Religious Life

Students may participate in religious services at a number of parish churches located in the city of Toledo.

Transportation and Travel

The program furnishes round-trip air transportation to and from Madrid, where students are met and taken to Toledo. Costs of other transportation and personal travel throughout the year are borne by the student. Expenses incurred for baggage in excess of limits allowed for international flights must be paid by the individual. Transportation in the medieval walled city of Toledo is by foot, bicycle or city bus. Students living with families are provided a bus pass. Students may not possess cars and are discouraged from hitchhiking.

Housing and Meals

The students live in the San Juan de la Penitencia Residence or with a Spanish family selected by Foundation staff. Single, double, and triple rooms are available in the Residence, which also includes several lounges, a library, classrooms, an infirmary, a cafeteria and two small computer clusters. North American students can be paired with Latin Americans in the dormitory rooms. Meals are taken in the Residence dining room; students living with families take most of their meals at home.

Cultural and Recreational Opportunities

The city of Toledo itself has been proclaimed a National Monument. It resembles a rich museum with its buildings that date from the 10th century mosque of El Cristo de la Luz, to churches and synagogues from the 12th to 15th centuries, to examples of Baroque and neoclassical architecture. In many of these churches, as well as in the El Greco house and Museum, students will find masterpieces of El Greco's work.

Field trips are an integral part of the Toledo Program, especially in the excellent art courses at the Foundation. A trip to southern Spain, as well as day trips to Avila, Segovia, Madrid, Salamanca and other cities near Toledo are scheduled by the Foundation each semester.

Health Care

Participants must be adequately covered by health insurance which is valid in Europe during the period of their stay abroad. A doctor is available in the infirmary located within the Residence.

Other Links

• Course descriptions for the Toledo program
  

• Summer Program in Spain
  

• Spanish Major at Notre Dame
  
  
• News from Spain: monthly updates from our ND student correspondent in Toledo
  
  
• Fundación Ortega Y Gasset: website of the Fundación in Toledo which hosts the Toledo study abroad program
  
  
• Sí, Spain: promotes free exchange of information on Spanish current affairs and its historical, linguistic and cultural development (in English)
  
  
• Zocodover.com: website in Spanish with photos, news and information about Toledo. The site is named for Plaza Zocodover, the central square in downtown Toledo.
  
  
• Terra: On-line Spanish newspaper with current news from the Iberian Peninsula (in Spanish)
  
  
• Spanish Culture: This site provides excellent tips on Spanish culture, from gambling and wine to topography, regional recipes, and holiday traditions (in English)