Handpicked experience · Madrid
Madrid, Spain
Five hours from Madrid taking in the monastery-palace at El Escorial and the rock-cut basilica at the Valley of the Fallen — two very different monuments, half an hour apart.
Experience the legacy of the Spanish Empire at the UNESCO World Heritage site of El Escorial
El Escorial features the Royal Monastery, once considered the 8th wonder of the world
The Royal Museum houses the remains of many former Spanish Monarchs
Learn more about the many rooms of the Royal Monastery from your bilingual guide
See the grand cross above the valley of the Fallen's basilica
One of the largest Renaissance buildings anywhere in Europe
A cross standing some 150 metres above the valley floor
A basilica cut directly into the rock of the mountainside
Around an hour from Madrid, with both monuments close together
Five hours in total, so it fits either side of a Madrid day
Philip II built this in the sixteenth century as monastery, royal residence and burial place at once, and it is austere in a way that surprises anyone expecting Spanish baroque. Grey granite, right angles, very little ornament. Beneath the basilica the royal pantheon holds most Spanish monarchs since Charles V, in tiers of identical marble tombs.
A different kind of place, and a difficult one. The basilica is tunnelled into the mountainside beneath a cross visible for miles, built between 1940 and 1959 under Franco, partly by the labour of political prisoners. It commemorates dead from both sides of the Civil War, and what it means remains contested in Spain; Franco's own remains were removed in 2019. Your guide gives the history, and the scale of the place does the rest.
Five hours is enough to walk both sites properly rather than photograph them and leave. The drive northwest takes about an hour, and the two monuments sit close together once you are there.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
Yes, admission to the monastery is included, taking in the basilica and the royal pantheon. Individual areas can close for services.
It commemorates Civil War dead but was built under Franco, partly with prisoner labour. Its meaning is still debated in Spain, and Franco's remains were removed in 2019.
A fair amount, over stone and gravel, with steps at both monuments. Neither walk is long, but neither is flat.
From a meeting point in central Madrid rather than your hotel. The exact address is confirmed on your booking.