guadamur. If you want to discover this and other curiosities, I recommend a tour of the town with a local guide.

If you go to Toledo in December, you'll be pleased to know that you'll have the chance to attend the Toledo Sweet Fair. This event has been held since 2017 and takes place in the San Marcos Cultural Centre. This building was built in the 13th century, although its shape evolved until it finally became what it is today.

Throughout its history, it has gone from being an infantry barracks to different municipal buildings. However, the San Marcos Cultural Centre was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War and was completely emptied. Today it is used as a venue for exhibitions and events.

The Feria del Dulce is undoubtedly the perfect excuse to visit this place. There are 7 convents and 10 bakeries taking part in the fair, offering typical local sweets for sale, especially for the Christmas period.

There is no better excuse to warm up than a good hot dish. Toledo's gastronomy is nationally renowned for the exquisite flavours of its dishes. For this reason, I recommend you take a gastronomic tour of the city, where you can discover the most typical recipes of Toledo in winter. Of all the typical dishes of this time of year, the most outstanding is Castilian soup, also known as garlic soup.

This dish consists of a broth with eggs, bread, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and olive oil. You can try it in the most typical bars and taverns in the city. I also recommend you try the lamb stew, a very popular recipe in Castile-La Mancha, which is usually cooked over a wood fire. To top it all off, give pickled partridge a try. In this recipe, the partridge meat is cooked in vinegar, which gives it a different and very pleasant texture.

Make the most of the winter to get in the car with the heating on and head for some of the prettiest villages in the province. The truth is that the province of Toledo has countless towns and villages of great beauty, so I can't mention them all. However, I am going to recommend some of the most important ones.

The first of these is Consuegra, which is characterised by its La Mancha windmills and forms part of the route of the Windmills of Don Quixote. Among the monuments that stand out in Consuegra is the castle of La Muela, which dates back to the Muslim period and was later ceded to the Order of San Juan.

You should also take a stroll through the historic quarter, where you will find the Clock Tower, the Town Hall and the Plaza de España square.

Speaking of windmills and Don Quixote, I can't leave behind El Toboso, a municipality nationally known for being the birthplace of the famous Dulcinea. In this village you can visit the house where Ana Martínez Zarco de Morales lived, the woman who inspired Miguel de Cervantes to bring his character to life.