Portray of the Destination
It is the capital of the province whose name is the same, located downhill on the left banks of the
Henares river, from where its broad cereal valley can be seen, at a height of 750 meters above sea
level. Although it is a service provider city, a potent and non-pollutant industrial area has been
developed by the river during the last years, thus completing the developing road axis of the
«Henares Corridor» to the East.
It was the city of birth of Antonio Buero Vallejo, a Spanish dramatist of the 20th Century.
The most characteristic monuments of the city are the Panteón de la duquesa de Sevillano (Duchess
of Sevillano Pantheon) and the Infantado Palace. At present, it has developed an infrastructure
that allows its expansion beyond the Alamín Gorge. It was also the city of birth of the Spanish
conqueror Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán, founder of the homonymous city in Mexico.
The capital city, by the Henares river, is a city with a Renaissance soul. From it, and
taking the N-II highway as an axis, a broad communication network causes the tourist to get close
to the really vast geography where there are attraction spots. It is in its capital where
Guadalajara keeps the trace of the Mendoza family’s presence in an exquisite example of the
architecture of all time: the Infantado Palace. However, it is leaving the capital towards the
surroundings when towns of unusual beauty, whose medieval flavour remains untouched even today, are
discovered. Atienza, Sigüenza, Jadraque are vivid examples of other times’ splendour. Pastrana,
Brihuega and Tendilla are also ‘must’ sites for you to visit. Castles and cathedrals bedeck its
villages, making them even more attractive to Tourism.
We would like to thank the Guadalajara Town Hall for the photographs and text provided.
Visit:
www.guadalajara.es
Geography
Plains that are located at a height of around 1,000 meters coexisting, at regular intervals, with
knolls and prominent hills –some whose flat peaks have been isolated by the erosion-, steep
hillsides and leafy fluvial valleys constitute the geographic personality of this region.
The geographic space of the province of Guadalajara offers a great variety of vegetal
landscapes, stemming from the combination of ecological and anthropic factors. Within the mass of
trees, the following are worth mentioning: oak groves, groves of gall oaks, beech-tree groves, pine
groves and clumps of savins. Besides these woody formations, the margins of the numerous rivers
that run through the province offer species as meaningful as the ash trees, elm trees, alders and
birches that grow beside fields of reeds and bulrushes.
Due to the variety of ecosystems the province of Guadalajara presents, the fauna inhabiting
them is really interesting and polymorphous. In the humid soils, in the rivers and their banks, in
the mountain areas, between the Atlantic and Mediterranean kind of forests as well as in those of
coniferous species, in the moorlands and steppes or in the subterranean ecosystems that appear in
the province of Guadalajara, different fauna species emerge, among which it is worth mentioning:
the wild cat, the weasel, the fox, the wild boar as well as the great diversity of birds and
trouts, among other species.
Map
Climate
Guadalajara combines diverse climatic conditions within its territory, although it may fit the one
called continental weather, typical of the Castilian plateau. Long, dry and hot summers and winters
equally long and tough give way to short and mild springs and autoumns that leave a meaningful
trace of their equinoctial seasons in the landscape, both in the foliation and non-foliation stages
of the arboreal species.
When to go
September is an excellent time of the year to visit Guadalajara since the city celebrations are
held in mid-September, after that of the Patron Saint Our Lady of Antigua. Also worth mentioning is
the fact that Guadajara has nice springs and autumns, which are the best seasons to visit it.
History
Founded by the Iberians by the name of Arriaca (stony river), its present name is due to the
Muslims who, after razing it, rebuilt it and called it Wad-Al-Hayara, which means “river of stones”.
Once an important Arab city, it was conquered by Alfonso VI and has always remained as a Crown
town. Craft guilds grew becoming very fruitful and the economic and social predominance
corresponded, from the 14th Century, to the Mendoza lineage, something that empowered the small
town’s development even more. Seat of royal weddings, Castilian courts and relevant battles, the
strategic place occupied by Guadalajara in the Henares valley, an essential pass between Castille
and Aragon, has always been aware of its unending importance.
The history of Guadalajara during the Islamic domination is little known. The bridge over the
Henares river and, to some extent, the Alcazar ruins, stem from that period, following the road
that goes upstream from the river up to the old core of the city. Apparently, the city enjoyed a
certain splendour during the 10th Century, in a way limited by its situation in a territory that,
more often than not, was ready for war. In 1085, Guadalajara was conquered by the Castilian King
Alfonso VI. Since 1085 until the battle of Navas de Tolosa in 1212, the history of the city had
reflected the course of the wars against the Almoravids and Almohads. The new Christian population
was finally able to settle in the territory and formed an extensive pastures community under the
jurisdiction of Guadalajara, as confirmed by the charter granted by King Alfonso VII in 1133.
During the reign of Alfonso X, the King’s protection ensured the economic development of the
population via defending its merchants and authorizing its fairs and markets which still take place
there. During the second half of the 14th Century, the Mendoza family, whose destiny marked that of
the city from that moment onwards, settled in Guadalajara. The city suffered deeply the
consequences of the general crisis of the 17th Century. The Mendozas moved its seat to Madrid;
bankruptcy and depopulation threatened the survival of the city.
At the beginning of the 18th Century Guadalajara, plundered during the Succession War,
underwent its worst moments. King Philip V’s favour succeeded in avoiding the total ruin via
establishing the Royal Cloths Factory which, until the early 19th Century, ensured the growth of
the city. From that moment onwards and until the second half of our century, Guadalajara survived
thanks to its administrative function as province capital and seat of public institutions among
which, the Military Engineers Academy is worth mentioning as of 1840. Although slow, the city’s
growth transformed it until it reaches a population of 11,000 inhabitants in 1900. Traces of those
relatively prosperous times can still be seen in the residential architecture of the Calle Mayor.
The absence of industrial development limited the city’s possibilities until the late 20th Century.
Twenty difficult years elapsed after the Civil War (1936-1939) and until 1959. At that
moment, Guadalajara was included in the development plans as an industrial decongestion polygon of
Madrid. Although such development has been slow, during the last years the city has achieved one of
the highest relative growth rates of Spain. At present, two events mark Guadalajara’s life. First,
Guadalajara is located at the periphery of Madrid’s metropolitan area, in the limits of the urban
and industrial expansion area of the so-called “Corredor del Henares” -Henares river Corridor-.
Second, the economic evolution has brought about a serious depopulation of the province. Under such
circumstances, the city consciously faces the risk of becoming a marginal nucleus of the Madrid
metropolis and so it fights in order to reach a balanced growth.
Traditions
The province of Guadalajara offers many attractions from the festive and traditional aspects. A
crossroad and “pass-through” land, it has been able to assimilate and give its own sense to any
cultural manifestation it may have received. The Holy Week shows its most genuine essence in the
austere rural processions, even though those of Guadalajara deserve to be highlighted because of
their splendour and brightness. The Apostles’ Procession, whose origin is secular and is so
colourful and flamboyant, is held in Guadalajara as part of the celebration of Corpus Christi.
Gastronomy
In Guadalajara, you can enjoy the best delicacies of its regions such as Alcarria, the Campiña, the
Serranía and the damming area: healthy and tasty products made by expert cooks and served with
great care by outstanding professionals in the different restaurants of the city. In various of the
many ‘mesones’ (taverns) of Guadalajara capital you can try the lamb or the grilled young goat, two
of the most representative culinary specialities of the city and of the province of Guadalajara as
well. The trouts, river crabs and pork derivatives are also typical, while the ‘morteruelo serrano’
(a paste to be spread on bread) should not be overlooked. The La Alcarria honey has its own
Designation of Origin.
Basic Dictionary
Yes:si. No:no. Hello:hola. Good bye:adios. Good morning:buenos días. Good afternoon:buenas tardes.
Good night:buenas noches. Please:por favor. Sorry:lo siento. Thank you:gracias. Doctor:médico.
Pharmacy:farmacia. Numbers: 1:un. 2:dos. 3:tres. 4:cuatro. 5:cinco. 6:seis. 7:siete. 8:ocho.
9:nueve. 10:diez. 11:once. 12:doce. 13:trece. 14:catorce. 15:quince. 16:dieciséis. 17:diecisiete.
18:dieciocho. 19:diecinueve. 20:veinte. 21:veintiuno. 22:veintidós. 30:treinta. 40:cuarenta.
50:cincuenta. 60:sesenta. 70:setenta. 80:ochenta. 90:noventa. 100:cien. 1000:mil. Days of the week:
Monday:lunes. Tuesday:martes. Wednesday:miércoles. Thursday:jueves. Friday:viernes.
Saturday:sábado. Sunday:domingo. Common words: big/small:grande/pequeño. Hot/Cold:caliente/frío.
Open/Clossed:abierto/cerrado. Good/bad: bueno/malo. New/old:nuevo/viejo. Push/Pull:empujar/tirar.
Entrance/exit:entrada/salida. Ladies/Gentlemen:señoras/señores. Far/near:lejos/cerca.
Left/Right:izquierda/derecha. Taxi:taxi. Bus:autobús. Meals: Breakfast:desayuno. Lunch:comida.
Dinner:cena. Menu:menú. Wines:vinos. Dessert:postre. The bill:la cuenta. Common sentences: Do you
speak English?:¿Habla inglés?. I don´t understand:no entiendo. where is it?:¿donde está? How much
is it?:¿Cuánto es? What time is it?:¿Qué hora es? Could you help me?:¿Puede ayudarme?
Currency
The Euro is the local currency. There are 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5-Euro bills. There are eight Euro coins, in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent and 1 and 2 Euro.
Currency Exchange
1.00 US Dollar = 0.82 Euros; 1.0 Sterling Pound = 1.45 Euros.
Prices
Compared with other EU countries and perhaps due to its touristic vocation, Spain is one of the
cheapest countries of the region, at the moment of traveling. Obviously, prices vary depending upon
the season, since they are higher in summer and lower in winter, that is to say, when they are out
of season.
Useful Info
Official nameGuadalajara
CountrySpain
Time ZoneGMT + 1 (GMT + 2 starting on the last Sunday in March and ending on Saturday before the last Sunday in October).
Official LanguageSpanish
Surface area267.5 sq. km
Population73,719 inhabitants
Political RegimeConstitutional Monarchy
Public holidaysJanuary 1: New Year’s Day; January 6: Epiphany; March 19: Saint Joseph’s Day; March or April: Holy
Week; May 1: Labor Day; May 30: Castile-La Mancha’s Officila Day; August 15: Our Lady of Asunción's
Day; September 8: Our Lady of Antigua’s Day; October12: Our Lady of El Pilar, Spanish National
Celebration; November 1: All Saints' Day; December 6: Spanish Constitution Day; December 8: Our
Lady of Inmaculada Concepción's Day; December 25: Christmas Day.
ReligionCatholicism is the most extended religion in the country. Four out of five Spaniards consider
themselves Catholics. Atheists or Agnostics follow the Catholics, and then there are other minority
religions. With regard to the members, the second most important is the Muslim religion, whose
faithful are approximately 800,000 who have come during the recent waves of immigration. Jehova’s
Witnesses follow with 103,784 faithful. There are also various Protestant denominations that, as a
whole, are somewhat near the 50,000 followers as well as some 20,000 Mormons.
ReligionCatholic
Arrival / DepartureTaking into account its privileged location in the center of the Iberian peninsula and the strong
radial character of Spain’s road network, the province of Guadalajara offers a broad and complete
road-access network into its territory as well as inner ways of communication, either through
highways or by train or plane.
SafetyThe city of Guadalajara is aware of the amount of visiting tourists, therefore, the travelers’
security constitutes a priority while in it. However, this does not invalidate the general advice
tourists are provided with before travelling. We recommend that you take with you just the money
you will need every time you go out as well as being extremely cautious in those places that might
be crowded in order to prevent thefts.
VisaCitizens of other EU member states, Argentina, Mexico as well as of other Latin American countries,
or of the U.S. do not need a visa to enter Spain. But, in every case, a round-trip ticket must be
presented. Likewise, citizens coming from Australia, Anguila, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus,
South Korea, Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands, Caiman Islands, Israel, Japan, Macao, Malaysia,
Montserrat, New Zealand, Santa Helena, Singapore, Turks and Caicos Islands will not need a visa
either, as long as their stay is less than 90 days long.
ClothingRules are not too strict insofar as clothing is concerned; in fact, it changes in accordance with
the season, place and circumstances. Spaniards are not used to dressing too formally to go to work
or share their leisure time with others; they normally wear comfortable and casual clothes but
bearing in mind that warm clothes are essential in January.
ElectricityThe electricity in Guadalajara is 220 or 225 volts AC, 50 Hz. Plug sockets consist of two rounded
plugs.
Radio and TelevisionIn Guadalajara you can enjoy the national TV networks such as: TVE1, TVE2, Antena 3, Tele 5 and
Cuatro.
With regard to the radio environment, Guadalajara offers a good assortment of local radio
stations, such as: Cadena Dial Guadalajara / 96.2; COPE Guadalajara / 89.3; Kiss FM / 92.8; Onda
Cero Radio / 94.7; Radio Amistad / 100.4; Radio Arrebato / 107.4; Radio Castilla La Mancha / 100.5;
Radio Guzmán / 107.0; Radio Marca / 98.2; SER Guadalajara / 95.5; Tecnopop FM / 92.0.
TelephoneThe international dialling code for Spain is 34 and Guadalajara’s area code is 949. In order to be
able to make international calls, first you must dial 00, then the country code and then the
telephone number. To make local calls within Spain, it is not necessary to use a special code.
Insofar as the mobile field is concerned, the country’s technology is GMS but in many cases it is
not compatible with that of other countries.
The most important mobile operators are Amena (website: www.amena.com); Movistar-Telefonica
Mobiles (website: www.movistar.tsm.es) and Vodafone (website: www.vodafone.es). You will usually
find public telephone booths along the streets that work with either current circulating coins or
cards that you can buy in places such as the “locutorios” –facilities where you will find several
telephone booths from where you will be able to call using no coins or cards but paying your calls
cash once you have made them. In these places, among other services, you can also send and receive
faxes as well as find PCs to get connected to the Internet, paying afterwards for having used them.
Police092
Ambulance34 949 22 22 22
Fire Brigade34 949 24 72 80
Tourist health care services34 949 22 04 42
Newspapers and MagazinesBesides all the national newspapers like Abc, El Mundo, El País, Estrella Digital, La Razón or La
Vanguardia, Guadalajara also has local ones such as the Nueva Alcarria, La tribuna de Guadalajara
and Día de Guadalajara.
Postal ServiceIn general, the Spanish Postal Service is good and letter deliveries within Europe often take
between three and five days. The Post Office address in Guadalajara is Calle Teniente Figueroa, 5.
Tel.: 34 949248018. Business Hours: the office is open 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9:30
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays while it remains closed on Sundays and holidays.
Health Care ServicesIn general, the Spanish health care system is good, since it comprises a healthcare centers
network. Some of the healthcare centres of the city of Guadalajara are provided below:
HOSPITAL GENERAL UNIVERSITARIO DE GUADALAJARA, Donantes de Sangre s/n, 19002 Guadalajara.
HOSPITAL PROVINCIAL ORTIZ DE ZÁRATE, Calle Hospital ,1 CLÍNICA DOCTOR SANZ VÁZQUEZ, Calle
Fernández Iparraguirre, 6
SANATORIO NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA ANTIGUA, Calle Constitución, 18
Medical Emergencies: Calle Ferial, 31 Tel.: 34 949 219292.
AirportTaking into account its privileged location in the centre of the Iberian peninsula and the strong
radial character of Spain’s road network, the province of Guadalajara offers a broad and complete
road-access network into its territory as well as inner ways of communication, either through
highways or by train or plane. Airport: By air, you can get to Guadalajara via the Barajas
International Airport (Madrid), located 35 kilometres away form the province capital and 13 km
north-east of Madrid. By road, once you are in the centre of Madrid and the M-30 motorway, you can
get to Guadalajara through the A-2 or N-II (the Barcelona motorway), taking the exit towards the
airport at the km 12. From the M-40 motorway, taking way outs 3 and 9, you connect with the A-10
and the N-100 roads respectively, which take you directly to the terminals. You can also take the
line 8 of the Madrid Subway (and get off at the national terminal, T2. The ticket costs
approximately 1.15 Euros. You can also travel by bus, taking line 89 at the Plaza Colon underground
square. The ticket costs approximately 2.50 Euros. It has three terminals.
Address : Madrid-Barajas International Airport, 28042 Madrid, Spain. Tel.: 34 902 353 570
(for calls made from Spain only) or 34 91 305 8343 / 45 (for calls made from Spain and from foreign
countries) Fax No.: 34 91 393 6204. E-mail : mad.clientesmad@aena.es Webpage : www.aena.es
Public TransportThere are ten urban bus lines in Guadalajara whose routes cover the whole city. The city’s urban
bus station is located on Calle Dos de Mayo, 1, Tel.: 34 949 247277; interurban buses: Calle Dos de
Mayo, 1, Tel.:34 949 215619.
Taxi services can also be used, the most important stops are as follows: - Plaza de Santo
Domingo 34 949 212245. - RENFE Train Station 34 949 228238. - Bus Station 34 949 226358. In order
to hire a night taxi service, from 11:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m., you must call the following number:
34 949 229869.
RailwayThe Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona-France railway line (through Port-Bou) crosses the province in the
SW-NE direction, stopping at Guadalajara. If you take the train from Madrid, it will take you
approximately 35 minutes to get to Guadalajara; the Tourist-class ticket costs 3.90 Euros and the
train offers high daily frequencies.
BusYou can comfortably travel the distance between Madrid and Guadalajara by bus, since you are
provided with frequent daily buses. Guadalajara offers 10 urban bus lines for you to be able to
move comfortably around the city.
Guadalajara Bus Station: Calle Dos de Mayo s/n, 19004 Guadalajara. Tel.: 34 902330400 or 34
949211113 or 34 949247277 Fax No.: 34 949247278
CarBy road, the main access road for you to get to Guadalajara is the Aragon (E-90) Highway that links
Spain’s capital with Zaragoza, Barcelona and France, through La Junquera (Girona). This Highway
crosses the province of Guadalajara in the West-East direction, coming from the Madrid autonomous
region.
Car RentalsThe main car rental offices addresses are:
Europe Car Division Teruel S.A.: San Juan de Dios, 19 19001 Guadalajara
AVIS: Avenida del Ejército S/N, 19004 Guadalajara.
ShipThere is no way to get to the city by ship.
See climatewww.worldweather.orgCurrency converterwww.xe.com/uccA dinnerBetween 30 and 45 Euros per person.
The BusApproximate fare for 1 bus ride: 1 Euro.
The taxiApproximately 1.65 Euros when the meter starts running. Then, rate per kilometer: between 0.75 and 0.90 Euros approximately.
