Overview As a former capital of Spain with a well-preserved history of relentless splendor, Toledo has come to enjoy a prestigious status as a National Monument and a World Heritage Site bestowed upon it by the UNESCO in 1987. Nearly all the different stages of Spanish art are represented through some hundred attractions in the city which altogether make Toledo a sparkling jewel of the Iberian peninsula. Its beauty was first depicted and introduced to the world by El Greco’s paintings, and that graceful image with which Toledo is often automatically associated has been immortalized since. If you would like to spend your vacation in a city of culture packed with sights, sounds and senses, Toledo is definitely a place to go. History The Iberians had long used Toledo as a fortified urban zone before the Romans conquered it in 192 B.C. By the 7th century, the Visigoths completely subdued the peninsula and made Toledo the capital of Spain from 587 A.D. until the Moors took over in 711 A.D. Under the Moorish rule, the Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together peacefully and the city even prospered until Alfonso VI of Castilla re-captured the city for the Christian monarchs in 1035. It thence became a thriving capital of the empire. Unfortunately, by the 16th century the empire had grown so much that Toledo's small size became incompatible with the ever growing need to expand, hence Felipe II decided the capital be moved to Madrid. Since then Toledo was plunged into a state of decline until it was made the regional capital of the Autonomous Community of La Mancha in the 1970s. Geography Climate Toledo lies about 70 km southwest of Madrid on a hill and can easily be reached from the country's capital. It is bounded on three sides by the Tagus River Gorge on the plain of the New Castille. Its inland location results in some extreme climate. Summer in Toledo can be warm, sometimes even hot especially in late summer (July and August) when the temperatures often hover ab...