Ultimate Day-Trip Guide to Alcala de Henares Spain

If you’re looking for a day trip or in the mood to explore a new Spanish city then, Alaca is a great place to visit. In my opinion, it is much different than Madrid. It is smaller, historic and has a cute, old-town, vintage vibe. If you’re into that sort of vibe, continue reading this ultimate day-trip guide to Alcala de Henares Spain.

My day trip consisted of exploring. eating pizza and riding my first Ferris wheel and I wanted to share the experience with you so you can add it to your New Years travel bucket list.

How To Get There

Alcala is northeast of Madrid and honestly only about 45 minutes to an hour away. You can either take the bus or ride the Renfe and, I strongly recommend taking the Renfe.

The Renfe is faster and more reliable than waiting for a bus that’s most likely going to get stuck in traffic or just be backed up. You can catch the Renfe at the Atocha Station and it generally arrives quickly and on time.

How To Get Around

As I said, Alcala is smaller than Madrid so, it is very walkable. if you’re doing a day trip, you most likely want to visit the touristy spots and goo for you, they’re mostly all in the downtown area. Or if you’re not in the mood to walk, you can definitely hop on the city bus. The fare is relatively cheap, under 4 euro.

What To Do

There are plenty of things to do! You can visit the city center, shop, go to a museum or just chill at a tapas bar. I didn’t do everything on my list because you only have so much time but, you can definitely get around to doing enough.

I went when the Christmas markets and winter attractions were put up (probably still are now) and mostly spent most of my day doing those activities.

Museums

• Museo Casa Natal de Cervantes: This is a house style museum based on the life of Spanish literature writer; Cervantes. I went to the museum and it was quaint and artistic and the duration probably lasted about 20 minutes. It cost only 1 euro and I recommend it if you’re looking for something quick and cheap to do.

• Regional Archaeological: I did not go but would love to. It is an archaeological museum, with exhibits from prehistoric Roman artifacts. Sounds pretty cool.

• Laredo Palace I love palaces and this one is (now) a museum that houses many different artifacts in architectural, sculptural and decorative archetypes and elements. I’ve heard that it is beautiful, historic, and a great learning experience.

Attractions

• University of Alcala: The university is what Alcala is known for (super popular) and a lot of people genuinely enjoy visiting and touring.

• Plaza de Cervantes: Not necessarily an attraction but, this is basically the center of downtown and mostly where everything is and takes place. This is where the Christmas Markets and winter wonderland was. Here are more pictures!

Monuments

• Archbishop’s Palace of Alcalá: This palace is sort of a museum and a place to visit and tour. It is home to the Diocese of Alcalá and is a palace of heritage.

• Casa de Hippolytus: It used to be a youth college when it was first built but now, it is a museum, showing off the structure, beauty, and culture of what it once was.

• Torre De Santa Maria: This is the typical tower monument that you can enter, walk up the spiral staircase and see the city views. It is normally opened from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm throughout the week and weekend.

Where To Eat

Once again. there are plenty of restaurants and tapas bars! I ate at Tio Bigotes, a little pizza and empanada shop that was really good! Seriously. the pizzas were huge.

But, there are some highly recommended restaurants on trip advisor and it seems as though meat and seafood are the most popular dishes. So, find a restaurant that offers either, with the best rating and enjoy!

Info + Tips

Alcala doesn’t have a metro like Madrid but, as I mentioned before, there are busses that get you around the city. So, if you have a metro card, you can still use it on the bus.

Secondly, brush up on your Spanish because one thing I’ve noticed is that there are less English speakers in this town. Now, I’m someone who prefers to be nice and open and speak to people in their native language (I mean, I am in THEIR city) so, I reconmmend learning a couple of basic Spanish words or downloading a translation app.

That’s all for this post. I hope you visit Alcala, its a nice day trip getaway and I actually stayed there for a few days when I first arrived in Spain so I 100% recommend it. Yes, it is different than Madrid but, it is worthwhile.

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Happy New Year! Check out my blog post to Segovia, Spain!

Xoxo,

Shay, Bye!