3 Best Sights in Castile–Leon and Castile–La Mancha, Spain

For a window into what agrarian life was like in this area in centuries past, pop into this tiny museum presided over by the passionate historian who amassed the antique curiosities on display. The influence of the Central European "Fúcares" families on the area is especially fascinating. A guided tour, in Spanish, takes a little less than an hour and is well worth it.

This museum displays artifacts from the region from prehistoric to contemporary times, including sculptures, engravings, paintings, and furniture, but the crown jewel of the collection is the Cristo Carrizo (Carrizo Crucifix), a small 11th-century Romanesque ivory carving distinguished by its lifelike expression and powerful presence. Notice the figure's carefully coiffed hair and beard and the loincloth arranged in sumptuous Byzantine detail.

This museum, housed in the ancestral seat of the Calatrava Order of Knights, displays models of the Roman amphitheaters in Mérida (Extremadura) and Sagunto (near Valencia), both still in use, as well as costumes, pictures, and documents relating to the history of Spanish theater. Kids love handling the antique instruments previously used for sound effects during productions.