San Marcos
A sleepy residential district southeast of the old town, with cheap beds and nothing else to recommend it.
Quiet streets and low-rise blocks on the southeastern edge of the city
Why people stay in San Marcos
San Marcos is the kind of neighborhood that exists because a city had to expand somewhere, and southeast was as good a direction as any. It sits below and east of the old town walls, a low-rise grid of apartment blocks and narrow streets that runs from the Clamores ravine south to the ring road. There are no sights, no atmosphere, and no reason for tourists to come here except that a handful of budget hotels sit on the edge closest to the old town and charge €65 a night. If you are traveling on a shoestring, if you have a car and need free parking, or if every bed in the center is booked, San Marcos is functional. Otherwise, it is the kind of place you pass through on the way to somewhere better.
The five hotels here are clustered along Calle de San Marcos and Calle de la Alameda del Parral, the two streets that connect the neighborhood to the old town. They are two-star hostales with linoleum floors, shared bathrooms in some cases, and rates that undercut everywhere else in Segovia by 30%. You get a bed, you get a shower, and you get to walk fifteen minutes uphill to reach the aqueduct. The neighborhood itself is residential in the dullest sense—silent streets, parked cars, corner shops that sell lottery tickets and nothing else. If you need a place to sleep and a place to park, this works. If you need anything else, look elsewhere.
Nights in San Marcos are suburban silence: streetlights, the occasional dog, and the sound of the ring road in the distance. There are no bars, no restaurants, and no foot traffic after 9pm. The nearest place to eat is a ten-minute walk into the old town or Nueva Segovia, and the nearest place to drink is the same. If you are staying here, you are staying here to save money or because you have no other option, and the neighborhood knows it.
San Marcos is the right choice for exactly three kinds of travelers: those who need the absolute cheapest bed in Segovia, those who are driving and want free overnight parking close to the center, and those who booked late and found everything else full. Everyone else should spend the extra €25 and stay somewhere with a reason to exist beyond proximity to the old town.
Calle de San Marcos and Calle de la Alameda del Parral, on the edge closest to the old town, are where the budget hostales sit. Expect €60-75 in low season, €80-95 in summer. Rooms are small, furnishings are dated, and some places still have shared bathrooms down the hall. The upside is price and parking—most hotels have a small lot or can point you to free street parking within a block. The downside is everything else: no character, no amenities, and a fifteen-minute uphill walk to reach the aqueduct or Plaza Mayor. Do not stay deeper into the neighborhood—there is nothing there except apartment blocks and distance.
Things to do in San Marcos
From the neighborhood, walk north on Calle de San Marcos, which climbs steeply and becomes Calle de la Judería Nueva as it approaches the walls. Enter the old town through the gate and continue uphill to Plaza Mayor. Fifteen minutes, all paved, and the most direct route into the center. Not scenic, but functional. You will use this path every day if you stay in San Marcos.
On the eastern edge of San Marcos, where Calle de la Canaleja meets the ravine, there is a small viewpoint with benches and a view across the Clamores valley to the old town and the Alcázar. It is not spectacular, but it is the only reason to walk this far into the neighborhood. Free, always open, no facilities.
Calle de la Alameda del Parral 3, a small discount supermarket with basics—bread, cheese, wine, packaged goods. Useful if you are staying in a hostal with a shared kitchen or stocking up for a drive. Opens 9am-9pm Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays. No frills, no fresh produce, just cheap staples.
Calle de la Alameda del Parral 8, the neighborhood's only bar that serves food. The menú del día is €10, the tapas are fried and forgettable, and the clientele is entirely local retirees watching football on the TV above the bar. It is not good, it is just there. Opens at 11am, kitchen closes at 4pm, closed Sundays.
The southeastern stretch of the old town wall—from Puerta de San Andrés around to Postigo del Sol—is accessible and offers views across the ravine and the countryside. The trail runs along the base of the wall and is an easy, flat walk of about 1.5 km. Start from the northern edge of San Marcos, where Calle de San Marcos meets the wall, and walk west. Free, always open, mostly shaded.
From the southern end of San Marcos, a footpath cuts northwest through the Alameda del Parral park and deposits you on Avenida del Acueducto, the main street of Nueva Segovia. It is a five-minute walk and saves you the detour via the old town. Useful if you are heading to the train station, the hospital, or the restaurants and bars along the aqueduct approach.
What to see
Hotels near San Marcos
No hotels are listed in San Marcos yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in San Marcos
Getting around San Marcos
San Marcos is a fifteen-minute uphill walk from the old town, or a five-minute drive. There is no direct bus service to the neighborhood; the nearest stop is on Avenida del Acueducto, a ten-minute walk west. If you are arriving by train from Madrid, take bus 11 from Guiomar to Plaza Mayor, then walk southeast on Calle de la Judería Nueva and descend into San Marcos via Calle de San Marcos. Taxis from the aqueduct cost around €5. The advantage here is parking: street parking is free after 8pm and all day Sunday, and there is always space. If you have a car, this is one of the few neighborhoods where it is an asset.
Questions about San Marcos
Because it is cheap and you can park for free, and you are willing to trade location and atmosphere for savings. If you are on a tight budget, if you are driving and want to avoid parking fees, or if everywhere else in Segovia is booked, San Marcos is a fallback. If you have any flexibility at all, stay in San Millán, Nueva Segovia, or the old town instead—they offer better value for only slightly more money.
Yes, in the sense that it is dull rather than dangerous. The streets are residential, quiet, and empty after dark. There is no crime to speak of, but there is also no life—no bars, no foot traffic, no reason for anyone to be walking around. Solo travelers, families, women alone: all fine, just bored.
Fifteen minutes uphill on foot from the northern edge of San Marcos, where the budget hotels are. The walk is steep, not particularly scenic, and annoying if you are doing it multiple times a day. A taxi is €5 and saves your knees; bus line 3 passes along Avenida del Acueducto, a ten-minute walk west, and runs to Plaza Mayor for €1.20.
One bar that serves a menú del día, and that is it. For anything resembling a real meal, for tapas, for cochinillo, you will walk into the old town or Nueva Segovia. That is a fifteen-minute walk minimum, and uphill on the return. If dining out matters to your trip, do not base yourself in San Marcos.
