castillo de coca

In the late 60's I saw the film 'Camelot' and was in awe at the castle which I later learned was 'Coca'. Since then I have wanted to visit this wonderful 'fairy castle'. What a huge disappointment, sterile, unappealing and a waste of a day, even the locals told me not to bother and to go to Segovia or Avila instead which I did and was blown away.

We had a day to drive from Leon to Madrid. Leon, Oviedo, Santilliana del Mar, Laredo - all fabulous amazing towns with awe-inspiring churches but there is only so much that a 12 yr old can take! So how to make the road trip fun? We asked the information centres for the best castles and they said Coca and Segovia. So if you have a boy with an Assassins Creed thing going on and you need to keep them on-board before the Madrid museum-fest, then I cannot recommend the Coca - Alcazar (Segovia) double act highly enough. Coca has a wall you can walk around. All the way! Not for the squeamish given lack of handrails but an amazing view into the valleys around. Then there is the main castle. Good guide in English, plenty to see for 60-90 mins. We visited in August so the agricultural college that now uses the building was on holiday. we had a really good time here. Nice Moorish influence which we didn't see much of in the North or in Barcelona. No obvious cafes to stop at so we enjoyed the castella then motored on to Segovia and Alcazar which was the other part of this double hander

Located a short ninety minute drive north of Madrid, massive stone Castle. Located in the small village of Coca, Spain, this massive Castle is one of the strongest fortifications in Spain. With strong outer walls and gates, the interior walls of the keep can be as much as three meters (nearly 10 feet thick) even in the upper reaches of the living quarters. The medieval version of a safe room, built specifically to protect the owners and their possessions from enemies. Built by the Fonseca family in 1452, it served the family and protected their possessions until the war of independence with the forces of Napoleone. The Castle was severely damaged during the siege by the French forces and stood abandoned for many years. In 1931 it was declared a National monument and later restored into a school of forestry in 1954. It is still owned by the Duchessa de Alba, though leased to the Government. It is a true feat of engineering, in medieval times the fortress would have been nearly impregnable. Today, there are many signs throughout the building in Spanish, French and English. The guided tours are only done in Spanish. This does let the Castle down for a tourist draw. There are little strange bits of information available to the tourist. There are secret tunnels which in Medieval times would allow the occupants of the castle to travel to any of the seven churches located in the village at the time. Several of the tunnels still exist, but only one Church is still standing. The interior stairs are quite steep and uneven. They were designed that way as a defence tactic. It does make climbing difficult and there are no lifts available. The village of Coca does have a portion of the medieval walls still intact. The main door through the wall to the village is still open, however only passable on foot. The village itself has a number of signs indicating local points of interest. I found the village to be boring and on a Sunday, nearly completely closed. My wife and I elected to travel about half the distance back towards Madrid. There is the inspiring city if Segovia. Segovia is an extremely comfortable city for eating and sightseeing. Planning your trip so as to arrive in Coca around 10 A.M., allowing two hours for visiting the Castle, then back to Segovia, arriving around 1 P.M. then a relaxed afternoon of lunch and sightseeing there makes for a fully enjoyable day trip.

We took a quick side trip to Coca Castle on our drive back to Toledo after a weekend in the Picos de Europa. It is about a 20 minute drive off the N-601, 50 minutes from Segovia, and slightly more than an hour from Valladolid. Because the castle is a bit out of the way, it is really best visited as a detour on the way to or from somewhere else. You can really enjoy the whole experience of the castle in a short time. I would recommend arriving late in the afternoon, about an hour before closing, as we did. We really enjoyed the fact that the place was practically empty and the light was great for photos. Like so many places in central Spain, Coca is HOT in the summer and there is very little shade, so come prepared with cold water and sunscreen.We have visited lots of castles in Spain and other places in Europe, and though Coca might not make the top of our list of favorites, it is a very fascinating place and it is quite unique architecturally. Our children (7 and 10) were enthralled with the place, though they were definitely ready to leave after an hour, mostly because the temperature was over 100. The cost of the self-guided tour is minimal, and visitors are allowed to explore a good part of the castle and climb up a couple of the towers, which offer beautiful views of the surrounding town and countryside. One disappointing aspect of the Castle is the Agricultural School that was built inside its courtyard in the 1950s . . . it really detracts from the atmosphere of the place.If you are nearby, don't miss it. But if you have to choose between this and, say, an afternoon in Segovia, by all means do the latter.

To experience Coca is really to experience the whole of the little town in one fell swoop, for the castle just about takes up half the town's footprint with it's massive, commanding bulk! The place is well worth a detour if out and about on the roads of Castilla y Leon anywhere near Valladolid or Segovia (and could be coupled with visits to the other nearby castle towns of Ischar and Medina Del Campo). As I visited by hire car I don't know how good the public transport links are to the town, but if the general vibe of the surroundings are anything to go by I wouldn't expect anything to get you there - or, indeed, out again - in a particular hurry. Well worth having a good map of the region or GPS, as the town is not that well signposted from the National highways.As the castle is now given over to a high school (something I didn't realise till arrival), there was a wonderfully anachronistic feel to the place, which is pretty much divided into two halves; one preserved in it's shambolic, late mediaeval/Mudejar state with crumbly walls, turrets and assorted stone relics for the delectation of visiting tourists, such as myself, and the other half a renovated all-mod-con facility for the town's youth.The castle should be visited along with the nearby Torre de San Nicolas, the town's main church and remnants of the town gate (easily walkable), as their patchy distribution in-amongst the frontier-esque aboves of the present day town give a better impression of the scale on which it was once built.

It’s hard to get Coca. It is a bit isolated and off the tourist routes. The first impression is of a big castle to play. Imagine that the castle is striped pink. However it is an impressive monument, nicely restored and with greatness.Inside you can still see the original frescoes and a stunning view

We stopped by Coca enroute to other destinations, really just to break up the trip. A brick castle. It turned out to be most of our group's favorite spot. The castle was amazing and you can walk freely on the battlements and in the rooms of the castle. The Coca church is also incredibly beautiful. Definitely worth the time.

Es un castillo distinto, acostumbrados a los de piedra esta es de ladrillo, estilo mudejar. Con un gran foso alrededor y dobre recinto de muralla, El antiguo palacio que estaba en el interior desaparecio y ahora es una escuela de capatces.Merece la pena visitarlo, tiene una visita guiada en invierno los domingos a las 11:30 h, que cuesta 2,70 eur por persona, que empieza con un audiovisual y que recorre la torre del homenaje y la otra torre, el guia te va explicando todo de una forma sencilla, aunque quizas le falta dar algo mas de informacion tecnica/historica. Hay que subir bastantes escalones, muy altos por una estrecha escalera de caracol, pero no se hace pesado ya que hay paradas y explicaciones, no se ha edl tiron los setenta y tantos escalones.Si estás por la zona no debes perdertelo.

Faltaban 20 minutos para las 18:00 y no pudimos entrar!!!! Porque no nos dejo la persona, podrian poner en la pagina del castillo hasta que hora es la ultima entrada, asi no nos habriamos dado el viaje hasta ahi, pues con una miradita rapida ya nos valia. Vimos los alrededores del castillo e hicimos lindas fotos, nada tan impresionante como lo describen, quizas dentro este lo impresionante, me quedo con el castillo de la Mota!! Ese si nos impresiono

Me gusto mucho,pero creo q la visita sera mejor cuando haga mejor tiempo,pero claro también ahora hay menos gente y no hay agobios.

Totalmente recomendable la visita a este castillo, sin duda uno de los mejores que tenemos en España. Se puede visitar gratuitamente por dentro de la muralla aunque por poco importe se sube a la torre del homenaje y varias dependencias. La visita es guiada lo que hace que entiendas mejor las estancias. Aunque el castillo es bastante grande, por su espectacularidad no llega a cansar.

Entrada gratuita a la zona de exteriores. Pagas una cantidad de simbólica que no recuerdo y te enseñan el castillo y su historia con una guía fantástica. Muy recomendable visitar.

Demasiado reconstruido. Visita guiada un poco escasa. Te informan bien pero se queda corta para un castillo tan grande.

Небольшой замок в стороне от большинства туристических маршрутов. Но он стоит того, чтобы приехать к нему специально. Это классический красивый (может быть, самый красивый) замок с множеством башен и башенек. Впечатляет ров поред входом. Его богатая история коротко описана при входе.

El castillo es construido en estilo gotico-mudejar y es propriedad de la Casa de Alba. La visita es guiada y empieza con un video que presenta la historia de la familia Fonseca. Destaca el torre del homenaje , con una escalera caracol que conduce a la capilla, sala de armas y otras dependencias. Impresiona por su dimension y las vistas. Parte de las salas del castillo son sede de la Escuela Forestal.