The Alcazar was built by the Moors, and substantially renovated by the conquering Christians. It sits at the very tip of the city, with sweeping views over the surrounding plains. It's pretty much a storybook picture of a castle, probably because in large part it came from a storybook. After Segovia ceased to have any military importance, the castle was converted into a military academy. In the nineteenth century, some bored cadets set fire to their school, hoping to burn it down so they could get transferred to Madrid. When the architects set about rebuilding the burned out parts of the castle, they tried to make it as fairy tale as possible, adding all kinds of turrets and towers, which was a good thing because it's now probably the most famous castle in Spain.



Unfortunately we weren't allowed inside because of the weather, which is odd, because the castle's survived everything except angry students for many centuries so it seems unlikely that it would dissolve in the rain. But anyway I remember from my high school trip that it's not that interesting anyway.