Manzanares has culture, art and archaeology. Visit the charm of Colmenar Viejo with Chapín Group.
Those who travel more say that sometimes we miss what we have closer. An assertion that many Madrid people recognize. And it is that the Region that houses the Capital of Spain hides in not too many square kilometers a great variety of landscapes, activities and attractions. Starting, of course, for the 179 municipalities in the Region. One of those towns, in the northern area, is Colmenar Viejo. A municipality of more than 49,000 inhabitants that holds not only a rich natural and landscape heritage, but also important samples of Gothic, Plateresque and Baroque Renaissance art. It also has an interesting museum offer. On this occasion we discovered the charm of Colmenar Viejo with Chapín.
Things to visit
Among what we cannot miss in Colmenar Viejo we have:
- The gothic parish church of the Assumption of Our Lady, although some of its elements belong to the Renaissance and the flamboyant style. It was built between the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Its main altarpiece is composed of tables, among others and the painter Alonso Sánchez Coello.
- Archeological sites: Fuente del Moro, Remedios, Navalvillar and Navalahija. Fuente del Moro and Remedios offer two complete Visigoth necropolises. In Navalvillar one of the oldest Muslim dwellings of the peninsula was found.
- Mills and bats of El Grajal: they are found along the Manzanares River. They are from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The mills were dedicated to obtaining flour from cereals grown in the area and the batanes, and were especially used in the treatment of wool from the abundant sheep hut.
- Part of its territory is included in the Regional Park of the upper Manzanares basin. Starting from Colmenar Viejo there are many routes for hikers.
- The chapel of Santa Ana, late-Gothic, also flamboyant style and Mudejar finishes.
- Cyclopean Museum: a corner for geology lovers. More than eighty rocks of different geological origin that are accompanied by identifying and explanatory posters prepared by the CSIC.
- Festivities: The Fiesta de la Vaquilla is celebrated on the last weekend of January. Declared of National Touristic Interest. Heifers are wooden frames decorated with scarves and shawls. The horns and a cow’s tail provide animal imprint to the contraption, which can weigh 40 kilos. The mayoral, the heifers and the satchel form the courtship that dances incessantly. The Fiesta de la Maya, is celebrated every 2nd of May. The festivities are in honour of the Virgen de los Remedios and take place from August the 24th to the 28th.
In Colmenar Viejo you can also visit the Army Aviation Academy.
At 35 minutes from Madrid lays a fabulous place with a lot to offer to those visitors such as for example Colmenar Viejo. A corner of the Upper Manzanares Basin in which to enjoy and share a fun day full of curiosities with friends and family.
More information about Colmenar Viejo at colmenarviejo.com
All the information of the Chapín Group at https://grupochapin.com/en/request-a-quote/