Day Tripping to El Escorial

One of my friends, who is in Madrid teaching with another program (Activa), and I were talking about taking some weekend trips to get to know the area around Madrid better.  A few weekends ago she, her boyfriend, and I took a trip to El Escorial.  El Escorial, just northwest of the capital city Madrid, was once a royal palace and monastery.  Located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, nestled at the southeastern side of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range, the complex is today home to the Order of Saint Augustine, a museum of Spain's history, and the burial site for many of the royal family.

The rain managed to keep away for this shot!

We took a bus from the Moncloa station, which cost 4.20€ each way, and it took just about an hour to arrive.  Unfortunately we picked a pretty rainy day to visit so  our primary plan of attack was to find a cafe to have a snack and dry off from the downpour.

In our rush to get dry the first cafe we found was ridiculously expensive so we all just settled for some natural orange juice.  When we finished our juice, and more importantly when the rain had stopped momentarily, we made our way to Escorial.  It was a very short walk and my friend and I were both ecstatic to see that there were some signs of Fall showing.  As a native New Englander the annual 'changing of the leaves' is just a natural state of the Fall season for me, and I was loving the fact that the trees at Escorial were actually showing signs of this.

We walked around to the main entrance of the museum and snapped some shots of the garden on the way, unfortunately with all the rain it wasn't much of an option to enjoy them.  Upon entering we paid the museum fee, the normal price is 10€, but we all paid the discounted student rate of 5€.  Luckily I had a copy of my passport and visas and I just had to show the copy of my student visa (for those doing the Auxiliares program you might also get a discount if you show your Carta, I think they had discount options for teachers).

Once inside El Escorial there are several main rooms and exhibits you walk through during your visit.  Some of the ones I found the most interesting were: the basilica of San Lorenzo el Real, the Pantheon of the Kings, the Pantheon of the Princes, the Architectural Museum, the library, an art gallery, and my personal favorite the Hall of Battles.

The Pantheon of Kings though, complete with wood, marble, and gold plating, was arguably one of the most beautiful rooms in the complex.  Inside the Pantheon are twenty-six vaults, or sepulchers, that hold kings and queen regnants, as well as royal consorts who were parents of monarchs since the reign of Charles I.  With this limited space comes the issue of what will happen to the current King and Queen of Spain, as all of the places are filled or reserved.

As the Pantheon of Kings is for the monarchs,  the Pantheon of the Princes is for the essentially the rest of the royal family.  The Pantheon of Princes consists of multiple rooms that hold the remains of princes, princesses, as well as royal consorts that were not parents of any monarchs.

Most of these tombs are quite simple vaults of marble, compared to the gold plated tombs of the Pantheon of Kings, but the pantheon houses a huge number of royal family members: like the brother of the current King and a large mausoleum for the princes and princesses who sadly died before puberty.

My favorite room, the Hall of Battles, was a room that we almost (shame on us) didn't feel like walking up all the stairs for.  Our curiosity got the better of us, as well as trying to continue our hopes of waiting out the rain (fail).  In the end I think we were all glad we forced ourselves up the narrow stairs because the fresco paintings were definitely worth it.

On each of the four walls was a fresco depicting some of the major Spanish battles including: a victory over the Moors, campaigns with the French, and battles for islands in Portugal.  If I make it back to Escorial I would definitely want to spend more time poring over all the details in the Hall of Battles.

By the time we left El Escorial we had spent a good three hours, had unfortunately not been able to wait out the rain, and were absolutely dying for a big Spanish lunch.  As we tried to make a break for cover from the rain we managed to find a restaurant that boasted of Menú del Día on a Saturday and cheap food specials.  And just like that we were sold.  For once our luck held out because the portions were gigantic and I sprang for the Menú were I was treated to practically a whole loaf of bread and a whole bottle of house wine.  Winning.

After satiating our hunger we caught the bus back to Moncloa, just barely since we didn't realize at first that the bus to leave Escorial were at the lower level (go figure), and were all very pleased about our day trip to such an important piece of Madrid history.  If you're in the city of Madrid and looking for an affordable day trip I suggest giving Escorial a try.  Hopefully your visit will be a tad drier...

Have you ever visited El Escorial?  What was your favorite part of the complex?