Sigüenza Cathedral and the Doncel

The cathedral of Santa María, both fortress and church, presides over Sigüenza's Plaza Mayor. Inside is the city's best-known sculpture: the tomb of the Doncel, Martín Vázquez de Arce, who reads a book reclining on his elbow, in his chapel. The visit goes together with the Diocesan Museum of Ancient Art, across the square, and can be done self-guided in an hour and a half.

The Doncel and his chapel

The Doncel's chapel occupies the southern end of the transept. You enter through a Renaissance doorway from the early 16th century, with Plateresque work and an Adoration of the Magi by Francisco de Baeza; the grille is by Juan Francés, from 1526 to 1532. Several members of the Vázquez de Arce family are buried inside: the Doncel's grandparents in two niches, his parents in a large central mausoleum and, on the wall, the tomb of Martín Vázquez de Arce himself, commander of the Order of Santiago, who died in the war of Granada at only twenty-five. Above the figure is an epitaph in Gothic lettering telling how he died. The cathedral presents it as the supreme sculpture of Spanish late Gothic.

What else to see

The cloister, late Gothic, was built in the early 16th century and has wings of 40 metres, with seven large windows in each and a Renaissance wellhead in the middle of the garden. In one of its chapels, that of the Conception, completed in 1509, hangs El Greco's Annunciation. Next to the cloister is the cathedral museum, with a room of historic flags that the cathedral links to Francis Drake's expeditions and sixteen restored 17th-century Flemish tapestries on Pallas Athena and the founding of Rome. The cathedral also highlights an Immaculate Conception by Zurbarán and some frescoes brought from the church of Atance, and includes a virtual reality experience of medieval Sigüenza. The tourist office recommends not missing the Sacristía Mayor de las Cabezas and the altar of Santa Librada.

In the Diocesan Museum of Ancient Art there are works by Morales, Zurbarán or Salzillo, and three models showing how the cathedral building changed over time.

Tickets and hours

The joint ticket to the cathedral and the Diocesan Museum costs €10 general; €9 for over-65s and people with a disability of 33 to 65%; €7 for young people aged 12 to 18, students up to 25 and large families; and €5 for groups of 15 or more. Free entry for under-12s, residents of Sigüenza and people with a disability of more than 65%. Tickets are bought at catedralsiguenza.es or at the ticket office.

The cathedral is open Monday to Friday from 10:30 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:30, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 to 19:30 without a midday closure. The last entry is at 13:30 and at 18:30, and the hours may change because of religious events. The museum is open every day from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:00. On Saturdays and Sundays, at 11:30, 12:30 and 17:30, there is also a half-hour guided visit to the cathedral's necropolis, from the 12th to 14th centuries, for €3 extra; book at the ticket office.

If you prefer a guide, Sigüenza Visitas Guiadas goes into the cathedral Monday to Friday. When you come out, go up Calle Mayor to the castle or visit the Casa del Doncel, where his family lived.