Having been a trading centre under the Roman Empire, Segovia reached its period of greatest splendour during the Middle Ages, on becoming the court residence of the Trastamaras, as well as an important centre of livestock and textile activity.
The tour will begin in the Roman aqueduct in Azoguejo square, serves as the main entrance to the historic quarter of Segovia. This engineering gem, built under the Roman Empire (1st century AD), carried water to the elevated city from some 15 Km away. Its 163 arches and its height, some 29 m at its higest point, are supported by blocks of stone from the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains that are completely plaster, lead and mortar free.

The city that is concealed behind the walls reveals some important Medieval and Renaissance buildings to us, such as Casa de los Picos house, the Alhóndiga corn exchange and the Torreón de Los Lozoya tower. The first of these, dating from the 15th century, has a façade decorated in granite points and is currently home to the School of Applied Arts and Crafts. The Alhóndiga, the old Gothic corn exchange, and the Tower, originally a 14th century defensive structure, are now used to hold cultural exhibitions.

A stone's throw from the arched Plaza Mayor we come across one of the last Gothic buildings built in España, the Cathedral. Building began on it in the 16th century, during the late Gothic period. Some parts of the old cathedral, such as its flamboyant Gothic cloister, the choir stalls and the main façade are worthy of special attention. The San Frutos door, the apse, the main altarpiece (the Baroque-style work of Sabatini) and the Neo-classical area behind the choir, the work of Ventura Rodríguez, are more recent features. The smaller chapels house sculptures by Juan de Juni and Gregoria Fernández. Names, indeed, that are asssociated with some of the great Spanish Baroque and Neo-classical works.
 

At one end of this walled enclosure you can see the outline of the Alcázar Fortress, monument which will be visited, behind the Queen Victoria Eugenia Gardens (this is the spot where the old cathedral stood). The exterior of the fortress as a whole makes quite an impact on the visitor given its 80 m high tower, its other twelve turrets and its defensive moat. Several courtyards and buildings can be visited, and it is even possible to climb the battlement tower and admire a panoramic view of the Segovian landscape from this marvellous vantage point.
Lying between the confluence of the river Eresma and the river Clamores, the first documented record of the fortress dates back to Christian writings in the 12th century It was built on top of a rock, that is testament to its military status.