If you love a quaint classic European town—cobble stone streets, Roman viaducts, Medieval castles, and good food—Segovia should be on your “to visit” list.

Not far from Madrid, Segovia is a beautiful town listed among the UNESCO World Heritage sites. It offers an eclectic collection of architectural beauty, including medieval walls, Romanesque churches, a former royal palace and a Gothic cathedral. There is so much history to explore!

We arrived at our local AirBnB on an early sunny morning and were impressed with its simple and modern vibe, a wall to ceiling door opened up to a small plaza below, perfect for people-watching as they walked by or while they enjoyed a café respite.

As nice as our room was, we didn’t stay inside too long. Instead, we joined the other tourists and strolled on the town’s cobble stone streets toward its most impressive structure: the aqueduct. The Romans really knew what they were doing when they built this structure in the 1st century AD! The two-story high arches are solid rocks (and rock solid) fit closely together with little to no mortar. The Aqueduct of Segovia functioned for many centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire and served the communities of Segovia well into the modern era. It brought water from the nearby Frio River to the town’s dwellers and now is a prominent feature of the landscape of Castilla y León region.

Alcázar de Segovia was not only the royal residence but an inspiration for Walt Disney’s iconic fairytale castle—and with good reason. We spent a good part of the day exploring the stone fortress and its extensive armor collection.

Catedral de Segovia, Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, Iglesia de San Martín, and Casa De Los Picos were some of the other historical places we visited on our brief stop through the city.

We followed the curve of the old road toward the smell of roasted chestnuts offered with a smile by a street vendor.

We explored some more of the city, taking in its peaceful sunny demeanor.

For lunch, we savored a jamon iberico sandwich and got a kick out of an overzealous dog who was barking up a storm at the statue of a pig inside the store.

For dinner, we chose a restaurant in Plaza Medina del Campo. The food was not the best and the menu and prices were misleading. This is one of the very few non-stellar food experiences we had in Europe.

Before heading out of town to our next destination, beautiful Barcelona, we had a lovely breakfast with traditional bread and tomatoes (pan con tomate), delicious pastries, and coffee.