17 essentials: what to see and do in Alcalá de Henares in 1 day

Surely in your trip to Madrid you will consider making one excursion to Alcalá de Henares good to visit your historic university or Cervantes Birthplace Museum, its most well-known and visited corners.

But you should know that it is now dormitory city of Madrid offers you much more from the point of view of a historical Center with an atmosphere and attractions that you will not find in the Community, so good Alcalá de Henares is worth visiting.

Good argument is that it is one of the 25 cities Heritage that there is in Spain, recognition of the Unesco for being the world's first planned university city, which was founded in the 16th century by Cardinal Cisneros.

On the other hand, the aforementioned Birthplace of Cervantes is most visited museum among those existing in towns of the Region of Madrid.

But in the visit of Alcalá de Henares You have many other corners that are also worth knowing for their undoubted attractions.

At the outset you have the option of signing up for one of the guided tours in Alcalá de Henares in which you will visit the most notable corners, in addition to the possibility of doing themed routes centered on the figure of Cervantes or at the time of Golden age.

But whether you sign up for any of these visits, or whether you prefer to know Alcalá de Henares on your own, you are interested in knowing in advance what these prominent places are.

What to see on the Alcalá de Henares tourism visit

Below we are going to show you what are the best places to see and visit on your excursion to Alcalá de Henares, with a selection of the best photos taken during our most recent visit.

Alcala de Henares University

La plateresque facade of the College of San Ildefonso It is one of the icon images of the University of Alcala de Henares which was founded by Cardinal Cisneros.

It was built in the mid-16th century by Rodrigo Gil de Ontañón, being completed in 1553, and presents a mixture of the pagan and the divine, a style typical of the time of the Renacimiento.

Courtyard of Saint Thomas of Villanueva

This is the first patio you will see on your visit to the College of San Ildefonso in the University of Alcalá.

It is also known as the Main Courtyard of the Schools and was built in classicist style in 1818.

Paraninfo University of Alcalá de Henares

Perhaps the most outstanding corner of your visit to the also known as Cisnerian University will Panarinfo, which you will reach after crossing the Courtyard of the Philosophers.

It is a large room with an impressive Mudejar coffered ceiling from the 16th century, and one of the best examples of the so-called cisnerian style, because it also mixes the decoration Renaissance and gothic.

It should be noted that in the aforementioned Auditorium every April 23 Kings of Spain they deliver the Cervantes Literature Prize.

Chapel of San Ildefonso in Alcalá de Henares

for the little one Courtyard of Languages you reach another really interesting corner, the Chapel of San Ildefonso.

In this chapel built at the beginning of the 16th century, the imposing coffered ceiling of the room that precedes it will also catch your attention.

But above all your attention will be focused on the spectacular sculptural group of the Tomb of Cardinal Cisneros, one of the best samples of Renacimiento in Spain.

Build in carrara marble, I will tell you that the tomb is empty because the cardinal is actually buried in the Magistral Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares.

Cervantes Birthplace Museum in Alcalá de Henares

Miguel de Cervantes is, together with the aforementioned Cardinal Cisneros y Manuel Azaña, the other great character of Alcalá de Henares, since in this historic town the birth certificate that certifies his birth is preserved.

In the place where his house is considered to have been located is where the Cervantes Birthplace Museum, now one essential visit in Alcalá de Henares.

This building of the main Street, with its furniture and all kinds of objects emulates a house in the Golden age How is it supposed to be where he must have lived? Cervantes.

Monument to Don Quixote and Sancho in Alcalá de Henares

In front of the aforementioned Cervantes Birthplace Museum There is a corner where there is no visitor Alcalá de Henares Don't take a photo.

This is the monument to Don Quixote and Sancho, a sculptural group that was inaugurated in 2005 and that has become one of the icons of this Madrid town.

Cervantes Square in Alcalá de Henares

La cervantes square, large and rectangular in shape, is the Alcalá de Henares city center, where the town hall building is currently located.

Known as marketplace When it was established at the end of the 12th century, this large space then dedicated to a market and animal fair was located outside the wall of Alcalá.

On its west façade it maintains the style of buildings with arcades that characterizes the main Street. and in the center of the square there are some gardens and a statue dedicated to Miguel de Cervantes, as well as a music temple from the late 19th century.

In front, on its east side, it shows buildings that historically delimited the authority of the University of Alcalá.

La cervantes square It is also the main venue for large events held in Alcalá, such as the Medieval market or Christmas market.

Corral de Comedias de Alcalá de Henares

A curious corner to visit in the cervantes square is Corral de Comedias.

It is a small theater located in the place where there was a courtyard until a theater was built in 1601. Corral de Comedias.

This corral was roofed at the end of the 1830th century and became a romantic-style theater in XNUMX.

Now, in addition to attending theatrical performances, you can visit it and you can see corners of the old neighborhood patio that were hidden and that have been brought to light.

Of note is the paving of the patio, as well as a well, the original stone capitals of the stage pit, or on the first floor, the area of ​​the hen house reserved in its day for women.

Chapel of the Oidor in Alcalá de Henares

Another corner that you find in the cervantes square They are the remains of an old parish from the 15th century that was destroyed during the Civil War.

In this space you can visit the reconstructed Chapel of the Hearer, which is used as an exhibition hall and where you can see some original Gothic plasterwork as well as what is considered the baptismal font of Miguel de Cervantes.

Tower of Santa María in Alcalá de Henares

In the same space stands the Saint Mary's Tower which was also part of the old parish of Santa María la Mayor.

Located in front of the building Alcalá de Henares town hallUntil the middle of the 15th century there was a hermitage in that place, which was equipped with a bell tower to convert it into a parish church.

At present it is possible climb the Tower of Santa María (Saturday mornings and afternoons and Sunday mornings) from whose viewpoint you have panoramic views of Alcalá.

Main Street of Alcalá de Henares

Apart from monuments and museums, from my point of view in Alcalá de Henares there is a corner that gives the greatest charm to this historic city.

It's about your Porticoed Main Street, which with its 400 meters becomes the longest and best preserved of these characteristics in Europe.

When you walk through this arcaded street of pedestrian use you cannot help but fall in love with it.

Its origin dates back to the Jewish quarter of the 12th century and follows the layout of the Roman road Caesar Augusta.

In its arcades you can still see round stone columns installed from the 14th century onwards, which came from the Roman city of Complutum.

Always with a great social and commercial life in its shops, bars and restaurants, it will be the main axis of your visit of Alcalá de Henares.

Magistral Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares

A major monuments of Alcalá de Henares is the Magisterial cathedral dedicated to Santos Justo and Pastor, whose remains are preserved therein.

Next to the Leuven cathedral en Belgium, it is the only cathedral in the world that has the title of masterly, indicative that all his canons are doctors in Theology.

Its history dates back to a small chapel founded in the year 414 to store the remains of the children Justo and Pastor after his martyrdom near the Roman city of Complutum.

The current style building Elizabethan Gothic It is from the mid-15th century, and its tower shows a style Renaissance after its reform in 1618.

As I have already mentioned, the remains of the Cardinal Cisneros.

Antezana Hospital in Alcalá de Henares

On your walk through the Main street of Alcalá de Henares you can enter the building of one of the oldest hospitals in Spain located in an old Mudejar palace.

This is the Antezana Hospital, which dates back to 1483 and had twelve beds, and the building stands out for its patio with wooden columns and corridors.

It is currently managed by the Antezana Foundation and has the function of a nursing home.

Towers and walls of Alcalá de Henares

when you get to Alcalá de Henares you will still be able to see a long stretch of the old city ​​wall, of which up to 16 towers are also preserved, three round from the XNUMXth century and the rest square, from the XNUMXth century.

The medieval city was walled for the first time in the second half of the 13th century and had seven gates, and this wall was expanded in the mid-15th century.

The section that surrounds the archiepiscopal palace, in addition to the aforementioned towers and the gate of Madrid, built in 1788 in style neoclassic to replace an original medieval door.

Regional Archaeological Museum in Alcalá de Henares

Another corner worth highlighting in Alcalá de Henares is the Regional Archaeological Museum, which is installed in the old church of the Convent of the Mother of God founded in 1565.

The friars were expelled during the Napoleonic occupation and the convent was confiscated in 1835, and the building subsequently had various uses, including a prison.

This museum displays a permanent collection of the archaeological heritage of the Region of Madrid, highlighting large roman mosaics found in ancient Complutum.

In the space of an old chapel from the 17th century you can see some paintings on the ceiling.

Complutum and House of the Griffins in Alcalá de Henares

Outside of the current city ​​of Alcalá, on the entry route from Madrid there are the archaeological remains visitable ancient Roman city of Complutum.

Nearby you can also visit the House of the Taps, where you can see what a Roman house.

Parador Nacional of Alcalá de Henares

Finally of Alcalá de Henares I also want to highlight your national hostel, which occupies the building of the old Dominican Convent School of Santo Tomás, 17th century.

Since the mid-19th century, the building was used as a prison, and currently houses a hostel characterized by its avant-garde design within the architectural framework of the old convent.

To point out the architectural solution given to the one known as carved garden where 128 rooms are distributed in the garden area of ​​the space that will occupy the garden of the aforementioned convent.