Known as La Ciudad de las Tres Culturas (the city of three cultures), this small town was the medieval home of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Toledo was the birthplace of the painter El Greco, and it has remained largely unchanged since the 16th century, when it inspired his famous View of Toledo, which hangs in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Today, you can walk through winding cobblestone streets to take in beautiful Gothic buildings and views of the surrounding river. The city center has become rather commercial, with souvenir shops selling knight’s armor, Damascene swords (a la Lord of the Rings), and marzipan, a sweet almond treat.