Castillo de la Mota

La Mota stands on a low rise above Medina del Campo, a town that held one of the great trade fairs of medieval Europe, and the castle was rebuilt in brick between 1440 and 1483 in Mudejar technique, with an outer barbican designed for firearms, one of the earliest artillery fortifications in Spain, enclosing a taller inner ward with a keep of nearly forty metres. Isabella the Catholic used it and died in 1504 in the palace in the town below, not in the castle itself as is often said. It later served as a prison, holding Cesare Borgia, who escaped from the keep in 1506. Restored in the twentieth century, it now runs guided visits including the tunnels and the keep.

What you actually see

• The brick Mudejar walls - a fortress built in brick rather than stone.
• The artillery barbican - an early outer work designed for firearms.
• The keep - a tower of nearly forty metres above the inner ward.
• The tunnels - underground galleries within the defences.

When to go

April to June and September to November; the Castilian plain is very hot in summer and cold in winter. Visits are guided at set times and the castle closes on some weekdays, so checking hours before travelling helps.

Honest expectations

Access to the keep and tunnels is by guided tour only at fixed times. Much of the structure is twentieth-century restoration. Medina del Campo has little else for visitors beyond the castle and a small museum.

Nearby

Valladolid lies north; Tordesillas and the Duero wine country are close.