Segovia: Visit Madrid And Ski In Segovia -
The province of Segovia is set in central Spain, surrounded by the cities of Madrid, Zaragoza, and Valladolid. The capital of the province is a medieval city of the same name with an ancient walled centre which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The highlights of the city of Segovia include the Roman Aqueduct, the 16th-century cathedral, and the medieval hilltop castle. Segovia city is easily accessed from Madrid; it can be reached by bullet train in 35 minutes from Madrid. The city is nestled in the Guadarrama Mountains and the Ayllon Mountains, which are dotted with the ski resorts of La Pinilla, Puerto de Navacerrada, and Valdesqui.
The resort of La Pinilla (1500 metres) is nestled in the Sierra de Ayllon Mountains and offers a skiable area of 20 kilometres with a maximum altitude of 2274 metres. The resort is suitable for beginners and intermediates skiers, with five green runs, six blue, and nine red. With skiing above 2000 metres, snow cover is reliable, but the runs are also lined with snow cannons.
The resort's lifts are modern and include one gondola, three chair lifts, and seven drag lifts. The town centre offers restaurants, a ski school, ski-hire shops, and a snow garden for children. La Pinilla is approximately 50 minutes from Madrid; either drive along the N1 northbound or catch the daily coach service from Madrid to Riaza and then a shuttle bus to La Pinilla.
Puerto de Navacerrada (1858 metres) is located in the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains and offers a skiable area of 10 kilometres with a maximum altitude of 2177 metres. It is suitable for all levels for skier, with two green runs, seven blue, three red, and two black. The slopes are accessed via four chair lifts and one drag.
The resort's centre features several hotels, apartments, restaurants, and a ski school. Puerto de Navacerrada is very easy to access from Madrid; it has a railway station belonging to the line C-9 of Cercanias Madrid.
The ski resort of Valdesqui (1860 metres) is set in the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains, close to the Navacerrada resort, and offers 21 kilometres of pistes. Its 29 pistes are of varying difficulty, with 12 green runs, 14 blue, and three red. The resort is best suited to beginners and intermediates. It also boasts modern lifts, with five chair lifts and 11 drags, and skiers can reach a height of 2280 metres altitude.
The town centre features restaurants, bars, cafes, and ski schools, but there is no accommodation in Valdesqui. Hotels can be found in the surrounding area; there are approximately 4554 hotel beds in the vicinity. The resort is accessible by car, but there is also a Cercanias railway line that stops at Cotos. From there, a shuttle bus services provide access to the resort.
Due to their easy access, the ski resorts of Valdesqui, Puerto de Navacerrada, and La Pinilla are particularly popular with winter tourists combining ski holidays with city breaks in Madrid.
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