Car Hire Alcala De Henares

Alcala De Henares Mini Guide

Alcara de Henares, Spain is a picturesque town which was much devastated in Spain's Civil War. It is 29 km (18 miles) north east of Madrid. It is the birthplace of the writer Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) the author of the well known book entitled Don Quixote.

Alcala De Henares has a World Heritage Site city centre which has been inscribed by UNESCO for its beauty. This is an enchanting old medieval city with lovely winding cobbled roads which you would do well to take some time to see. There are fantastic cathedrals and historic streets. Many of these buildings are adorned by beautiful white storks which often build their nests in Alcala De Henares. Unfortunately these storks are in decline now and efforts are being made to protect them. Unfortunately the outskirts of the city have not been preserved as well and there are some ugly high rise buildings there.

The name means city on the river and it overlooks the Henares River. Alcala De Henares is almost 2,000 feet above sea level but only 35 kilometres to the north east of Madrid in central Spain. Alcala De Henares has had a dense history in which it was occupied by the Romans, the Christians and the Moors. It was the site of one of the first universities in Spain too. This two campus university has a lot of prestige. Aside from the university buildings the cathedral is of primary importance as reflected by its name the Santa e Insigne Catedral-Magistral de los Santos Justo y Pastor. In the Spanish civil war fighting Alcala De Henares was also severely damaged, but despite that it remains well worth visiting.

There's also the region's only men-only religious order, the Oratory of San Felipe Nori which has an amazing collection of over 8,000 old and rare books.