Novel Travels: Don Quixote

Developing a trip for Don Quixote is more difficult for me because I have never read Don Quixote. Now that I've been to Spain, it is on my To Be Read List. I found references to Don Quixote all over Spain, in the art, in restaurant names, and at the chocolate museum.


Turns out, there is an official Route of Don Quixote, estabished in 2007 (or 2006) by the Council of Europe and it is the first European cultural route based on a literary character. The trail starts in one of my favorite Spanish cities, Toledo, meanders around Castilla-La Manchaand finishes at Atienza.



For Toledo (above), I recommend visiting the superb Toledo Cathedral filled with astounding artwork--Rick Steves calls it a mini Prado museum--and the church of Santo Tome to see El Greco's the Burial of Count Oragaz. Toledo has many other attractions for those who love El Greco, however my husband and I had limited time there. Those two attractions were our first stops and I highly recommend them (my husband, on the other hand, was not impressed with the church of Santo Tome).

As for the rest of the route, more info can be found on the Spanish tourist website. I do know that the famous windmills are at Campo de Criptana, Ciudad Real. It also turns out that John Lithgow starred in a TV version of Don Quixote in 2000. And a spoof was featured on the first episode of Spain - On the Road Again, the PBS series with Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, Claudia Bassols, and Gwyneth Paltrow.