Puente de Alcántara
Start where travellers have entered Toledo since Roman times: on the Puente de Alcántara, the arch bridge over the Tagus at the foot of the Castillo de San Servando. Its name comes from the Arabic al-qanṭarah, which simply means “the arch”, and today two arches carry you across.
The Romans built it when they founded the city of Toletum. In the 10th century it was damaged and rebuilt, and a third arch disappeared, reduced to a gate with a horseshoe arch. For centuries this was one of the very few ways into Toledo, and in the Middle Ages every pilgrim had to come in here.
Look at the two ends. The western tower dates from the rebuilding under Alfonso X of Castile, after floods had badly damaged the bridge, and the Catholic Monarchs later decorated it with their coat of arms. Search the arms for a pomegranate, the emblem of Granada: you won't find one, because when they went up the Reconquista was not yet over. The eastern tower had fallen into ruin by 1721 and was replaced by a Baroque triumphal arch.
The bridge has been a national cultural monument since 1921 and costs nothing to cross. Don't confuse it with the Roman Alcántara Bridge in Extremadura, which spans the same river further downstream. From here the route climbs 620 m, about 12 minutes, to the Alcázar at the highest point of the city.






















