The Santa Teresa museum features the ring finger of the Santa Teresa and her history…read moreunsurprisingly. In order for one to become saint in the past, the saint's body has to be not decomposed after burial and also need to then be cut apart so that the body parts can be hosted at various sites for religious purposes. Saint Teresa's body underwent such a special arrangement since she became a saint because her body did not rot. Her ring finger is cut and featured at this museum. When you see the finger, the finger no longer resembles a finger but more of a long, strange wooden stick with growths on either side. There is a large ring on Saint Teresa's finger because like all priests and nuns, she is married to God. Saint Teresa is also known as Jesus's Teresa because she is known to see visions. One such vision revealed her speaking to Jesus, who called her Jesus's Teresa.

Very cool place. Built in 1510 this monastery for nuns is still in use. This is the place that…read moreSaint Theresa lived. Beautiful grounds and interesting tour. Living history! Just outside of the incredible walled city of Avila. Do them a favor if you visit, buy a cheap trinkets from the gift shop. All handmade items by the nuns of the convent. The nuns have almost no contact with the outside world! Must see!

Gothic cathedral or Fortress? You wouldn't know. Construction began as early as the 12th century,…read moreblending Romanesque and French-influenced Gothic by architect Fruchel. Truly an architectural oddity but pretty badass.

How do you even rate a church? This was one of my first stops on my day trip to Ávila and I was…read moreimpressed. I've been to the Sagrada Familia (5 stars) and cathedrals around the world, including the Basílica del Voto Nacional in Quito where you could walk a catwalk high above the sanctuary to get to stunning views on the roof (also 5 stars). The Catedral de Ávila doesn't have the gimmicky catwalk or the street cred of a world renowned church, but it does have friendly staff, an helpful audio tour, soaring ceilings, beautiful stained glass, and the amazing Altar of Kings, carved from limestone, which depicts scenes from Jesus's life--some of which I found very moving. Make sure to go through all of the open doors as they lead to various displays and a quaint chapel. I enjoyed my visit and found the artwork and historical exhibits fascinating.

Amazing, from start to finish! I was greeted by a very friendly receptionist who explained…read moreeverything we needed to know to navigate the museum including the use of the audio guide. Once beginning I was so impressed with the time and detail that was put in to every explanation for each point of the audio guide. They clearly really wanted you to understand the material and took great efforts to make that happen. Once I entered the museum I was wowed by all of the artifacts that they had preserved and showcased. Again, the attention to detail paid in every display including the description of each item's significance, really helped establish a holistic understanding of the various facets of the mint and how it worked. One of the really cool things was seeing the components of how the water wheel worked form the interior of the building and then viewing it from the exterior of the building, again so a holistic understanding of the mechanism at play could be understood. Absolutely top notch museum, if traveling to or through Segovia, neglecting to come here would be a huge mistake.

We visited El Escorial as part of a team meeting. The monastery is an amazing site to see, with a…read morerich history! We were lucky and had amazing weather, which meant we could see all the way back to Madrid.

There are so many places worth a day trip from Madrid and this is one of them. In wanting to find a…read moreplace that could be a longer half day trip (but not more than this due to the short duration of my trip), this monastery appealed to me in that the commute time via public transportation is about an hour from Madrid Chamartin, or only about a 40 min drive (€40 rideshare price) from the western edge of Madrid city center. Certainly you could take more time around town and make this a full day trip in addition to visiting the Valle de los Caídos (the Valley of the Fallen) monument, there are a number of bus tours that run this exact itinerary. Departing from Madrid Chamartin the Cercanius C8 line arrives at El Escorial station, from which it's about a 25 minute walk or 15 min bus ride to the monastery which is the major tourist destination in town. The town itself is quaint and nice to take a stroll around to get a feel of a suburban downtown area. Tickets are available online and in-person by time slot and while in late September I didn't see times fully booked I imagine during peak tourist season you should book at least a few days in advance. Inside larger bags need to checked in lockers (€1 euro deposit for the lock mechanism function, returned upon unlocking the cubby), and then you follow signs indicating the direction of the tour starting from the main courtyard. Two highlights for me were a) the library with beautiful ceiling murals and filled with antique books, b) the elaborate pantheon crypt facility which are in current functional use as burial chambers for Spanish monarchy. I also appreciated that almost all the description placards were translated into English so there was a lot of information to learn. The grounds and gardens are very expansive and well maintained around the main complex so plenty of tourists and locals alike were enjoying a walk in the afternoon. Bathrooms are located within the building only after ticketed entry. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes within a 5-15 minute walking distance from the main entry/exit of the monastery where you can grab a snack, drink or meal.

While randomly walking through Segovia, my friend and I ran across this museum. For 3 euros, you…read morecan tour the museum and do a food tasting of cheese, wine, and iberian ham. The museum isn't that big and has 3 major sections. There are translations in English, so you can find out what is going on. They have information about some of their spirits industry, wheat, and food. Afterwards, you watch a short video about Segovia, then do the tasting. To me, the most charming thing about the museum is the owner. He is super nice and answers all of your questions about Segovia or just food in general. Caveat though, the owner speaks mainly Spanish, so you will get the most out of your experience conversing in Spanish rather than English.

This food museum was next to our hotel so immediately after checking in, we checked out this…read moremuseum. The museum itself is quite small, and features a few old items but it has a lot of interesting information regarding the history of food in Segovia printed on colourful displays on the walls in both Spanish and English. I have the feeling that the Spanish version is a tad more comprehensive, but nevertheless, you get a real sense of the scope of food production, tradition and importance that is held in this little walled city - both for the city itself, as well as for the rest of Spain. If you pay 5 Euro, following your walk around the museum (you'll need no more than an hour), you are treated to a tasting of local cheeses, bread, meats and a "sweet treat". I won't spoil what that is, but we did pick up a box of these to eat later! The staff are supremely helpful and informative. And whilst their English isn't great, and my Spanish is basically non-existent - we made do just fine.The foyer also sells a range of local dairy products, meats, wine and beers. We took away a few Segovian beers to drink on our hotel's terrace and they went down a treat!

Segovia is a fun town and besides the aqueduct this place is another site to visit because it's a…read morecastle! So much art and architecture to admire It's beautiful and it's always a trip to take a trip down history past!

We enjoyed the Alcázar very much. It wasn't too crowded and we could linger at the displays and not…read morefeel rushed. There are several different levels of tours with some including audio.

Did you ever go to an art museum, look at something on the wall and think, "ah, I can do better…read morethan that!" Well then this is the museum for you; this is a museum where I truly believe that most of the museum goers can do a better job at creating art than the guy this museum is named for! I'm guessing that the guy was born in the city or close by because really, I have no idea why they would make a museum for him. I'm not saying that his stuff is bad; just that anybody can do what he did and most likely better. Picasso did some crazy stuff too but he created brilliant art as well. This guy Vicente, I guess, forgot to do that good stuff. Well if he did, it wasn't in this museum. I gave the museum two stars because not only was it just a few Euros to get in, but there was an exhibition of Juan Gris paintings, and SIg. Gris is a fine artist.