Is Chinchon worth a stop? --CC

100% yes in my opinion. Spent a whole day there once but would love to have spent longer.

The old sloping Plaza is fascinating, the castle has spectacular views and the church has a Goya (fresco?). The views over the village from the church are great.

When I visited, there was a wild fiesta going on - only it turned out not to be a fiesta, but a film crew filming a pretend fiesta for a Lenor fabric conditioner advert It was fun watching that from the cafes round the Plaza.

Oh, and the Chinchon aniseed drink thing is pretty nice too

It's a great place to be totally relaxed - it's tiny, but enough to keep you interested for a stopover.

Jo

hey everybody

yeah i think it is worth it.
for example:

if your in madrid you always have the chance to visit chinchon.its fairly near madrid.its better to visit the towns that are in your reach or that you have time for than just visiting fabulous madrid.i mean why not.
you could spend 1 day and a half in madrid and spend the next half in chinchon or even alcala de henares :p .
ive been to madrid and alcala de henares but not chinchon,but since i love spanish documentaries on spain t.v.
i ear chinchon is a very picturesque and charming place.
i you doubt me still then take in mind that alot of MADRIDLENOS love to spend there weekend there.

HAVE FUN CHINCHON
AND ENJOY SPAIN TO THE FULLEST
WHILE LUCKY TO BE THERE

have fun

Interesting agricultural village with two amazing suckling pig and roasted lamb restaurants. Beautiful parador with a famous cocido dish at lunch time. Worth visiting, but Toledo comes first by no means.

Andrés

I considered going this time and discovered that the bus schedule is quite good. I have heard is is a very nice side trip and hope to do it in the future.

I think the bus is hourly back to Madrid

With that resounding "ole," I think we'll overnight in Chinchon, rather than Aranjuez. After all, we'll have just spent time in Granada (and visited the Alhambra) so little Chinchon sounds like a nice change. Atmospheric, small, delicious! (Now for a place to stay? I posted in the hostels forum. I believe the parador is beyond our budget. Suggestions? And don't hesitate to tell us about the best restaurant in town!)--CC

Carole, I think you will love Chinchón. It is quaint and very atmospheric. Whenever we go we always eat at the Mesón Cuevas del Vino which is just a delightful place. I think you would like it too.

Chinchón is one of those cute little villages near Madrid which is where madrileños LOVE to visit on the weekends to have dinner. They're famous for their chochinillo/roasted suckling pig (or is it "ternera"? I don't recall now). I can't believe when I went there last with my madrileña ladyfriend that the place where we ate, at the corner of their Plaza Mayor, on the balcony overlooking the plaza, that they were OUT OF COCHINILLO!! I think I had ternera or cordero instead. BOTH delicious and my mouth is watering just thinking about it... Mmmmmm..

Chinchón is one of the cute little walkable villages... Just strolling along... VERY cute at dusk when the church overlooking the plaza is illuminated. Mmm.. Nice. Can't wait to go back.

Saludos, MadridMan

P.S. I wrote the above after 2 glasses of Rueda white wine from Valladolid. Mmmm..

Everybody has forgotten to mention the greatest treasure of Chinchón, the anis. It is an absolute requirement to order several "chupitos" if you visit this town. Of course, I prefer slightly La Castellana,as I am in love with the beautiful "moza" on its bottle and its smooth taste.

Saludos

Shawn

I did mention the the anis briefly I remember feeling all lovely and wobbly and serene after one very large glass mid afternoon in the Plaza at Chinchon.

Carole

It was May when I was there 2 years ago, and it was sooooo hot. I don't know whether this was unusual, but I remember it hitting 40 at one point in Madrid - it was nice to get out to Chinchon and bake there instead for a day

Do I remember something about some kind of special bakery down an alley too?

I'm sure you will be very happy with your decision to stop over in the lovely Chichon

Jo

Jo and Shawn,

I love Anisado, and I always buy the Anís del Mono, from Badalona, Spain. Is the anís from Chinchón smoother than other Spanish anises? What makes it so special? Or, is it that something you have to be there to taste?

I'll drink to that Boozelady! hic!

Well, being on a Chinchon roll, here is Chinchon's official website:
http://www.ciudad-chinchon.com/
It even has a Special Protection Area for birds with colonies of choughs, black kite, kestrels, peregrine falcons and royal owls. What more can a girl ask for in life!

Carlole:

Overnight stop? Looks to me like you might have to change your plans and stay a week!

Booklady:

I'm no expert on the anis. But I do remember it being much nicer than Ouzo and Perno (sorry, that's the pathetic extent of my previous experience ) The size of the glass may have had something to do with the ultimate outcome too

Jo

Jo, who is the Anis Booklady?

Tut nev!

Post duly edited to remove all trace of grammatical errors (Is that 'traces of grammatical errors'? Or 'trace of grammatical error'? I've hedged my bets and used a bit of both )

I don't know, it's almost as bad as being in the chat room with you

Jo

Hola Nevado,

I am more of a Cuba Libre Librarian, as my friend Esq knows, than an Anís Booklady! But I do like good Spanish anís, and now I'll have to go to Chinchón on my next visit to taste some.

I am not Nevado, and this means that I'm being a budinsky, but 'anis' is a delightfully vast and complex subject that covers the entire Mediterranean (a.k.a ouzo, pastis, raki, anis des Vosges, anisette, etc. etc.). Spain represents a fragment of that picture, and Chinchon a shard. In France, one of the many forms of 'anis' is called 'badiane', which is a lovely Persian word that means 'anis étoilé'. And so, I suspect that Anis Booklady is 'l'anis étoilé' of Madridman.com. Vive l'anis. Vive Booklady. Vive Madridman. Vive Chinchon. Et bonsoir. Plume

MM: It's cochinillo...and you have to be a complete buffoon to mess it up...so I imagine that the choices in Chinchón are worth it, considering the glowing recommendations here.

One word of advice that's been mentioned: Go to Chinchón during the week if you want to avoid the Madrileño crowds on the weekends...

Hi Plumepoppy,

By the way, I use star anise whenever I have a stomach ache, and it works like a dream! If you add it to an herbal tea, like chamomille it makes you sleep like a baby, and calms your stomach as well!

Booklady,

Those cuba libres can be tasty, but for me the absolute best Cuban speciality is the mojito. I have had several delicious mojitos in Spain, one day I'll have to head to Calle 8 to see how well the Spaniards prepare Cuba's real liberating libation.

Cheers

I'm worried about the anís. I have some not too pleasant memories (actually, there is no memory) of drinking a small glass of ouzo, given to me by my best friend's Greek-American father. I don't remember a thing!! (Of course, I was in high school at the time.)

As for mojitos, the California Cafe in Palo Alto (near Stanford), makes a great one!! There's also a small restaurant/bar, Havana, in Walnut Creek where mojitos come in various flavors, an odd twist. So, for any of you northern Californians longing for a mojito, you have at least two choices.--CC

Bonjour Booklady! Well, as you can see, all I have to do is spit and polish my crystal ball, and voom, I see then hear it from you, that you are indeed an 'anis étoilé'. Now ... I'd love to know what are the proportions in the anis/chamomille elixir that takes you on a Turkish rug to the land of the Mille et une nuits?

Now a note for Carole Chiaro: It's not just about drinking anis, but how to drink it, and where to drink it. Menton, on the French border with Italy is one place to start, then you can work your way from one Mediterranean town to the next, trying each local variation until you reach Jérez, and then switch to Sherry. To be enjoyed very slowly.

I will, of course, be starting in Chinchon on this trip.