Alcázar has been known since the 60’s of the last century as the “Heart of La Mancha” and has developed a vocation to welcome and charm those who visit us. There are ten reasons for this:
1. Getting to Alcázar is very easy from any corner of Spain, and even from abroad.
We have a privileged location, in the center of the Peninsula, just an hour and a half from Madrid. There are several means of transportation to reach Alcázar. The good connection with highways such as the A4, the A3 or the CM42 make the car one of the most used options. You can also choose the bus option, with direct links to Madrid, Toledo and Ciudad Real. And, of course, the train. Alcazar has always been an important railway hub in the connections with Andalusia and Levante, so the number of daily trains connecting with the city is very large.
Show more content2. Overnight stays in the city are a feasible option for all tastes and budgets.
We have an extensive and varied hotel offer with more than 600 beds, distributed in two, three and four star hotels, as well as hostels, rural houses or charming lodgings. In addition, we have a new motorhome area within the city, five minutes from the historic center, fully equipped.
3. Alcazar is a Quality destination
The destination is immersed in continuous improvement in the provision of tourism services. Not in vain, Alcazar is a QUALITY destination, distinguished by the Secretary of State for Tourism as a SICTED destination, positioning us as the second destination of Castilla-La Mancha in terms of number of quality companies (35 establishments), after Toledo capital.
4. Alcazar is Cervantes
The link between the city and the author of Don Quixote is immemorial, inspiring….. and controversial. In the Church of Santa Maria a baptismal certificate is preserved in the name of Miguel, son of Blas de Cervantes Saavedra and Catalina Lopez, dated November 9, 1558. This document was found in 1748 by Blas Antonio de Nasarre, the King’s chief librarian, who noted in the margin of the document “this was the author of the Historia de don Quixote“. The whole city is impregnated with the Cervantine spirit as can be discovered by strolling through its streets and squares, encountering statues, tiles and streets that evoke both Don Quixote’s novel and its author. In Alcázar you can see inside and out the windmills (even attend a traditional milling) or visit the Museo Casa del Hidalgo, where you can discover in an entertaining and interactive way how was the life of the noblemen who inspired Cervantes when he created the character of Don Quixote of La Mancha.
5. Alcazar is History and Heritage
Alcazar is not only welcoming in our times. It has always been. In fact, we have vestiges and a rich heritage left by the different civilizations that settled in this land:
- Archaeological sites of prehistoric times
- Spectacular mosaics of the Romans
- A medieval fortified palace complex, which explains the establishment of the military order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem.
- Manor houses, churches and convents, all with a Cervantine air, from the XVI and XVII centuries.
- Wineries, railroad museum, modernist facades …. That recall the 19th century with the arrival of the railroad and the corresponding development of the wine industry.
Alcázar has 10 elements of its heritage declared as Cultural Interest Assets, with 4 visitable churches of different architectural styles, with 6 museums and public interpretation centers of first level, and 5 private museums of different themes: ceramics, painting, railroad, wine, Manchegan costume, etc., in addition to many other very interesting heritage resources.
6. Alcazar is Nature
Alcazar is in the heart of the plains of La Mancha. Watching the sunset at the Cerro de los Molinos is a unique experience. As singular is to speak of our municipality has different wetlands such as the Lagoon Complex, consisting of 695 hectares that are part of the Biosphere Reserve of La Mancha Húmeda (declared by UNESCO), as well as Special Protection Area for Birds, Wildlife Refuge and Protected Area of Castilla – La Mancha.
It is the habitat of numerous animal species and birds of passage that can be observed at different times of the year such as storks, herons, ducks, flamingos or cranes; as well as invertebrates and unique plants in the Iberian Peninsula such as some beetles and the limonium plant.
Another very interesting option is to make by bike the route to the Tablas del Záncara, also called natural space of the Junta de los Ríos Záncara y Gigüela.
In the urban area you can also enjoy the natural wealth of the Alces Park, Alcázar’s green lung where you can observe more than 300 species of plants and animals, or the diversity of butterflies that can be observed in different seasons. Another natural urban space is the Cervantes Park, where nature is intermingled with Don Quixote, as there are benches decorated with historical tiles that narrate different passages of the book.
7. Alcazar is Fiestas and Events all year round.
Alcázar offers activities every month of the year, or rather, every weekend, and visitors always find something to do in our city. There are cultural, tourist, religious and gastronomic activities for all tastes. Theater, music, festivals, painting contests, recitals, etc.
As the calendar of festivals and events is so extensive, here are just four examples:
The Carnavalcázar, a festival declared of national tourist interest for its originality, popular roots and artistic content, for its peculiar origin and the dates of celebration, since it is the last carnival of the year (in the dates of Christmas until December 28). It dates back to the late s. XIX.
The festival of Moors and Christians, declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest, is celebrated in June, for San Juan, which logically has much to do with the historical past of Alcazar de San Juan, Arab and Christian.
The Flavors Fair is a gastronomic and cultural event in which the quality and authenticity of the agri-food and artisan products of the Land of Don Quixote are extolled.
The Regional Wine Competition (100 are not wrong) aims to promote the quality of the wines produced in Castilla-La Mancha, as well as contributing to bring and extend the Wine Culture to the general population. The jury is composed of 1,000 people who are responsible for evaluating, through a blind tasting, the characteristics of wines from wineries throughout Castilla-La Mancha.
Other important events and festivals: The Qervantino Wine and Baptism Days, the Camacho Wedding Stew, the summer solstice, the Summer Stages, or the Heritage Night.
8. Alcazar is Gastronomy
All those who visit Alcázar will take with them not only photographs and memories of the city, but also the memory of the experience for the senses with its gastronomy. In addition to the tasty traditional dishes of La Mancha (ratatouille, porridge, pipirrana, wedding stew, lamb, duelos y quebrantos, lemon salad…), the wines, the Manchego cheese and the “tortas de Alcázar”, with which the “bizcochá”, a typical dessert from Alcazar, is made, stand out.
We can find stores specialized in these products and you can even visit factories and artisan producers. Getting to know the winemaking process, attending guided tastings or getting lost in the charm of the wineries is another of the tourist proposals in the heart of the largest vineyard in the world. Alcazar is part of the La Mancha Wine Route, a route that runs through the largest vineyard in the world, La Mancha and its plain. It is part of the Wine Routes of Spain Product Club.
9. Alcazar is Future
Everything that has been exposed is already available for those who visit us, but we continue working to improve the experience of the thousands and thousands of hearts that we expect.
10. Alcazar shelters ALL hearts.
Alcazar welcomes all visitors. We have created tourism products that will appeal to both young and old, whether you come as a couple, family or in organized groups. Whether they are motivated by gastronomic, ornithological, sports, literary, shopping or nature tourism. Or if they come for leisure or business reasons (congresses, conferences, exhibitions, etc.).
We want the experience to be enjoyed without the handicap of reduced mobility or pets.
Alcázar has several tourist service companies and official guides that offer activities of all kinds and for all budgets: horseback riding, horseback riding, hiking, nature trails, golf … can organize guided tours of different themes: Cervantine, Galdosian, modernist facades, mysteries and legends, dramatized routes, etc. for all ages and interests.
