Located on the outskirts of Toledo is Puy du Fou Spain. It is a historical theme park with more than 30 hectares of nature in which historical villages, stalls and workshops with handicrafts and local products are distributed and, above all, a series of shows that are inspired by great events of our past and legendary figures of Spanish culture.
Puy du Fou Spain combines a particular staging with a careful setting to give rise to a serious and at the same time playful commitment to the dissemination of culture for all ages.
Puy du Fou Spain began its journey in August 2019, when its first major nighttime show premiered. The Toledo Dream.
This performance was very well received by the public. Two years later, in March 2021, the gates of the large day park, located less than an hour from the Spanish capital, were opened. Since then, the park offers a spectacular world of time travel that has already been enjoyed by thousands of people.
In this enclave, completely integrated into the natural environment, which has been repopulated with native species, the five shows currently offered at Puy du Fou Spain come together: The Last Song, Pen and Sword, Beyond the Ocean Sea, The Wandering of the Centuries and the night show The Toledo Dream. All of them have been elaborated on the basis of carefully documented scripts.
The shows
Through its shows and historical villages, young and old alike can get an immersive insight into the exploits of the Cid on an unusual stage in The Last SongThe show is presented with a revolutionary staging and unprecedented technology.
A way to travel back to Toledo's Golden Age in a great Corral de Comedias is possible thanks to the show Pen and Swordwhere the spectator can experience the adventures of Lope de Vega, with five interchanging scenarios and choreographies on water.
One of the best known shows is the Falconry of Kings. More than 200 birds and birds of prey fly over the heads of young and old in a theatrical performance that recreates a fictitious truce between Abderramán and Fernán González but, on the other hand, does not prevent measuring the forces of both rulers in the skies. Weapons now give way to the most majestic birds of the north and south in a peaceful gesture.
The departure to the new world is found in the show Beyond the Ocean Seaan immersive journey to relive the epic feat that took Christopher Columbus and his crew to the New World.
The experiences of those anonymous heroes, unknown but, at the same time, protagonists of history and who have shaped today's Spain, are the focus of the stories in this book. The Wandering of the Centuries.
Each of these great daytime shows lasts about 30 minutes. The amplitude of its sets facilitates the enjoyment of all those who contemplate it. Its spectacular choreographies as well as a meticulously made wardrobe complete a unique staging that is positioned as an interesting and different cultural bet suitable for the whole family.
The villages
Puy du Fou Spain houses four historic villages in which streets and spaces are recreated to show the way of life, trades and physiognomy of different moments and enclaves throughout history.
Thus, the Andalusian Spain has its center in the camp of the great caliph Abderramán III; the medieval villages are represented in the Puebla Real, the lands of La Mancha and its products in the Venta de Isidro and, finally, the Arrabal that simulates the popular markets historically located in the outskirts of the big cities.
In these towns, visitors can also enjoy their inns and mansions and visit the stalls and workshops with handicrafts and local products, where artisans explain the manufacturing processes of the products offered.
A commitment to employment
Puy du Fou Spain has generated more than 700 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs. It employs more than 85 crafts and trades (from tailors to architects, from animal handlers to artisan swordsmiths).
Projects for this new season also include the construction of two new rooms for meetings and events. They will join the more than 10 spaces, including the auditoriums that Puy du Fou Spain already offers for holding corporate events in this original environment. In fact, the generation and promotion of employment in the area is one of the objectives of Puy du Fou Spain, which aspires to become a key player in the economic recovery and the reactivation of inland tourism.
An original didactic
One of the points that differentiate Puy du Fou España's bet is the didactic approach to the story that is enclosed in its elaborate representation and in the scripts of its shows.
The theatrical way in which the visitor is effortlessly immersed to be part of key events and periods in the history of Spain.
School groups can enjoy immersive workshops, which offer youngsters a completely different way of learning in which they are part of the story.
During the course of these workshops, attendees can learn from the noble art of falconry or the care that these animals require on a daily basis, to the most curious facts about the fabric of the cities in different historical periods and even how a sword was forged in the Middle Ages.
The shows and recreations have a previous work of documentation on customs, way of life, religiosity and historical facts that is shown in the threading of content and the accurate recreation and development of the characters and stories that focus each of the shows.
This balanced view of history has made it an interesting destination within the cultural panorama of Spain.
