Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes tickets: which one to buy

San Juan de los Reyes stands at the western edge of Toledo's old town, above the river, near the Jewish quarter and the synagogues of Santa Maria la Blanca and El Transito, and it is ticketed; it is included in the Toledo tourist bracelet, which pays for itself if you visit several monuments. The monastery is one of the most beautiful buildings in Toledo and usually less crowded than the cathedral.

Walking tours of Toledo's Jewish quarter generally end or pass here, and the combination of synagogues and this royal monastery gives a good sense of the city's history around the year 1492. An audio guide is available. The monastery is a steep walk down from the centre, and the tourist train and buses pass nearby. It is a working Franciscan community, and parts of the building are closed to visitors. Buy the bracelet at the first monument you visit to avoid paying individual entries.

Visiting Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes: what to see

Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs, founded the monastery to celebrate their victory over the Portuguese at the Battle of Toro in 1476 and to serve as their burial place, although they were later buried in Granada after its conquest. The architect Juan Guas designed it in the Isabelline style, a late Gothic Spanish style rich in decoration. The two-storey cloister is the masterpiece: the lower level has intricate Gothic tracery and carved figures of animals, saints and plants, and the upper level has a Mudejar wooden ceiling.

The church interior is decorated with the heraldic arms of the monarchs, held by eagles, and with their initials and symbols, the yoke and arrows. On the outer walls hang iron chains that are said to have been removed from Christian captives freed in Granada, a reminder of the conquest. The garden in the cloister is planted with orange trees. Above the church door, carved figures of saints and the arms of the monarchs frame the entrance, and the exterior walls carry a frieze of carved pinnacles and gargoyles. The upper cloister gallery gives views down into the garden and up to the lantern of the church.

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes opening hours and the best time to go

The monastery is open daily, with shorter hours in winter. Toledo is busy with day-trippers from Madrid from late morning, so early morning or late afternoon visits are calmer. Summer is very hot in Toledo, and the shaded cloister is a pleasant refuge. Spring and autumn are ideal. Corpus Christi, in late spring, is the city's great festival, with processions and decorated streets.

The viewpoint over the Tagus river gorge, near the monastery, offers views of the San Martin bridge and the countryside. Allow about forty minutes for the monastery, and combine it with the synagogues nearby, which can be seen within an hour. The Transito synagogue, now the Sephardic Museum, is a five-minute walk and has a magnificent Mudejar ceiling.