Toledo sits inside a nearly closed loop of the Tagus, a granite gorge that makes the old city a natural fortress, and the first sight of it from the ring road is one that few riders forget. The Carretera de Circunvalación runs around the opposite bank, and its lay-bys and viewpoints, especially the Mirador del Valle, give the classic view: the Alcázar and cathedral on the skyline, the Alcántara bridge below, and the river shining in the gorge. El Greco painted that same view in the early seventeenth century, with stormy skies, and it is not hard to see why.
The city was the capital of the Visigothic kingdom, and later, for centuries, of Castile, and its reputation as a place where Christians, Muslims and Jews lived side by side, however imperfectly, is the source of its nickname, the city of three cultures. Its synagogues, mosques turned churches and Gothic cathedral are all within a few minutes' walk of each other. Toledo steel, which made the swords of kings, is still forged, and shops along the narrow lanes sell blades and damascene jewellery. The marzipan, mazapán de Toledo, is the sweet to try, made with almonds and sugar and sold in boxes in every pastry shop.
Riding in the old town is not a good idea. The lanes are steep and narrow, paved with slippery stone, and cars are restricted, so you should park outside the walls and walk. There are large car parks near the Puerta de Bisagra, and on the south bank, with a bank of escalators that lifts you up the hill. The roads that approach from Madrid and Aranjuez are mostly wide and fast, and the hills to the south, the Montes de Toledo, offer a quieter ride through holm oak and cork forests where deer and even a few lynx live.
The city has more than eighty thousand people, with fuel stations on all the main roads. In summer the heat is ferocious, and the best time to walk the old streets is early morning or late evening. A meal of partridge or venison stew, followed by marzipan, is a Toledan pleasure that costs more in tourist season, so look for the places a little off the main squares.