Toledo, the former capital of Castile, remains the heart of the country, physically, culturally and spiritually. It is the seat of the Catholic Church in Spain but styles itself as a 'city of three cultures', reflecting the other religions, Islam and Judaism, that have held it in sway in the past. This multiculturalism makes for an intriguing heritage, one that is evident in everything from the architecture to the food.

HOSTAL EL CARDENAL
Paseo de Recaredo 24 (00 34 925 224 900; fax: 222 991). Converted from the 18th-century summer residence of the Cardenal Lorenzana, set within shady gardens just outside the old city (but very close to an outdoor escalator link that takes you into town), this delightful, though modest hotel has a celebrated restaurant and fills up, so book well ahead. £

HOTEL PINTOR EL GRECO
Alamillos del Tránsito 13 (00 34 925 285 191; fax: 215 819; www.hotelpintorelgreco.com). In the heart of the Judería and formerly a bakery, this fine 17th-century house has a cool central patio and simple, unpretentious rooms. £

PARADOR CONDE DE ORGAZ
Cerro El Emperador (00 34 925 221 850; fax: 225 166; www.parador.es). A traditional-style stone cigarral, or Castilian country house, this four-star parador has panoramic views of the city from its balconied rooms, as well as elegant grounds and a large swimming pool. The snag is it is three kilometres out of town. £

RESTAURANTS

RESTAURANTE ASADOR ADOLFO
Calle de la Granada 6 and calle Hombre de Palo 7 (00 34 925 227 321). The finest restaurant in a city that takes its food very seriously, Adolfo occupies the ground floor of what was a Jewish merchant's house, with a fine coffered ceiling supported by granite columns, and dark-red walls tiled to dado height. It specialises in game, but its fish is also excellent (melt-in-the mouth hake fillet with saffron and fragrant olive oil; monkfish and squid cooked in its own ink); as was its timbale de setas (five varieties of wild mushroom including chanterelles, ceps and trompettes) and its acetic but intensely flavoured sopa de verdures, a clear liquor served with julienne strips of vegetables and finely chopped truffles. Keep room for pudding: saffron pound cake with sublime bitter-chocolate ice cream; marzipan cake with orange ice cream. Its wine list specialises in obscure Spanish regional wines.

CASON DE LOS LOPEZ DE TOLEDO
Calle Sillería 3 (00 34 925 254 774). This fine 16th-century mansion contains a busy bar and café on the ground floor and a more formal dining room on the first, furnished with antiques and religious paintings. Do not be put off by the English-language menu ('tongue stuffing snouts and garlic sauce' anyone?), as the cooking here is good, if unrefined.

LA ABADIA
Plaza San Nicol´s 3 (00 34 925 250 746). The menu outside suggests this is a restaurant, but some nights, they only serve tapas and raciones (larger portions of tapas) - not that you can't make a meal of those. There is a good range of vegetable dishes (salad of grilled aubergine, pumpkin, courgette and asparagus; fried green tomatoes; chargrilled red peppers) and delicious egg dishes (revuelto de patatas). Carnivores will not go hungry either. The puddings, such as saffron ice cream, and the almond cake called ponche Toledano, are excellent.

BARS AND CAFES

LA TABERNITA
Calle Santa Fe 10. Well off the tourist track, this bar serves good, if limited, tapas and raciones, local wine and beer or cider served in stoneware cups to keep it cool.

EL TRE BOL
Calle Santa Fe 5. Further along the same street, El Tre Bol is also attractive, and has a terrace squeezed between the high, painted walls of the Santa Fe convent.

LA TARASCA
Calle Hombre de Palo 8. Nearer the centre of town, this is a traditional, wood-panelled bar serving a good range of raciones.

CERVERCERIA GAMBRINUS
Calle Santo Tomé 10. In the Judería, the Cervercería Gambrinus has tables in the square outside.

VENTA DE AIRES
Calle Circo Romano 35. This is where Buñuel, Dalí and the Noble Order of Toledo used to meet in order to get drunk.

HORCHATERIA TOLEDO
Plaza de Zocódover. In a city where almonds are incorporated into almost every dish, it is hardly surprising there is an almond drink. The Horchatería Toledo serves the milky, iced, almond drink horchata, as well as more conventional café fare.

CASA TELESFORO
Plaza de Zocódover 13. On the same square, Casa Telesforo has been making and serving marzipan, cakes and pastries since 1806.

COMERCIO 38
On the main street, Comercio. The original Art Deco shopfront leads into an unpretentious, no-frills café that serves excellent coffee, croissants and orange juice (which they squeeze in front of you) and in the morning it is full of Toledanos on their way to work.

According to an old Spanish saying, until you've seen Toledo, you have not seen Spain. And the best way of doing this is by wandering its streets, taking part in the evening paseo or sitting over a drink and a tapa in its many bars and cafés.

For great views of the city, there are a number of viewpoints lining the circunvalación (ring road). You can walk from one of the city's two fortified footbridges to the other in about an hour, but although the views across the gorge are superb, the route runs along a main road (there is a pavement), so unless you crave exercise, you should take a taxi.

Toledo has two principal landmarks: the monumental Gothic cathedral, crowned by a 100-metre spire and the palace-fortress of the Alcázar - home of Castilian kings until Philip II built the Escorial in 1563, besieged by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War and now an army museum.

It would be possible to spend hours in the cathedral, so packed is it with important works of art. Its sacristy alone contains paintings by Zubarán, Van Dyck, Goya, Raphael, Bellini, Titian, Velálsquez and Rubens, as well as 18 El Grecos. And behind the golden gates of its choir, blackened with iron to disguise their value from Napoleon's troops when they occupied the city, is some of the most remarkable 15th-century woodcarving in existence.

If there is one work by El Greco you should not miss - and you could spend a week in Toledo visiting churches and galleries celebrated for their El Grecos - it is his masterwork, the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, an extraordinary painting of heaven and earth that hangs in an annexe of the church of Santo Tomé.

Also visit the exquisite Santa María La Blanca which was built as a synagogue in the 12th Century by Moorish craftsmen, ostensibly because they were the only artisans in Toledo. It contains 28 white octagonal pillars with intricately carved capitals supporting a succession of horseshoe-shaped arches and was subsequently converted into a church by the Knights of Calatrava, and used as a stable by Napoleon. But in 1992, 500 years after the expulsion of the Jews, King Juan Carlos made a formal apology to Yitzhak Rabin, emblematically tearing up a copy of the document enforcing their expulsion here and decreeing that the building should once more become a synagogue (though this has yet to happen).

AIRPORT
The nearest airport is Madrid. From here you need to get a train (there are nine a day) from Atocha Renfe or a bus (every half-hour) from Estación Sur (metro Méndez Alvaro) to Toledo, both of which take 75 minutes. On Sundays, buses from Toledo to Madrid go on the hour. It's a short taxi ride into town from the bus and train stations, or catch a bus (no5 or 6) to the Plaza de Zocódover.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK
British Airways (0845 779 9977; www.britishairways.com) flies to Madrid from Heathrow and Manchester. British Midland (0870 607 0555; www.flybmi.com) flies to Madrid from Heathrow. EasyJet (0870 600 0000; www.easyjet.com) flies there from Luton and Liverpool; and Iberia (020 7830 0011; www.iberia.com) flies from Heathrow.

The heat can be stifling in high summer, but otherwise Toledo is a good year-round destination. Although it can get crowded, it is fun to go during a religious holiday. These are celebrated with spectacular fervour and solemn processions, especially during Semana Santa, before Easter; on the Sunday after Corpus Christi in June (unless Easter is early) when the monstrance (a 12ft, 200kg receptacle containing an effigy of Christ) from the cathedral Treasury, part of it crafted from gold brought back by Columbus, is paraded through the streets. There is also a seven-day fiesta for the Virgen del Sagrario in the third week of August, which is marked with epic firework displays.

The main tourist office (00 34 925 220 843) is just outside Toledo's northern main gate, the Puerta Nueva de Bisagra. Also try the official Spanish Tourist Board website at www.tourspain.es.