I am visiting Madrid the last 10 days of January and would like to take a trip to Segovia but the new Fodor guidebok says that most of the historical monuments are being repaired and therefore not approachable--any news or sugestions??

well the aquaduct has been under contruction for quite some time now, but you can see it and everything. i was there in may and the alcazar and cathedral were not under contruction. on my website there are a few links for segovia, maybe you can e-amil the city and ask? hope that helps!!

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I was in Segovia in November and only the Cathedral was under repair. Even then, you had access to the entire building including the lovely cloisters. The Alcazar had nothing going on nor did the Aquaduct, at least in the main part of town. May I suggest that you spend the night there as it is a charming town and you really get a feel for it when the day trippers go home and you walk the streets at night. I stayed at the Hotel Infanta Isabel , right on the Plaza Mayor, about 40.00 US per night. Ask for a room overlooking the square and you will see the cathedral from your window.

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 01-16-2001).]

Rogerk-
My experience with some guidebooks is that their information is up-to-date...at some time (almost all of the books state "unequivocally" that the aqueduct 'still provides water to the city,' which would've been true many years ago, but no longer "holds water"). They may not have updated from the past couple of years. Segovia has undergone some extensive rebirth. The main street passing under the acueduct is no longer passable by normal motor traffic, and has been replaced with a nice pedestrian street. The monuments, to my knowledge, are not under major repairs (thanks for the info chpdx1!), but my experience has been that if one or two are under repairs, there is still a plethora of remaining sites to visit. I echo chpdx1's recommendation that you stay overnight in Segovia. Having lived there in the past, I recommend a couple of nights, but hey...

There is an impressive array of churches in town, capped off, of course, by the cathedral. I lived on calle San Francisco, which is the street just to the right of Mesón Cándido (under the aqueduct), and have stayed at both the Hotel Acueducto and the Hotel Los Arcos on the road parallel to the short segment of the aqueduct (your city-side window looks onto the aqueduct, especially beautiful at night). I recommend either for comfort and location. Segovia is smallish and you can stay about anywhere and not really be out of the way.

Don't forget the food!!! Lots of it, and it's all excellent!!!

Hidden gem: Don't miss the Iglesia de la Vera Cruz on the oustkirts of town (on the road to Zumarramala). Read up on it in your books...original frescoes on the walls, 12-sided design, beautiful belltower, and loads of history. The area in front of the church became a cemetery during the bubonic plague, and you can see some of the fragments of bones in the courtyard area...

Let us know how it goes!

Question: I am Spaniard and I should know this already, but after the Vallecas/Vallekas thing I don't want to make more mistakes.
Is it true that Walt Disney got the inspiration for his Disney's Castle from the Alcazar of Segovia? I've hear this so many times and I believe that it is true. But thanks to the Madridman website I am seing that I don't know as much as I thought

Having been to all three places, I believe that the inspiration was not in the Alcázar de Segovia but in the Bavarian castle of Ludwig II the Mad, Neuschwanstein.

Nuria - that's the version that has made the rounds of Disney (film studio) for many many years. If it isn't the truth - it's a legand half-way there.

I was in Segovia on the 30th of December. It didnt' seem that anything was closed.
In fact, the cathedral is having some repairs done but it is open. This was my third trip to Segovia but the first time I actually went inside. It's very impressive.
I also went to the Alcazar. It was very nice. There is snow on the mountains and it even snowed a bit when we were there.

Question and explanation for everyone- Has anyone gone down to the garden, which is straight down the hill from the Alcazar?
During my first trip to Spain (1992) I was part of group of American youth that planted redwood trees there. (It was an official gift from America to Spain to celebrate Columbus' voyage)
Well, the gates were closed but I could definately see the trees there. They have grown quite a bit. I was just wondering if anyone has been in the garden.