Toledo: the city of three cultures, El Greco and marzipan

The best way to start is to see Toledo from outside. From the Mirador del Valle, across the Tagus, the whole city appears on its rock, with the cathedral and the Alcázar dominating the skyline. It's the view El Greco painted, and it still stops traffic.

The scenic road that circles the city along the south bank has several viewpoints and is perfect in the late afternoon, when the stone turns golden. The medieval Alcántara and San Martín bridges, at either end, are monumental gateways to the city.

To get up to the old town from the lower part, there are public escalators that save the steepest bit. Use them without shame: locals do too.

Toledo Cathedral is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Spain and the seat of the primate archbishop. Built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, it has an almost excessive richness inside: chapels, grilles, a carved wooden choir, stained glass and a treasury with an enormous gold and silver monstrance.

El Transparente is one of the most surprising works: a baroque altar lit through an opening in the ceiling that lets sunlight fall directly on marble sculptures. The sacristy is a real art gallery, with several paintings by El Greco, Goya and other masters.

Allow at least an hour and a half. It's easy to underestimate the size and leave feeling you've seen only half.

For centuries, Christians, Jews and Muslims lived side by side in Toledo, and the city bears the marks of all three religions. The Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, from the year 999, is small but precious, with horseshoe arches and brick domes.

The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca impresses with its white columns and horseshoe arches, which look more like a mosque than a synagogue. The Synagogue of El Tránsito, with its decorated wooden ceiling, houses the Sephardic Museum on the history of Jews in Spain.

The Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, built by the Catholic Monarchs, has a beautiful Gothic cloister. Walking among these monuments through the old Jewish quarter is one of the best ways to understand the complex history of the Iberian Peninsula.

Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born in Crete, passed through Venice and Rome and settled in Toledo in the sixteenth century, where he lived until his death. He became known as El Greco, and his elongated figures and intense colours are unmistakable today.

His most famous work, «The Burial of the Count of Orgaz», hangs in the Church of Santo Tomé, the place it was painted for. It's a huge canvas showing heaven and earth at once, and well worth the short queue.

The El Greco Museum shows other works and recreates the atmosphere of the time. There are also paintings of his in the cathedral and other churches. In Toledo, El Greco isn't in a museum: he's everywhere.

At the highest point of the city stands the Alcázar, a square fortress that was once a royal palace and is now the Army Museum, with a fantastic view from the terrace. It was heavily damaged during the Civil War and rebuilt afterwards.

Toledo has been famous for centuries for its steel swords, and there are still workshops and shops selling swords, knives and damascene pieces, a technique of inlaying gold and silver into metal. If you buy a sword, check your airline's rules before packing it.

Toledo's sweet is marzipan, made of almond and sugar in little figures, sold by convents and traditional pastry shops all over town. For a meal, try carcamusas, a meat stew with tomato, stewed partridge and Manchego cheese.