Church in Alcala de Henares
Also known as Capilla de San Ildefonso
Paid entryThere is an entry charge.
A university chapel inside the Cisnerian block of the University of Alcala in Alcala de Henares, known for its Mudejar coffered ceiling and the marble tomb of Cardinal Cisneros, who founded the university in 1499. The Carrara marble tomb is one of the great Renaissance funerary monuments in Spain, and the carved artesonado ceiling is the detail most visitors remember.
The chapel interior is reached through the paid University of Alcala guided tour, so it is one of the few ticketed stops in a town where most of the appeal is free. The fee is small, and travelers already taking the university tour add the chapel at no extra cost. Pair it with the free historic center, the arcaded Calle Mayor of Alcala de Henares, and the cheap Cercanías regional train from Madrid, and a visit to one of the most ornate interiors in Alcala de Henares barely dents a travel budget. The late Gothic Cathedral Magistral of Alcala de Henares and the Corral de Comedias are a short walk away.
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Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
A massive fortified palace that served as the seat of the Archbishops of Toledo, the most powerful churchmen in Spain. This is the building where Columbus had his first audience with the Catholic Monarchs in 1486 to argue for his voyage west.
One of the longest arcaded streets in Spain, running through the heart of the old town of Alcala de Henares. Free to walk, lined with shops and cafes under its continuous portico, it is the natural corridor between the city's main sights.
One of only two churches in the world to hold the title "Magistral," a rank that once required all its canons to hold a doctoral degree. The other is in Leuven, Belgium. This late Gothic church anchors the old town of Alcala de Henares, steps from the University of Alcala, and it costs nothing to step inside.
Reconstructed house on the Calle Mayor where Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, was born in 1547, now a museum recreating a 16th-century Castilian home. Entry is free, which makes it one of the best-value literary sites in Spain and an easy stop on a budget day trip from Madrid to Alcala de Henares.
Complutum is the open-air ruin of the Roman city that grew where Alcala de Henares stands today, with an excavated forum, public baths, and townhouses whose mosaic floors still survive in the open. Entry is free, and the regional train from Madrid puts it within easy reach, which makes it one of the cheapest serious Roman sites in central Spain.
A cloistered convent in the historic centre of Alcala de Henares, part of the dense set of convents and monasteries that fill the UNESCO old town.
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The whole of Alcala de Henares