Monastery of El Escorial

Located in the heart of the Sierra de Guadarrama (on the side of Mount Abantos), just 50 kilometres from Madrid, San Lorenzo de El Escorial is one of the most interesting touristic and cultural towns in the area. Its main attraction is the Monastery and Real Sitio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Deeply affected by the death of his father, Charles V, in 1558, and with the aim of firmly establishing the House of Austria in Spain, Felipe II commissioned the construction of the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery as a means to create an eternal memorial for his relatives, form a family vault, and compensate for the destruction of a church dedicated to San Lorenzo in the Battle of San Quintin in France.

Under the guidance of Juan Bautista de Toledo, the first stone was laid on 23rd April 1563. Upon his death in 1567, Juan de Herrera took over the work, stamping his own seal on the design, characterised by an emphasis on lines at the expense of decorative elements which may distract those contemplating the building.

With its 207-metre facade facing towards Mount Abantos, the building is rectangular in shape, measuring 33,000square metres and designed in the shape of an inverted grid. Visitors are greeted by the imposing main façade leading to the Patio de los Reyes, which takes its name from the statues of the Kings of Judah adorning the façade of the basilica.

This is undoubtedly one of the musts of any visit to the monastery. With a square floor plan and crowned by a dome inspired by Saint Peter’s in the Vatican, it has a total of 43 altars and chancels. The Royal Oratories and the Royal Burials are particularly noteworthy, two groups of kneeling statues corresponding to the families of Carlos V and Felipe II. Under the Royal Basilica lie the Royal Vaults, 26 black marble tombs containing the remains of the Kings of the Houses of Austria and the Bourbons, and the Infant Vault, with the graves of the Queens who died without heirs to the throne, princes and princesses.

The Palace of the Hapsburgs, located behind the basilica, boasts an interesting Battle Room, which contains frescoes of some of the more significant battles won by the Spanish crown. The personal belongings of Felipe II and Princess Isabel Clara Eugenia can also be found here.

The Architecture Museum is located in the basement of the monastery and features reproductions of the architectural plans, the tools used and the budget, in addition to an art gallery containing works by El Greco, Zurbarán, Ribera, Tintoretto, Titian, Rubens and Veronese. No visit would be complete without a trip to the library, containing a copy of Cantigas de Santa María by Alfonso X  the Wise, several works by Santa Teresa de Jesús, Mozarabic manuscripts, and the Códice Aureo, written in gold.

Although traces remain of previous inhabitants, the origins of the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial date back to the 11th century Reconquest, and the subsequent resettling of the central plateau. This small agricultural and cattle farming village remained isolated for centuries until 1561 when, with the establishment of the Royal Court in Madrid, Philip II commissioned the construction of the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery on land he had recently purchased.

With the arrival of workers to build the cathedral, the remote village was transformed into a town, which brought about the establishment of traders and craftsmen, a rise in the population and the construction of a new town hall, a hospital and residences for visiting aristocrats. Two centuries later, Charles III gave the royal stamp of approval to the new town and its architectural design, courtesy of Juan de Esteban and Juan de Villanueva.

At the beginning of the 19th century, with the French invasion of 1808, the Royal Court abandoned San Lorenzo de El Escorial as an official residence, and it fell into a period of decline. However, El Escorial recovered some of its commercial and cultural vigour in the middle of the century as a result of the building of a new railway network and the sale of the Crown lands, allowing the emerging bourgeois class to purchase land on which to build hotels and summer residences.

Alfonso XIII transformed the town into the nerve centre of the Eastern part of the province. Ever since, San Lorenzo de El Escorial has been one of the region's most important seats of learning, with the founding of the María Cristina University, known today as the Real Centro Universitario El Escorial-María Cristina attached to the Complutense University, and the colleges of La Inmaculada Concepción and Las Carmelitas de la Caridad. These days, El Escorial is a reference point in the world of university education, and, since 1988, it has organised its prestigious Summer Courses, attended by thousands of Spanish and international students every year.

Aside from the monastery, although inseparable from it, the Casa de Oficios and the Casa de Infantes, located between the Monastery's façade and Calle Floridiblanca, are both well worth a visit, as are the King's Stables, built to keep the horses and carriages used by the Royal Family on their visits.

Also noteworthy is the Casita del Príncipe, built by Juan de Villanueva for the Prince of Asturias - the future Carlos IV -, and the Casita del Infante, built for the brother of the future king, a small hunting pavilion in natural surroundings which served as a stage for chamber recitals and meetings of the court.

The Royal Coliseum of Charles III, designed by the French architect Jaime Marquet, is another of the town's most significant buildings, and is today one of the region's most important cultural centres.

Moving away from the town's historic centre, the Hermitage of the Virgen de Gracia, a small building in a natural pine setting, which is the stage of a popular gathering every year, is found in La Herreria. Nearby, built upon a rock, lies the Seat of Philip II, from which it is said the monarch supervised the progress of the construction of the monastery.

Only 8 kilometres from El Escorial, in the heart of the Sierra de Guadarrama, you will find the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos. This colossal construction stands on an area of 36,000 square metres and comprises the abbey and other buildings such as the library or the inn, a crypt built into the rock, and an immense 150 metre high cross, which can be accessed via a hidden entrance. Inside, lie the remains of Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera and, hidden from public view, the bodies of 40,000 soldiers who fell during the Civil war. 

During your visit to San Lorenzo, you may want to treat yourself to a dinner fit for a king: Montia, opened in 2012 and serving signature cuisine made from fresh regional produce was awarded a Michelin star in 2015.

By Car: 45 minutes via the A-6, the AP-6 and the M-600

By Coach: 50 minutes from the Moncloa bus station.

By Train: 60 minutes by Cercanías suburban train from Atocha Station and 45 minutes from Chamartín Station. A fun alternative is the Philip II train composed of 1940s carriages pulled by a locomotive from the 1960s.