The frequent Madrid-Toledo train run via Aranjuez, a little oasis in the beginnings of a Castilla la mancha. Their places and luxuriant gardens, which inspired the composer Joaquín Rodrigo to write the famous Conciento de Aranjuez, and the summer strawberries (Fresones con nata), combine to make it an enjoyable stop.

Aranjuez

The beauty of Aranjuez is its greenery, its easy to forget just how dry and dusty most of central Spain is until you come upon this town with its lavish palaces and luxuriant gardens. In summer, aranjuez functions principally as a weekend escape from Madrid and most people come out for the day, or stop en rout to our from Toledo.

The 18 century Palacio Real and its gardens were an attempt by the Spanish bourbon monarchs to create a Versailles in Spain; Arajuez clearly isnt in the same leagua but its a pleasant enough place to while away a few hours.

The palace is more remarkable for the ornamental fantasies inside than for any virtues of architecture. There seem to be hundreds of rooms, all exotically furnished, most amazingly so the Porcelain room, entirely covered in decorative ware from the factory which used to stand in Madrid's Retiro Park. The Smoking room is a copy of one of the finest halls of the Alahmra in Granada, though executed with less subtely. Most of the palace dates from the reign of the "nymphomaniac" Queen Isabel II, and many of the scandals and intrigues which led to her eventual abdication were played out here.

Outside, on a small islan, are the fountains of the Jardin de la Isla. The Jardin del Principe, on the other side of the main road, is more attractive, with shade walks along the river and plenty of spots for a siesta. At its far end is the Casa del labrador, which is anything but what its on name implies. In a hotchpotch of styles, raning form Neoclassical to Rococo, it was described by Richard Ford well over a century ago as another plaything of that silly Charles IV, a foolish toy for the spoiled children of for tune in which great expense and little taste are combined to produce a thing which is perfectly useless. The guide tour goes into great detail about the weight and value of every item.

Also in the gardens, by the river, is the small Casa de los Marinos or Museo de Faluas a museum containing the brighly coloured launches in which roaylty would take to the river.

A bus service occasionally connects the various sites, but all are within easy walking distances of each other, and the town's a very pleasant place to stroll around. Look out for the suitably regal eighteenth-century Plaza de Toros and the newly inaugurated exhibition space entitled Aranjuez, part of which is a museo taurino with its trajes de luces sword and associated taurine memorabilia, and part of which traces the town's history and royal heritage. Nerby in c/ Naranja and c/ Rosa are a number of corralas, traditional-style wooden-balconied tenement blocks.

Chinchon

CHINCHON, 45 km southeast of Madrid, is an elegant little town, with a fifteenth-century castle and a fine Plaza Mayor, next to which stands the Iglesia de la Asucion, with a panel by Goya of the Assumtion of the Virgin. It is as sample of the local spirit is one of the local bars or the Alcoholera de Chinchon, a shop on the Plaza Mayor. Most visitors come for a tasting and the eat out at one ot the town's traditional mesones: try the Mesón del Comendador, one of a cluster of good restaurants serving classic Castilian fare on the Plaza Mayor, or the Mesón del Duende - both are modestly priced. More expensive is the Meson Cuevas del Vino, an old olive oil mill which today hs its own bodega. If you fancy an overnight stay you could splash out on the Parador de Chinchon, which has been established in the former Augustinian monastery just off the Plaza Mayor.

If you are visiting over Easter, you'll be treated to the townfolk's own enactment of the Passion od Christ, though be ware that the small town becomes packed with visitors, at this time. In April 1995 the town launched its Fiesta del Anis y del Vino, and orgy of anis and wine tasting; undestandably it was an immediate success and is now held every mid-April. An older annual tradition takes place on july 25, when the feast of St James(Santiago) is celebrated with a bullfight in the Plaza Mayor.