The ridge above Consuegra carries the most photographed windmills in Spain — twelve whitewashed mills running along the skyline with a Moorish castle at the southern end. They were working flour mills until the early 20th century and a few have been restored with their original wooden machinery; one functions occasionally for visitors during the autumn saffron festival.
It's an easy drive from Ciudad Real (about an hour) and worth timing for sunset, when the light catches the mill sails and the plain stretches gold and red into the distance. Bring a jacket — the wind that turns the sails is sometimes punishing.