Ciudad Real

Introduction

Ciudad Real is a city in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, in central Spain. It is the capital of the province of Ciudad Real and has a population of about 75,000.

Sights and Activities

The Plaza Mayor sits in the centre of Ciudad Real. Today, only two parts of the wall that surrounded the city in medieval times remain standing.

Don Quixote's Museum is situated next to Parque de Gasset.

The Museo Elisa Cendreros exhibits an old collection of fans and carved wood.

The Iglesia de Santiago is the oldest church in Ciudad Real. It was built at the end of the 13th century. Its style is Gothic. It has three blocks divided into two parts. It is decorated with gothic paintings and with seven-headed dragons, which were used such us amulets against the bad spirits. The ceiling is decorated with stones forming eight pointed stars.

Another important church in Ciudad Real is Iglesia de San Pedro (Church of Saint Peter). It is the most interesting and typical monument of the city. It was built during the 14th and 15th centuries. Its style is Gothic, and it houses the tomb of Chante de Coca, confessor and chaplain of the Catholic Monarchs. In the year 1420 the King of Castile and León, Juan the II, gave him the title to Ciudad Real (Royal Town).

Ciudad Real Cathedral, built in the 16th century, has the second-largest nave in Spain and a magnificent Baroque altarpiece.

Events and Festivals

One of the most popular festivals in the city is La Pandorga, which takes place July 30 and 31. On the last day of the month the festival honours its patroness, La Virgen del Prado. The usual attire of the participants consists of jeans, a white shirt, and the traditional handkerchief.

Weather

The city features a cold semi-arid climate, with cool winters and very hot summers. The autumn is the season when most of precipitation falls.

Getting There

By Plane

Currently, there are no flights to Ciudad Real.

By Train

Frequent trains run to and from Madrid and less frequently to Almagro. There is direct connection by bullet train (AVE) with Madrid.

By Bus

A few buses a day run to and from Madrid, Almagro, Jaén and Valdepenas.

Eat

Tapas bars are plentiful near the Plaza San Francisco, Plaza del Torreon, and Plaza Mayor, serving regional specialties (pisto manchego) and national favorites (tortilla espanola). Thursday through Saturday nights, the Plaza del Torreon fills with young people drinking the hours away until the discos open around 3:00am.

Sleep

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is widely available within Spain. Most airports have wifi-zones and in most towns there are internet cafés or shops where you can use internet for a fixed price. Wi-Fi points in bars and cafeterias are available after ordering, and most hotels offer Wi-Fi connection in common areas for their guests.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international access code for Spain is +34. The emergency number for police, ambulance and the fire brigade is 112.

In cities you can find plenty of public phones, and 'locutorios'. The latter are small shops where you can use the phone and use internet. Most of them also sell prepaid cards for mobile telephones. These shops are used a lot by foreigners to call to their mother country.

The main mobile network operators in Spain are Yoigo, Vodafone, Movistar and Orange, as in most of Europe voice and data coverage is generally good in urban areas however it can be patchy in rural locations. Cheap mobile phones (less than €50) with some pre-paid minutes are sold at FNAC or any phone operator's shop (Vodafone, Movistar, Orange). Topping-up is then done by buying scratch cards from the small stores, supermarkets, vending points (often found in tobacco shops) or kiosks.

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times will vary according to the size of the city/town and the main post offices might be open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages. Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78. If you want to send a package you are probably better off with a private courier company like TNT, DHL or UPS, as they offer quick and reliable services against competitive prices.

External Links

• Official Website