Things to do in Segovia
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Segovia
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall, warm days, green foothills and rivers in full flow, with Titirimundi and San Juan festivals.
Good with a midday rule, hot days around 30C but cool nights, sightsee early and resume at 18:00.
Best for culture and food, harvest light, mushroom season and Hay Festival in September.
Cold, quiet and atmospheric, near empty monuments and the cheapest hotel rates outside Christmas.
What's on
- Semana Santa Holy Week
Processions through the old town, solemn crowds, book hotels early.
- Titirimundi May
International puppet theatre festival filling streets, squares and courtyards for about a week.
- La Granja fountain display, San Fernando late May
Full fountain display at La Granja, confirm the year's calendar with Patrimonio Nacional.
- Fiestas de San Juan y San Pedro 23-29 June
Segovia's main local fiestas, concerts, fireworks on 29 June and the fullest hotels of summer.
- Folk Segovia late June / early July
Roots music festival in the city.
- Festival de Segovia MUSEG July
Classical and world music in historic courtyards.
- Noche de las Velas, Pedraza July
Pedraza lit only by thousands of candles with classical concerts, book access early.
- La Granja fountain display, Santiago and Santa Ana late July
Full fountain display at La Granja, confirm the year's calendar.
- La Granja fountain display, San Luis late August
Full fountain display at La Granja, confirm the year's calendar.
- Hay Festival Segovia mid/late September
Talks and ideas in churches, palaces and gardens, the city's most international weekend.
Best things to do in Segovia
Acueducto de Segovia
A 2000 year old Roman aqueduct of 167 granite arches you can walk up to and touch for free.
Alcázar de Segovia
A fairy tale fortress on a cliff prow, with royal rooms and a tower climb giving the best panorama in Segovia.
Catedral de Segovia
The last great Gothic cathedral built in Spain, light inside, with a bell tower view along the old town ridge.
Centro Didáctico de la Judería
A small, well made museum of Sephardic life in the former Jewish Quarter, paired with the San Andres gate and wall walk.
Puerta de San Andrés
The interpreted wall walk from this gate shows Segovia as a fortified hill town and is the least crowded hour in the centre.
Mirador de la Pradera de San Marcos
The definitive postcard view of the Alcazar, best at sunset, linked with the Canaleja and Postigo viewpoints on a free walk.
Real Casa de Moneda de Segovia
A 16th century water powered mint with the Aqueduct Interpretation Centre, paired with the shaded Eresma river walk.
Casa-Museo Antonio Machado
The preserved boarding house where Machado lived from 1919 to 1932, an easy stop on a Romanesque churches walk.
Where to stay in Segovia
Centro Historico, Plaza Mayor and Calle Real
first trip, all round base
Sleep above the paseo, eat cochinillo within 300 metres and walk aqueduct to Alcazar in 20 minutes.
Jewish Quarter and Alcazar end
romance and quiet
Lanes, gardens and sunset light at the calm western tip, in exchange for ten extra minutes to the aqueduct.
Azoguejo and San Millan
value and food
Below the aqueduct, more local and better value, with more mesones and tapas bars per euro and a short climb to the old town.
Parador hill
drivers and a second night
The panoramic skyline view, pool, gardens and free parking, in exchange for driving or a long uphill walk into the centre.
Think twice about
- Segovia-Guiomar station district and Valverde del Majano
The high speed station sits 6 km out in open countryside, leaving you dependent on the shuttle bus for every coffee and dinner.
- Nueva Segovia and outer residential estates
Pleasant local suburbs with nothing for a visitor to walk to, thin restaurant choice and a bus ride to everything.
- La Granja as a Segovia base
A lovely village to visit, but sleeping there means a 20 minute trip each way every day on an infrequent timetable.
Best restaurants in Segovia
Restaurante Villena
Segovia's fine dining outlier, creative tasting menus in a converted convent church at former starred table level.
Restaurante José María
The current consensus king of cochinillo, with the crispest skin, textbook judiones and its own Ribera winery behind the list.
Mesón de Cándido
The legendary meson under the aqueduct, famous for cochinillo cut with the edge of a plate in a historic house.
Casa Duque
Family run since 1895, the traditionalists' cochinillo house with one of the centre's best value midweek lunches.
Restaurante El Bernardino
The local value cochinillo institution, a full set menu of judiones, pig, dessert and wine at two thirds the famous price.
El Fogón Sefardí
A small romantic room cooking Castilian classics with Sephardic influence, the change of pace after cochinillo.
Restaurante La Postal
The view lunch, a village terrace panorama back to the Alcazar with well executed traditional roasts.
La Codorniz
Neighbourhood priced traditional cooking, hearty soups, judiones and roasts at prices locals accept, best at weekday lunch.
Outdoor things to do in Segovia
Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso
Philip V summer palace with 146 hectares of gardens and 26 gravity fed fountains, the essential Segovia excursion.
Sunrise Hot-Air Balloon Flight over Segovia
A sunrise balloon drift over the aqueduct, cathedral and Alcazar, ending with a cava toast and countryside brunch.
Parque Natural Hoces del Río Duratón
Kayak a 100 metre limestone canyon under one of Europe's largest griffon vulture colonies, or walk to San Frutos viewpoint.
Pedraza
A completely walled medieval village paired with livelier Sepulveda, where the day becomes a proper roast lamb lunch.
Camino de Pesquerías Reales
Flat shaded riverside walking along the Eresma, with Chorro Grande waterfall and the guided Camino Schmidt for stronger walkers.
Club de Golf La Faisanera
An 18 hole Olazabal parkland course with lakes and Guadarrama views, at unusually good value green fees.
Senda de los Molinos
A guided e-bike loop linking aqueduct, Mint, Vera Cruz and the Jewish Quarter, where e-assist beats the ridge climbs.
Castillo de Coca
Spain's great Mudejar brick castle in pine forest, visitable by guided tour only, best planned as a second day castle trip.
Best hotels in Segovia
Áurea Convento Capuchinos by Eurostars
Segovia's benchmark luxury stay, a converted Capuchin convent with spa, gardens and a serious restaurant near Plaza Mayor.
Parador de Segovia
The view hotel, with balconies facing the full old town panorama, a pool, gardens and ample parking for drivers.
Hotel Palacio San Facundo
A 16th century palace near Plaza Mayor with stone, beams, a courtyard and a small wellness area.
Hotel Real Segovia by Recordis
The mid range default done right, on the main street minutes from cathedral and aqueduct, with a panoramic rooftop terrace.
Hotel Infanta Isabel
You cannot sleep more centrally, a traditional hotel directly on Plaza Mayor facing the cathedral.
Eurostars Plaza Acueducto
A modern hotel directly opposite the aqueduct arches, with aqueduct view rooms and a rooftop terrace, practical for families.
Hotel Spa La Casa Mudéjar
A small historic house hotel around Mudejar fabric, with a compact spa and a well regarded restaurant.
Hotel Don Felipe
The value pick with a soul, a small charming hotel near the Alcazar with a garden terrace on a quiet street.
Is Segovia expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €65 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €120 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Alcázar de Segovia: a few days ahead
- Catedral de Segovia: a few days ahead
- Sunrise Hot-Air Balloon Flight over Segovia: a few days ahead
- Parque Natural Hoces del Río Duratón: a few days ahead
- Club de Golf La Faisanera: a few days ahead
- Senda de los Molinos: a few days ahead
- Castillo de Coca: a few days ahead
- Hotel Don Felipe: weeks ahead
- Jose Maria, Candido and Villena need 3 plus days for weekends.
- Book Alcazar tower and cathedral tower online before you travel in season.
- Check La Granja fountain days and Monday closure with Patrimonio Nacional before fixing your day.
- Book balloon flights with the next morning spare as a weather fallback.
- Hotels for Titirimundi, San Juan y San Pedro, Hay Festival and puentes need weeks, not days.
Is Segovia safe?
- Segovia is a very safe small city, with normal city awareness needed in Alcazar queues and festival crowds.
- Winter pavements can ice on shaded lanes and summer midday sun at altitude burns fast.
- Emergency number is 112.
Segovia travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not combine Avila and Segovia in one day tour, two great walled cities reduced to rushed hours each.
- Plaza Mayor terraces charge notably more than bars one street behind the square.
- Casa de los Picos is a facade photo, not a visit to build time around.
- Shops and tourist menus directly under the aqueduct arches trade on location, walk 200 metres into Calle Real.
Getting around Segovia: public transport and more
- Walk the old town ridge on foot, with shoes for cobbles and hills.
- AVE from Madrid Chamartin to Segovia-Guiomar takes about 27 minutes, then bus 11 or 12 to the centre.
- Avanza bus from Madrid Moncloa takes about 1h15 and drops a 10 minute walk from the aqueduct.
- Taxis are plentiful at Azoguejo and the stations and cheap for La Granja and Zamarramala hops.
Who Segovia suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Segovia your trip
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