Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Villanueva de la Cañada

Amaizing tour, full of Spanish history and real art!

Palace/Monastery worth seeing. The staff doesnt really speak English and a strict no picture policy which are quite outdated, probably the security staff would be bored otherwise

The monastery is so beautiful. Its got amazing architecture inside and outside. You have to pay 12€ to get in, the only thing is you arent allowed to take photos inside. I still think its worth it because they have the most amazing library and so many other beautiful rooms.If you want to see more photos check out my Instagram @mystymemories

No photos are allowed! The staff are surly and there are so many controls that they always make you feel watched and it ruins your visit. They dont allow you to take pictures of anything, and of course you only discover this after paying for the ticket, they dont tell you before. The souvenir shops inside have exorbitant prices, for example a magnet costs four euros. I didnt enjoy the visit at all.

Amazing Palace. I love it

It takes some effort to get there, but its well worth it. This site is actually a UN World Heritage site. Take a subway train to Marcola and then get a bus. Google will tell you which bus to get, and keep in mind that the ones heading out to the monastery leave from below street level. At first I was looking for the departure point from the bus stops on the street level. It took about an hour to get there starting from the Atocha train station. Then there is a 10 to 15 minute walk from the bus stop to the monastery.Although its called a monastery, its more of a royal palace with a church and monastery attached.The monastery includes the most amazing library, architecturally, that you will probably have ever seen. Unfortunately no photography is permitted throughout, but I managed to sneak some, as most people seem to do, but none in the library as they were watching like hawks in there. Google some images of the library!

I did this in two stages. I walked around the village the night before as well as the outside while it is quieter. It is worth getting a guided tour as there is so much to see and it is easy to miss out whole sections. There are no photos allowed on the inside but plenty of illustrated books are available. Be prepared to spend at least three hours here and consider a trip to the controversial valley of the fallen just 20 minutes away while you are in the area.

I enjoyed the visit to this beautiful place

El Escorial is a Unesco World Heritage Site with its imposing Monastery and impressive crypt holding the remains of the majority of the Spanish Kings and Queens from Charles V to Alfonso XIII. The major attraction, by far, is the Library with its masterfully painted frescoes. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in the Library or the rest of the Monastery for that matter. I am not sure why this is the case. We never had this problem in our two months traveling through-out Portugal. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that people taking pictures slow down the movement of the crowds, or perhaps there were too many people taking pictures with flash or causing damage with selfie sticks. Or, it could be the Monastery simply wants to monetize its images by forcing guests to purchase postcards or books. Whatever the case, I am giving it 3 Stars because of its prohibition of photography. Instead, try checking out the Museo Cerralbo a real hidden gem in Madrid. And, they let you take pictures.

Amazing UNESCO site, youre not allowed to take pictures inside which is a shame because its jaw droppingly gorgeous. They have tours in English if you ask at the ticket office (or digital audio guided, takes about 2h to see the whole thing. We were travelling with my parents who struggled with some of the staircases (there are a lotbut well worth the struggle.

An interesting place with a fantastic library inside with some great book collections.

We were on a tour of Spain, visiting Madrid, Alvor, Salamamca and Segovia as our main stops. This was one of my favourite places we visited and I can highly recommend taking a tour. Some of the paintings took my breath away! Go visit!!

Beautiful place! Cant take photos inside, but its worth to visit.

Only visited the exterior. Huge building and stunning views around the garden over the hills and towards Madrid. The town arranged to it is also beautiful with its many stone buildings.

Majestuoso en una ciudad preciosa! If you come to Spain you must not go a week without visiting this place, it’s gorgeous!

Beautiful and glorious is all I can say and it should never be missed by anyone coming to Spain. You will love everything about it and I do not want to give you anymore as then it will spoil the main purpose of this Magnificent visit.

Very impressive building, interesting history of both its creation and growth as well as its uses over the years.Few too many paintings, but worth a visit nonetheless. Free after 1500 for spanish, or at least was on Sunday.If you dont want to go in, still worth a visit for the walk up.

A gorgeous monastery with beautiful architecture, it is huge and takes a while to cover. Since we visited on a Sunday, we could not see the church because there was mass going on. Only disappointment was that we were told time and again that we arent allowed to take pictures, so its kind of a bummer not having any pictures of the interior of the monastery. Carry a hand fan during summers, it tends to get warm inside. Overall, it is still stunning.

Breathtaking. And such good energies there. Dont miss It!

Very impressive building with a big garden

This is a must see if you visit Spain. Not much else to say. You will see the mausoleum of the kings and queens if Spain from Charles I until today (Alfonzo XIII)

2 stars only, which would under normal circumstances be all 5, but after I paid €12 entry + €5 for audio guide, I wasnt allowed in the centre point of the whole place - the basilica, due to mass 12-14! No info on the entry though, and basilica was open for the local public for free, but not for the paying tourists! The rest of the place is awesome too, but not being allowed to see the jewel - the basilica, in my limited time for visit, was dissapointing! :-(

Billed as the 8th wonder of the world, its certainly impressive. Built by King Philip II who retired here in the late 16th century, its a massive pile of a structure with a monastery and basilica, the tombs of a great many Spanish royals- and the final resting place of Emperor Charles V , great opponent of Martin Luther, and his son, King Philip II. There are also the royal quarters of the Bourbon monarchs of the 18th century

This is a spectacular place . Do not miss this one 🤩

OUTSTANDING. MAGNIFICENT. SUPERB. This place is beautiful as it can be. Friendly staff, everything is great BUT, if you rent an audio tour is very frustrating to deal with the tour guides with huge annoying crowds rushing behind you. There should be a schedule for tour guides only, also there are a lot of security officers but you still find trash inside from nasty folks that dare to litter, officers should keep an eye on visitors.

Purchased tkt at the gate. Wasn’t busy at all we had a wonderful time. Beautiful weather.. we. Took a bus and. Then a train from Gran via to El Escorial. Totally worth it. Half a day trip to and. Back. Quiet city…

Paid 6€ with student reduced price. Totally worth it. Took me around 2 hours to get through the entire site. No photos allowed inside. Favorite part was the magnificent basilica found inside El Escorial. It is very similar to an art museum experience plus the rooms are ornate. The gardens are not particularly special, but they are well kept. Makes for a great day trip from Madrid.

We were quite lucky enough to get the free entrance that day we visited. The palace looked magnificent and it was even more spectacular inside. I had never seen a Basílica before and it was just so beautiful.

It is a great place, full of history. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside

Large, monumental, spectacular, etc.,... these are the qualifying adjectives that come to mind when you are in front of this majestic work of art or monument, The monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial is also in a place of great beauty , at the foot of the northern mountains of Madrid and surrounded by meadows, trees, etc.,... in addition to visiting the Monastery you can see other nearby buildings such as the University, the Casita del Principe, the gardens, etc.,... I personally think that if you are one of those who like art, with the visit of the 5 main elements of the Monastery, such as: The basilica, the cloister, the refectory, the palace and the gardens, you will have a king size premium de lux ration top of the art range, with which you will end up more than satisfied...

Wonderful!!!! Place! Never been so excited and surprised of so beautiful garden! Very recommended🎉🎉🎉🎉🙌🙌🙌

The library was incredible. And also the tombs of the royals. A very interesting place for all the people, not only for tourism. To see the hand written books is incredible. A must see in Spain..

Beautiful palace and church, the city its in have lots of places to eat so you can have a fun day out.

100% a must visit. A very well kept structure with fascinating architecture and a small yet pretty garden with views all the way to Madrid.

The Library is one of a kind. Wonderful landscape, in a quiet place, that allows the visitor to enjoy a beautiful sunset in a medieval environment.

This is believed to be the largest Renaissance structure in the world. El Escorial is a complex of many buildings with different functions within one huge structure. The two major parts of the structure are the royal palace and the monastery. And within the premises of those two structures you happen upon a basilica, pantheon, library, museum, university, school, and hospital. Along the time a small town developed around the building.El Escorial served as one of the seats for the Spanish monarchy. The mood in this palace is a little bit austere and somber.The Escorial is almost 50 km from Madrid. A bus service will take there.The admission fee is 10€ (2021 prices). Keep in mind that the Escorial is closed on Mondays.After visiting the Palace and the Monastery, you can walk to the adjacent town. There you will find many nice cafes and restaurants. The prices are fair and the mood is very relaxing.

An amazing place to visit. It was interesting that the facility still serves as a school so there are quite a bit of children around. The entrance is a bit hard to find, but once you get inside, it’s well marked out.Probably to most interesting aspect of this place is the tombs underground. It’s unique and amazing.

I have read something about this place, I though I was more like a palace but in deed is a monastery with a lot of Catholical influence, not just the Basilica, but the crypts and all the art around.The town is also influenced by this complex of buildings which allow us to understand the power of the Spanish kings at that time.

Full of stories to know, check out the Windows of the King and his daughter on the both sides of the altar. Check the second most important library of western Europe in the middle ages after Vatican. And the grill feagure why its the symbol of that monastery.

Amazing monumental monastery with beautiful gardens and undergrounds, impressive history, excellent place to have some reflection moment and pray. Highly recommend

Great place to visit if love palaces. I really liked it but it depends on how many days you spend on Madrid to make the visit worth it. There is only the palace to visit so, travelling 1 hour from Madrid just for that is Ok but too many other better places to visit. If you go to Madrid 3/4 days make sure instead you go to Toledo, and Segovia or at least Toledo will do it. If you stay 1 week or more add this location to visit. If you go by tour or bus, do not forget to visit the Fallen Valley " Valle de los caídos"

Beautiful small town of El Escorial with a magnificent palace to explore. The palace gardens are beautiful, so are the breathtaking ceiling paintings. A pleasant, if somewhat long, walk to the palace from the main train station, but definitely worth it to see the town up close. An hour train ride from Madrid. Local baguetes are delicious for lunch.

Spain was our last country of a 2 week trip to Europe and we had nothing planned. Our hotel suggested El Escorial and we were completely amazed. They do not allow photographs anywhere except on the outside of the buildings, but when we were in the cathedral the security guard came up to me and told me I could take photos. The biblioteca is absolutely breath taking. We had just come from Rome and had seen the Sistine Chapel but when we stepped in here we were the only ones other than the security guards and it was so beautiful. It took us 2 hours to go through the whole thing but we were rushing because they were due to close. It was by far one of our favorite things we did on our 2 week trip. It is a must visit. When you are in all the apartments notice all the clocks they have tons of clocks I can’t remember how many they told us they have. You will not be disappointed and the price was very reasonable to go through the museum. I was traveling with2 adults and 4 children ages 7 to 14.

Astonishing piece of history. Its probably one of the most beautiful places I have visited in my life. The palace, the basilica, the royal crypt and the library are the places you cant miss. Its very disappointing that you not allowed to take photos inside of the palace. A taxi from "El Escorial" town to the palace should cost about 5-6 euros.

Very good system and I am strongly satisfied with the way the Staff met with me and behaved. I strongly Happy with Director who came to door with me. Strongly Happy with their help and assistance. Happy with the respect they shown with me from Security guard up to the Librarian.The construction is too much fantastic and amazing represents the European old constructions. I appreciate the King Philip who has recovered the lost Intellectual legacy of Andalusian time.

Maybe not as visually impressive as some other cathedrals but still very awe inspiring people in n you stand in front of it. The sheer size combined with the short building time make it very impressive. I also highly recommend doing a guided tour inside and taking a stroll through the gardens. Overall definitely worth a visit if youre in the area. If youre not, youd probably have to be pretty interested in architecture or history to make it worth a longer trip.

Very nice historical site located around approximately one hour of driving form the Madrid. This is one of the most beautiful places I saw in Spain. The palace is huge and presents Spanish history through centuries. The entrance cost 10€ and if audio device is added then additional 3€ has to be paid. The tour takes between two and three hours. Very fascinating is the tomb of the kings located and the bottom of the palace. There many Spanish kings are buried including the Emperor of the Holly Roman empire.

If you are visiting Madrid this place is a must, amazing architecture10 euros to get in, you can pay 3E for an audioguide or you can download the app in your phone for $2At least 2 hours to visit this place.The church is mind blowingEndless collection of art and sculptures.Just amazing!

An amazing place to visit. The garden, while not immaculately kept, has a certain zen-like quality to it. Perfect for ambulatory meditation. Nearby to quality restaurants and great views, one young couple came from Korea to shoot their engagement photos. Tour the monastery, get some food, travel up to the top of mount Abantos. Makes for a great day.

I loved this place its a work of art. Fresco work is so realistic I was wowed and trust me I travel and lot and except Rome I have never been impressed, so u have to c this place. Ticket cost u only 5€ per person. Its a bit out city but worth the drive. Another draw back they dont let u take pictures