An hour outside Madrid, the attractive walled city of Segovia is the perfect place to learn Spanish if you want the benefits of studying in small-town Spain but with easy access to the capital. An hour away from the capital by road, yet a world apart in character, Segovia is all twisting alleyways and cobbled streets and very much deserving of its Heritage of Mankind status, as granted by UNESCO. With the highest concentration of Romanesque churches in all of Europe, the world’s largest and best preserved Roman Aqueduct, and its beautiful 11th century Alcazar castle which famously inspired Walt Disney, there is history at every turn here. Add to this a stunning backdrop of snow-covered peaks – the very mountains that separate Segovia from Madrid – and an abundance of street cafés and terraces from which to soak it all up, Segovia is appealing in many senses as a place to learn Spanish. However long you are here, don’t leave without trying one of Castile’s greatest specialities, the suckling pig, or cochinillo asado – cooked until so tender that it is proudly cut with a plate rather than a knife.
