Segovia announces itself with a Roman aqueduct, and nothing else in Spain quite prepares you for it. Built around the first or second century, the granite blocks are stacked in two tiers of arches without any mortar, and the whole thing strides through the middle of the town like something from a film set. It carried water from the mountains for nearly two thousand years, and in the oldest parts of the city you can still see how it dictated the shape of the streets around it.
The old town stands on a rocky spur between two small rivers, the Eresma and the Clamores, and it is a UNESCO site since 1985. At the western tip, the Alcázar rises like the prow of a ship, with pointed turrets that are said to have inspired Walt Disney, and at the centre the Gothic cathedral, late and magnificent, is nicknamed the lady of cathedrals. The city sits at about a thousand metres, which means cool mornings and sharp winters even when Madrid is baking, and the old stone smells faintly of woodsmoke. Eat here as the locals do: cochinillo asado, roast suckling pig, is the speciality, served in dim cellars where the waiters traditionally cut it with the edge of a plate. For something sweet, ask for ponche segoviano, a sponge-and-custard cake with marzipan.
For riding, think of Segovia as the reward at the end of the mountain section. The roads in from the sierra, over passes like Navacerrada or Cotos, climb through pine forest with sweeping views and cool air, and the descent toward the Castilian plain comes with long, easy bends. In town, the old quarter is difficult for cars and tough on bikes, with steep cobbles and one-way systems, so park below near the aqueduct or in an underground car park and walk up. Segovia has fuel on its outskirts, and you can find coffee in almost any plaza.
Come when the day is cooling. The aqueduct goes honey-gold in late light, the storks arrive on the towers, and you will want to sit with a drink and simply look at it.