Rapunzel towers, turrets topped with slate witches’ hats and a deeeeep moat at its base make Alcázar a prototype fairytale castle, so much so that its design inspired Walt Disney’s vision of Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Fortified since Roman days, the site takes its name from the Arabic al-qasr (castle) and was rebuilt and expanded in the 13th & 14th centuries.
What you see today is an evocative over-the-top reconstruction of the original which burnt down in 1862.
Highlights include the Sala de las Piñas, the ceiling of which drips with a crop of 392 pineapple-shaped ‘stalactites’, and the Sala de Reyes (Kings’ Room), featuring a three-dimensional frieze of 52 sculptures of kings who fought during the Reconquista. The views from the Torre de Juan II are exceptional, and put the old town’s hill-top location into full context.
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