The best walks and hikes around Cózar

According to local tradition, it served as an Inquisition prison, initially under the jurisdiction of the Jaén Tribunal and later that of Murcia. It reflects the splendor of Villanueva de los Infantes during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Only the ashlar doorway with a lintel remains, bearing a coat of arms depicting a cross with two crossed bones and a skull.

After the walk, what better way to end the visit to Villanueva de los Infantes than with some Coca-Colas, some cold beers and some tapas in a typical local bar right in the Plaza Mayor, as its name suggests.

This manor house was once owned by the Bustos family. It is an emblematic 19th-century building with a historicist façade and magnificent wrought-iron balconies. Inside, it preserves a typical Castilian courtyard with Ionic columns, a trefoil frieze, and coffered ceilings in the galleries and entrance hall. The courtyard of the Casa de Rueda houses the world's first scientific museum dedicated to "the place in La Mancha" mentioned by Cervantes as the starting point for Don Quixote's adventures. It displays the sixteen verifiable facts that form the core of the university study that, in 2005, determined that Villanueva de los Infantes is indeed that "place in La Mancha." The research was conducted by a multidisciplinary scientific team from the Complutense University of Madrid, comprised of ten experts in Geography, History, Philology, Sociology, Mathematics, and Information Science, led by Professors of Sociology Francisco Parra Luna and International Relations Santiago Petschen, and the literary scholar Manuel Fernández Nieto. It also houses the Villanueva de los Infantes Interpretation Centre, the city's History and Archaeology Museum. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Admission: Free

It was a junior college where Pedro Simón de Abril, translator of the classics who consolidated Castilian as a literary and scientific language, and Bartolomé Jiménez Patón, an important grammarian, Master of Humanities and Rhetoric, and friend of Francisco de Quevedo and Lope de Vega, taught. Its courtyard is one of the most beautiful in Villanueva de los Infantes, with its ribbed vaults and ochre-colored wooden balustrade. Hours: Monday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission: Free.

The Alhóndiga, built in the mid-16th century as a granary (wheat warehouse) and trading house to manage the intense commercial activity, was transformed into a prison in 1719. Inside, inscriptions carved by prisoners on the walls and columns are still preserved. It currently functions as a cultural center, housing a library, auditorium, and other facilities. Access to the site is free.

On one side is the Church of Santo Domingo, built in the 17th century following the principles of the Counter-Reformation. Highlights include the main altar with its Baroque altarpiece featuring Solomonic columns. Above it are interesting frescoes depicting Saint Dominic. Among the side chapels, the Chapel of Souls, founded by the Ballesteros family, the Chapel of Ecce Homo, commissioned by the Duke of San Fernando, and the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, commissioned by the Bustos family, are particularly noteworthy. However, the most visited site is the convent, or rather, the cell where Francisco de Quevedo died in 1645. Quevedo's cell, open to the public, is the exact spot where the writer passed away shortly after arriving in Villanueva, already very ill. Following the confiscation of church property in 1844, the convent was closed, and today part of the building houses cultural events and a hotel. The opening hours and admission prices are as follows: Opening Hours: Monday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Closed Tuesdays. Wednesday to Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Admission: €2 (Reduced: €1).

It is an old manor house that originally belonged to the García del Busto family, one of the oldest lineages in the city and owners of the chapel of the first and last burial of Francisco de Quevedo in the Church of San Andrés, where his remains are currently located.

The Plaza Mayor is Neoclassical in style and a key element of the urban design, housing the main political and religious institutions. The Church of San Andrés is notable for its Neoclassical façade, featuring a deep semicircular arch, an image of Saint Andrew, and the coat of arms of the Habsburgs. Inside, the Chapel of the Busts is preserved, in whose crypt Francisco de Quevedo was buried. Visiting hours and prices are: Hours: Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Admission: General €2 (Reduced €1).