CHINCHÓN
, 45km
southeast
of
Madrid,
is an
elegant
little
town,
with a
fifteenth-century
castle
and a
fine
Plaza
Mayor,
next to
which
stands
the
Iglesia
de la
Asunción
, with a
panel by
Goya of
The
Assumption
of the
Virgin
. It is
as the
home of
anís
,
however,
that the
town is
best
known;
your
best bet
for a
sample
of the
local
spirit
is one
of the
local
bars or
the
Alcoholera
de
Chinchón,
a shop
on the
Plaza
Mayor.
Most
visitors
come for
a
tasting
and then
eat out
at one
of the
town's
traditional
mesones
: try
the
Mesón
del
Comendador
, one of
a
cluster
of good
restaurants
serving
classic
Castilian
fare on
the
Plaza
Mayor,
or the
Mesón
del
Duende
- both
are
modestly
priced.
More
expensive
is the
Méson
Cuevas
del Vino
, an old
olive
oil mill
which
today
has its
own
bodega
(wine
cellar).
If you
fancy an
overnight
stay
you
could
splash
out on
the
Parador
de
Chinchón
(tel 918
940 836,
fax 918
940 908,
chinchon@parador.es
;
¬90-120)
which
has been
established
in the
former
Augustinian
monastery
just off
the
Plaza
Mayor. A
more
modest
option
is the
pleasant
Hostal
Chinchón
(tel 918
935 398,
fax 918
940 108;
¬36-48),
also
close to
the
Plaza
Mayor in
c/José
Antonio.
If
you're
visiting
over
Easter,
you'll
be
treated
to the
townsfolk's
own
enactment
of the
Passion
of
Christ
, though
be aware
that the
small
town
becomes
packed
with
visitors
at this
time. In
April
1995 the
town
launched
its
Fiesta
del Anís
y del
Vino
, an
orgy of
anís
and wine
tasting;
understandably
it was
an
immediate
success
and is
now held
every
mid-April.
An older
annual
tradition
takes
place on
July 25,
when the
feast of
St James
(
Santiago
in
Spanish)
is
celebrated
with a
bullfight
in the
Plaza
Mayor.