The City of Alcalá de Henares, birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO in December 1998, in recognition of the fact that Alcalá was the first city to be designed and built solely as the seat of a university, and was to serve as the model for other centres of learning in Europe and America.

The Tourist Excellence Plan of Alcalá de Henares is developed over four years, starting in 2006. Tourist Excellence Plans seek quality and excellence in all of the aspects that define a tourist destination. Thus, the intention is to set up and put into operation projects that have an important development effect. The principal idea is to adjust what is offered to tourists by the infrastructure and commerce of these destinations in order to transform it into a true quality tourist option.

Alcalá de Henares has witnessed many civilizations in the last 5.000 years. Each of them made a generous contribution to the city's rich heritage. The Historical Centre began to develop from the Middle Ages and became an area in which Jews, Moslems and Christians lived together peacefully. The creation of the University, founded by Cardinal Cisneros in 1499, resulted in a great expansion of art and culture during the Renaissance and the Golden Age.

UNESCO's declaration not only refers to Alcalá's breathtaking historical heritage, but also to its contribution to the intellectual development of humankind, the advances in linguistics that took place there and, not least, to the definition of the Spanish language, specially through the work of its great son Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, and his masterpiece Don Quixote.

The City Council is installing several adapted information panels in the city: six of which are being placed in the historical centre of the city. Their goal is to offer information accessible to all, so height, texture, etc. have been considered. Texts have been written in Braille and in several languages (Spanish, English and French). You will find them in plaza Puerta de Madrid, plaza de Palacio , plaza de los Santos Niños, plaza de Cervantes, plaza de San Diego y plaza Puerta de Mártires.

 

TOURIST INFORMATION OFFICES

Plaza de Cervantes.
Callejón de Santa María 1
Alcalá de Henares
Tel: +34 91 889 26 94

Plaza de los Santos Niños
Alcalá de Henares
Tel. +34 91 881 06 34

E-mail: info@turismoalcala.com
www.turismoalcala.com

 

 

Polibea Turismo