Alcalá de Henares, Cervantes's city, half an hour by train.

Alcalá de Henares is the university city that Cardinal Cisneros founded in 1499 and the place where Miguel de Cervantes was born in 1547. Its university and historic precinct have been a World Heritage Site since 1998: it is the only city in the Community of Madrid with that title. It is covered on foot in a day: the Plateresque façade of San Ildefonso, the arcaded Calle Mayor, Cervantes's house, the Magistral cathedral and, on the outskirts, the Roman city of Complutum. Almost everything is free and almost everything is ten minutes' walk from the Plaza de Cervantes.

How do you get there from Madrid?

It is one of the few destinations of this kind that is better done without a car. The Cercanías C-2 leaves Chamartín and Atocha every 20 minutes and the C-7 every 10, according to the tourist office; the journey takes about 35 minutes and from the station to the centre it is a quarter of an hour's walk. ALSA buses 223, 227 and 229 from Avenida de América also arrive. By car it is about 30 km along the A-2 (exit 23, historic centre) or along the R-2 toll motorway, between 30 and 40 minutes depending on traffic. From Guadalajara, the C-2 arrives in half an hour and along the A-2 it is a little less; from Barajas airport, 14 km away, there is the 824 line.

On Saturdays in spring and autumn there is also the Tren de Cervantes: it leaves Atocha at 10:36 with actors on board and includes a guided visit of the city. It costs €22 for adults and is bought on the Renfe website.

Where to park?

In the old town you cannot park on the street. The tourist office lists several public car parks less than ten minutes' walk from the centre: the Recinto Ferial one, with 457 spaces, GAL (180), Paseo de los Pinos (110), Roca (200), Luis Vives (75) and El Silo (200). There are also park-and-ride sites at La Garena and at the station, and private ones at the Mercado, La Paloma and San Lucas. For Complutum, on the outskirts, there is room beside the El Juncal sports centre.

How much time do you need?

One day covers the essentials: the guided visit to the university, Cervantes's birthplace, Calle Mayor and lunch. If you want to add Complutum and the archaeological museum, which is what children like most, count on a long day or sleep a night. With a night you dine in the old town, see the Plaza de Cervantes lit up and leave Sunday morning for the Roman site.

What to see in order?

Start in the Plaza de Cervantes, at the tourist office in the Capilla del Oidor, and climb the tower of Santa María, free in the morning. Two minutes away, in the Plaza de San Diego, the university can only be visited with a guide: on Sundays there are sessions at 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00, for €6. Then go down Calle Mayor, arcaded from end to end, to Cervantes's birthplace, at number 48, and the Antezana hospital, of 1483, which still operates. At the far end are the Magistral cathedral and, to the left, the regional archaeological museum and the monastery of San Bernardo. In the afternoon, Complutum: the forum, the House of the Griffins with its wall paintings and the House of Hippolytus with the fish mosaic.

What closes on Sunday and Monday?

On Mondays almost all the museums close: Cervantes's house, the archaeological museum, Complutum and the Antiquarium. On Sundays, the Magistral cathedral is not open to the public; San Bernardo is, from 11:00 to 15:30. The archaeological museum closes on Sunday at 15:00 and the university runs its last sessions at 13:00, so Sunday is a morning day. Cervantes's house holds out until 19:00.

When to go?

Alcalá can be visited all year. Spring and autumn are best for strolling, and are the seasons of the Tren de Cervantes. In summer it is plateau heat: do Calle Mayor in the morning, in the shade of the arcades, and leave the middle hours for the museums. Watch out for Complutum in July and August: it opens only in the morning. In winter there are few people and the square is in the sun.