Nestled in the heart of Madrid’s Sierra Oeste, this town is located close to the San Juan reservoir and is home to unique monuments like Coracera Castle which make it a great place for water sports and to get in touch with nature.
Coracera Castle is San Martín de Valdeiglesias’s most famous landmark. It was built in the mid-1400s by Don Alvaro de Luna, Constable of Castile and favorite of King John II. Its most prominent feature is the Keep, a tower that served as a defense point and as a residence for the masters of the castle. This monument is part of the Network of Castles of the Comunidad de Madrid.
Following a period of restoration, the Castle is home to a tourist information office or a wine shop where wine can be tasted. It also holds different events like “Clásicos de verano (Summer Classics)”: outdoor classical music concerts.
In summer San Martín de Valdeiglesias holds a puppet-show cycle, Renaissance fair, equestrian show, marathons, concerts...
Apart from the castle, you should definitely take a stroll around the old town and its narrow streets with old houses with coat of arms and linteled windows and doors. The Church of San Martín de Obispo with its beautiful 7-meter tall central dome deserves a visit.
From its name (Valdeiglesias - valley of churches) we can conclude that there were numerous hermitages and six still stand today: Ermita del Ecce Homo, la Sangre, la Salud, el Cristo de la Humildad, la Virgen de la Nueva and del Rosario.
The Town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias offers free guided city tours to locals and visitors alike, as well as an interesting range of tourist activities. Tours begin in Plaza Real – the most important historical asset in town – and takes you to the most relevant historical landmarks. There are guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am. Due to the limited number of places available and the attention given to group composition, registration is required.
Just 12 kilometres away, the town of Cadalso de los Vidrios houses the archaeological site of La Mezquita, which has been a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC, Asset of Cultural Interest) since December 2020. La Mezquita is included in the Region of Madrid Plan of Archaeological Sites Open to Visitors. The site features the ruins of a Romanesque-Mudejar church and a necropolis where the oldest tombs date back to the eleventh and twelfth centuries.