III International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management

HOST CITY

Ciudad Real (the royal town) was founded in 1255 by the King Alfonso X “The Wise” and since then it has become a modern city, keeping jealously its noble origins. Ciudad Real is the major city of the La Mancha region, which was the scenario where Cervantes sited the adventures of the famous gentleman "Don Quixote of La Mancha".

The city is exceptionally well located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, which has conditioned the town’s progress and development www.ayto-ciudadreal.es.

Since 1992, Spain’s high speed train AVE connect Madrid and Seville, and stops at Ciudad Real. Thus residents and visitors may travel in only 55 minutes comfortable and secure train ride to Madrid, the Spanish Capital.

Ciudad Real offers an important cultural heritage, and it is also a departure point for itineraries in La Mancha region. There are many interesting landscapes and villages especially regarding arts and gastronomy as well as natural parks. Organized tours of some of the following attractions may be offered for participants at the III International Symposium on Transboundary Waters Management.

The most outstanding monuments in Ciudad Real are:

Basilica Cathedral of Santa María La Mayor: Built in 1542, the cathedral is an impressive example of Roman- Gothic art. The wooden altar piece is specially noteworthy.

San Pedro Church: A 14th century church with two beautiful chapels.

Santiago Church: The most ancient building of Ciudad Real (13th -14th century B.C.) exhibits a Mudejar coffered ceiling and interesting frescos in the apse vault and on the walls.

Elisa Cendrero Museum: This Museum preserves the original furniture and family collection of a Familiar high class home at the beginning of the 20th century.

Lopez Villaseñor Museum: The museum contains a collection of Lopez Villaseñor paintings, one of the more famous Spanish paintings of the second half of the 20th century.

Quixote Museum: Museum dedicated to the immortal work of Miguel de Cervantes, with different multimedia rooms.

Provincial Museum: The provincial museum contains three sections: Archaeology, natural science and Fine Arts. It offers guided visits.

Other points of special interest close to Ciudad Real

Other points of special interest close to Ciudad Real include:

Alarcos castle: There are important Iberian and Archaeological remains.
This was also the scene of the battle of Alarcos (1195), one of the most important battles of the Reconquest of Spain by the Christian Kingdom.

Almagro: A very typical 16th century town still stamped by the influence of that period. It provides cultural walks thought its streets, which maintains many historical buildings and important monuments. www.ciudad-almagro.com

Cabañero National Park: The Cabañeros National Park is in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula between the provinces of Ciudad Real and Toledo, including the hills of Toledo; it covers 41,805 hectares ha. extremely well preserved. It is made up of low uncultivated hills offering pasture to a variety of animals, interspersed with mountains.

Cabañero is the only spanish National Park which supports Mediterranean forest-type. This area has adapted to the adverse environmental conditions imposed by low quality soil and harsh climatic conditions. The partial maintenance of the natural structure of the canopy and the understory within the systems has preserved several elements of biodiversity.

Tablas de Daimiel National Park: This area is an example of a type of wetlands on the central plain: the fluvial flats, whose vegetation is an exceptional habitat for its animal life: amphibians and reptiles, birds and aquatic mammals.
The park has a visitor’s centre, an acclimatisation lake, observatories and various routes duly signposted. www.lastablasdedaimiel.com

Ruidera Natural Park: Is the most spectacular lake area in the Iberian Peninsula.
This area has been designated as a Natural Park and possesses various ecosystems of vegetation characteristic of the plateau environment, where grove of holms oaks predominate, together with junipers, elms, poplar sand thick scrub.
Among the wealth of fauna the aquatic birds are of special interest, with species like the mallard duck, red-crested pochard, coot great crested grebe and a large number of birds of pray.

In the area of the lakes there are a large number of hotels and recreational facilities, and water sports are permitted. Near the San Pedro lake, there is the famous “montesino’s cave” immortalised in Don Quixote.

Ruidera Natural Park