The castle of Peñafiel began to rise in the tenth century, although its current appearance is the product of important interventions that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This medieval fortress was declared a National Monument in 1917 and today it has become an emblem for the enotourism of the Ribera del Duero.

Peñafiel together with his castle constituted a fundamental point in the defensive line of the Duero, both for Christians and Muslims back in the 9th and 10th centuries. From the hill, the castle dominated the valleys of the Duero, Duratón and Botijas rivers, and protected to the population.

To access the Castle you can go up by private car. In some occasions, such as national holidays, bridges and designated dates, the castle puts a free coach service in the parking lot next to the rise of it, being mandatory to leave the car in the parking. These coaches operate during the opening hours of the museum and leave every half hour, approximately.

On a high oblong hill at the feet of the Duraton and the Duero rises this magnificent castle adapted to the topographical forms that causes so many metaphors, from the boat to the serpent, with its imposing silhouette dominating the population and the territory, which gave name to the town of Peñafideli or Peñafalcón. The plateau it occupies must have been inhabited since prehistoric times, but its most prominent role was when Muslims and Christians disputed the Duero (10th-11th centuries); in the X it was destroyed by Almanzor and in the XI it was conquered by Count Sancho García. Alfonso X donated it to his brother, the Infante don Juan Manuel, who rebuilt it from 1307. The keep was rebuilt during the time of John II. Between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries Peñafiel and his castle were the domain of the Manuel. In 1406 the infant Don Fernando restored it. The Infante Don Juan Manuel wrote many of his literary works and reconstructed it in the XIV. During the civil wars he was the enemy of Juan II, who ordered his demolition, carried out by the villagers. It was raised again around 1456 by Don Pedro Girón, Lord of Peñafiel and Maestre de Calatrava, with the permission of Enrique IV. Later it passed to the Duke of Osuna, was abandoned and began its ruin until it was repaired in the time of Felipe III. In 1755 it suffered a fire and in 1814 its ashlars were torn by the neighbors.