Manzanares el Real
Combined with La Pedriza it makes a proper day; on its own it is an hour's visit. Summer weekends fill the reservoir car parks, so go on a weekday morning if you want the castle to yourself.
A castle, a reservoir and the best granite landscape in the province within a few hundred metres.
At a Glance
- — You are not prepared to drive
The Mendoza family's castle, with round turrets and a Gothic gallery, stands on green ground beside the Santillana reservoir with the Guadarrama wall rising behind it. It is the neatest castle in the Madrid region and the starting point for walks into La Pedriza, which is the real reason many people come this far north.
How it got here
Control of this territory shifted repeatedly during the Reconquista as the Christian kingdoms pushed south from the mountains. The village gained status in the fifteenth century when the Mendoza family consolidated their power here and completed the castle to establish their dominance over the grazing lands. This structure dominated the local economy through control of the sheep trade, which provided the wealth that shaped the village architecture. The Mendozas later moved their court elsewhere, but the site stayed tied to the lordship of the House of Infantado, which governed the rural population and land use until the nineteenth century when feudal rights ended.
Where it sits
The village sits at the feet of the granite formations of La Pedriza, where the Guadarrama mountains meet the northern Madrid plateau. Beyond the castle walls, the terrain turns to high meadows and scrub oak leading directly into the sierra. The Santillana reservoir catches the runoff from the high peaks, turning the edge of the village into a damp basin during the winter months. Road access from Madrid climbs steadily toward the foothills, leaving the open plains behind. Weekends draw crowds from the capital, but mid-week mornings remain quiet under the shadow of the sheer rock faces.
What to eat and drink
The high plateau and the sierra define the local diet, which centers on the products of the surrounding pastures. Cordero asado, milk-fed lamb roasted in wood-fired ovens, follows the traditions of the Castilian interior. Sopa castellana, a thick broth made from bread, garlic, and pimentón with a poached egg added at the end, sustains those returning from the mountains. Local kitchens favor these simple, dense preparations over elaborate sauces. Restaurants here serve wines from the nearby Vinos de Madrid designation, which benefit from the sharp temperature shifts between the day and the cold mountain night.
Madrid: the whole region
Madrid is a province with one great city in it, and that city is worth three or four days on its own: three major museums within a few hundred metres of each other, a working market culture, a nightlife that starts late and does not stop,…
Minimum 3 days · better 5-6 days · deep 8-10 days
In Madrid
In Madrid
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