San Lorenzo de El Escorial

San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a 18,088 inhabitants town in the Sierra de Guadarrama, in the northwestern part of the Community of Madrid (Spain). It's know by the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a royal complex of enormous importance for the Spanish Monarchy. The Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial was placed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984.

How do I arrive to San Lorenzo de El Escorial?

  San Lorenzo de El Escorial is very well connected with Madrid in many ways. 

• Train: there are trains each 30-45 minutes to El Escorial station (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), in line C3, from Atocha Railway Station for 4.30€ (one way) in Madrid. There are also Media Distancia trains stopping in El Escorial station in their way to Ávila (aprox. 50 minutes).
• Bus: there are buses every 15 minutes to Madrid (aprox. 50 minutes) from San Lorenzo de El Escorial Bus Station reaching Moncloa Bus Station. 
• Car: if you rented a car, it's 1 hour journey from Madrid or 1 hour 15 minutes from Aranjuez. Outside the Community of Madrid, San Lorenzo de El Escorial is located 45 minutes from Segovia and 50 minutes from Ávila, both in Castile and León.

History

The history of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is linked to the construction of the El Escorial Monastery and its separation from the town El Escorial. Philip II of Spain designated in 1558 a group of experts to look for the perfect place for his monastery.  The Monastery began to be built in 1536 and lasted 21 years. The king adquired the surrounding territories to create a realengo (territory that was directly ruled by the king). The small near village of El Escorial receiver the title of villa in 1565 due to its growth. Untill the 18th century it was prohibited to build houses near the monastery, but king Charles III of Spain changed this situation in 1767, being the beginning of the construction of the current town. In 1836 San Lorenzo de El Escorial was born as a new independent municipality. During the Spanish Civil War the town was loyal to the Spanish Republic and changed temporally its name to El Escorial de la Sierra.

What can I visit in San Lorenzo de El Escorial?

 San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a nice town to walk in places like Plaza de la Cruz and enjoy its history and its buildings.

These are San Lorenzo de El Escorial's main attractions:

• San Lorenzo de El Escorial Monastery (10-20 Tue-Sun from Apr to Sep; 10-18 Tue-Sun from Oct to Mar; 12€/ 6€/ free  adults/ retiree, students and kids under 16/ kids under 5): complex built by king Philip II of Spain that is compounded of several buildings and is placed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. The monastery is huge and can be divided into palaces, Bourbon Palace (18th century place with nice tapestry, some of them done by Goya) and Philip II Apartments, El Escorial Basilica (church similar to St. Peter's Basilica with a huge altarpiece), the Royal Mausoleum (place where almost all the Spanish kings are buried), El Escorial Chapterhouse (halls with beautiful paintings of Velázquez, El Greco, Tintoretto or Tiziano), San Lorenzo de El Escorial Library (impressing library with more than 10,000 books and awesome decoration) and San Lorenzo de El Escorial New Museums (collection of museums about architecture and painting).
• Prince Small House (10-20 Tue-Sun from Apr to Sep; 10-18 Tue-Sun from Oct to Mar; 5€): pavilion ordered to Juan de Villanueva by Charles III of Spain for his son, the future Charles IV. Its decoration is awesome, with roofs in a style similar to Pompeii or paintings by Luca Giordano.
• Infante Small House (11:15- 20 Fri from Apr to Sep; 11:15- 18 Fri from Apr to Sep; 3€): small palace built for Charles IV of Spain's brother, infante Gabriel of Spain by Juan de Villanueva. It preserves the furniture from those years and the first floor is the place where the king Juan Carlos I lived before being crowned as so.
• Old Royal Coach House (11-14 and 15-19 Sat-Sun; 4.50€/ 3€/ 2.50€  adults/ retiree/ students): museum that shows the means of transport of the Spanish kings between the 18th and 19th centuries, with their maps and other objects needed for their journeys and their associated jobs.
• Silla de Felipe II: place where Philip II of Spain observed the construction of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, according to the legend. It has nice views of the monastery.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial's library

Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial

Valle de los Caídos

Only 15 km north it can be founded the controversial Valle de los Caídos (10-19 Tue-Sun from Apr to Sep; 10-18 Tue-Sun from Oct to Mar; 9€/ 4€/ free  adults/ retiree, students and kids under 16/ kids under 5), a Francoist regime monument built to honour the soldiers who fought in the nationalist side (but afterwards was said to be used to promote the national reconciliation), located in an amazing landscape. Recently the dictator Franco (who was buried here) was removed but José Antonio Primo de Rivera (Falange Española founder) still has a preeminent place in the basilica. There are more than 40,000 corpses buried here. The monument consist on Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos Basilica, basilica with an austere façade and large main nave, Francoist style sculptures and cupola with mosaics representing Spanish heroes going towards Jesus; and also Valle de los Caidos Cross, 150 m tall cross with beautiful views.

Where can I eat in San Lorenzo de El Escorial?

San Lorenzo de El Escorial has some interesting places to eat around the Old Town like La Chistera (Plaza Jacinto Benavente 7), La Cueva (Calle San Antón 4) or Asador del Rey (Calle Floridablanca 10).

Posted in: Europe,Madrid region,Spain