Alcázar de San Juan

Famous for its carnival, which is declared a tourist event of regional tourist, Alcázar de San Juan is a traditional village of the La Mancha region, with major ancestral homes from the 17th-19th centuries and some windmills.

The centre of the village is set around Santa María square. A highlight is the Gran Prior palace of the Hospitaller Order, which conserves its tower, declared a Property of Cultural Interest, and the palatial chapel, which is castellated with Gothic windows. Religious buildings: Santa María la Mayor Church, Romanesque in origin and maintaining its semicircular apse; Santa Quiteria parish church, from the 16th-17th centuries; San Francisco Church, Gothic transitional; Santísima Trinidad Church, with a Baroque doorway; and Santa Clara, or La Conception, convent. Alcázar de San Juan also has the Hidalgo House Museum, which displays the lifestyle of the noblemen on whom Miguel de Cervantes based his character Don Quixote of La Mancha.