The story of this place
Perched like the prow of a stone ship where two rivers meet, the Alcázar of Segovia rose from a medieval fortress into a favourite residence of the Castilian kings. On 13 December 1474 Isabella walked out of the Alcázar and had herself proclaimed Queen of Castile in the square below, launching the reign that would unite Spain, complete the Reconquista and fund Columbus. Alfonso X studied the stars here; Philip II married here in 1570. A fire in 1862 gutted the castle, which was rebuilt with steep, fairy-tale turrets; that silhouette is often said to have helped inspire the Cinderella Castle at Disney. Its Hall of Kings still glitters with a frieze of Castilian monarchs.