Afternoon activities in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid)
The afternoon activities of our Spanish school in Alcala de Henares take place after classtime and are a great way to keep practicing your Spanish in a relaxed and fun context. In addition, many of these activities will lead you to a to better understanding of the culture and history of Alcala de Henares and Spain, and will bring you the opportunity to meet other students from the school who, just like you, are here to improve their Spanish and integrate into our culture.
Cultural gymkhana
Our more adventurous and perceptive students will greatly enjoy this exciting activity. Through a series of clues, our students will discover the secrets of the most emblematic places of Alcala de Henares. The streets, squares, monuments and shops will become a big game stage that will immerse us in the history, culture and heritage of Alcala de Henares. The most exciting way to discover every corner of this beautiful city!
University of Alcala
This visit will let our students know the place that drove the development of Alcala de Henares to make it become the city we know today and one of the cradles of the Spanish literature. We will get to know the figure of Cardinal Cisneros, confessor to the Queen Isabel the Catholic, and founder of this university, which has been so important in the history of Spain. We will get to know in depth the running and structure of a university in the sixteenth century, and we will visit its beautiful rooms, which will reveal us the names of some illustrious figures of the Spanish literature who studied in this emblematic educational centre.
“Cervantes’ Universes” Exhibition Centre
Our students will have the opportunity to see, on this visit, two of the most important assets of Alcala de Henares: a copy of the baptismal certificate of Don Miguel de Cervantes and the baptismal font where he was baptised. Furthermore, as this is an exhibition centre, we will enjoy the temporary cultural exhibition, taking place at the time of our visit.
Cervantes Birthplace Museum
Because of the great importance of the figure of Don Miguel de Cervantes in Alcala de Henares, this is another of the most emblematic places of the city: the house where he was born. On this visit, we will see the typical rooms of a house of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and get to know the customs and daily life of a wealthy family of the same time. In addition, we can see the great Cervantine bibliographic collection preserved in this house-museum.
Regional Archaeological Museum
In the Regional Archaeological Museum, housed in the former Dominican Convent of the Mother of God, our students will learn the history of the territories of the Community of Madrid from prehistoric times to the present day. Through numerous archaeological and paleontological samples, we will discover the customs and daily life of the different civilizations that have inhabited this region since its inception to the present.
Corral de Comedias
On this visit, the students of our Spanish school can visit the oldest “corral” documented in Spain, which was later covered to become a romantic theatre. This theatre, through which some of the most renowned actors of Spain have passed, has witnessed some of the most important plays of our times.
Tower of Santa Maria
The Tower of Santa Maria, dating from the nineteenth century, is located in the Plaza Cervantes, one of the most famous and representative places of the city. From its peak, students can enjoy one of the most beautiful and breathtaking panoramas of the city of Alcala de Henares.
Burgo de Santiuste Exhibition Centre
The visit to the Burgo de Santiuste Exhibition Centre will let our students know the origins of the city of Alcala de Henares and the lesser-known part of its history. Through large panels with blueprints, texts and photographs, monitors with interactive videos, copies of important historical documents and some original valuable sculptures, we will make a tour through ten centuries of history that begins in the year 476 and takes us to 1499, year when Cardinal Cisneros founded the famous University of Alcala.
Roman City of Complutum
In this activity, we will visit the site that preserves the archaeological remains of the Roman city of Complutum, which dates back to the first century A.D. In this site, we will get to know the foundation of Alcala de Henares in the Spanish-Roman time through the remains of the many buildings that have been preserved and that tell us the history of the city from the first century to the sixth century A.D.
Casa de Hippolytus
In order to increase what we learned in the previous visit, we will visit the Casa de Hippolytus, built between the third and fourth centuries A.D., and that was part of the Roman city of Complutum. It is one of the few schools for youngsters of the urban nobility of the Roman Hispania known, hence its great historical importance. Inside we will learn various aspects of the Roman world and see rooms, paintings and mosaics of the time, among which the famous “Mosaic of the fishes of Hippolytus”, excellently preserved despite the passage of time, stands out.
Sports afternoon
Because we want you to have a dynamic and fun stay, at Top School we want to offer more than just culture. We will take advantage of the many sports facilities in Alcala de Henares to enjoy an afternoon of sports that will let us move our muscles and have a great time.
Swimming pool
Because we all love swimming pools, we want you to enjoy a swim in one of the many public swimming pools in Alcala de Henares. Depending on the time you visit us, we will enjoy a swim in an indoor heated swimming pool, or in an outdoor one that lets us to enjoy the pleasant Spanish sun.
Shopping
Time to meet the wishes of shopaholics and buy souvenirs for our families! Alcala de Henares has numerous shopping centres and commercial areas where our students can find anything they want. At Top School we will organise a shopping afternoon so that you know the best shopping areas and the best establishments in the city.