Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes. Toledo, Castilla_La Mancha, Espana

Getty Images/age fotostock RM

Monasterio San Juan de los Reyes

Toledo


This imposing 15th-century Franciscan monastery and church was provocatively founded in the heart of the Jewish quarter by the Catholic monarchs Isabel and Fernando to demonstrate the supremacy of their faith. The rulers had planned to be buried here but eventually ended up in their prize conquest, Granada. The highlight is the amazing two-level cloister, a harmonious fusion of late ('flamboyant') Gothic downstairs and Mudéjar architecture upstairs, with superb statuary, arches, vaulting, elaborate pinnacles and gargoyles surrounding a lush garden.

The adjacent church has a series of enormous coats of arms of the Catholic monarchs, who were never shy about self-publicising. Outside, note the chains dangling from the northeastern facade – they once belonged to Christian prisoners liberated from Muslim Granada.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Toledo attractions

1. Sinagoga de Santa María La Blanca

0.1 MILES

The lesser of Toledo's two Mudéjar synagogues has five naves divided by rows of horseshoe and multifoil arches. Originally the upper arches opened onto…

2. Sinagoga del Tránsito

0.19 MILES

This magnificent synagogue was built in 1355 by special permission from Pedro I. The synagogue now houses the Museo Sefardí, which provides a glimpse into…

3. Museo Sefardí

0.19 MILES

Housed in the magnificent Sinagoga del Tránsito, this museum provides a rare and important glance into erstwhile Sephardic culture in Spain. Entry is…

4. Iglesia de Santo Tomé

0.2 MILES

Iglesia de Santo Tomé contains El Greco’s most famous masterpiece El entierro del conde de Orgaz (The Burial of the Count of Orgaz), which is accessed by…

5. Convento de Santo Domingo El Antiguo

0.21 MILES

This wonderfully disheveled 11th-century monastery contains one of El Greco's earliest Toledo works: The Assumption of the Virgin (1679), which fills a…

6. Museo del Greco

0.23 MILES

In the early 20th century, an aristocrat bought what he thought was El Greco's house and did a meritorious job of returning it to period style. He was…

8. Iglesia del Salvador

0.27 MILES

This little-visited but intriguing church exposes multiple historical layers in true Toledan fashion. Until 1159, it was a mosque; before that, a…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "spain/castilla-la-mancha/toledo/attractions/monasterio-san-juan-de-los-reyes/a/poi-sig/483194/360759",
      "destination": "Toledo",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Spain",
      "city": "Toledo",
      "position": "superzone"
    }