El Escorial Seen from Outside, Plus the Valley: Half-Day Morning

A five-hour morning out of Madrid, with an expert guide, covering the UNESCO-listed Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen.

One point to settle before booking: at El Escorial this tour works from the outside of the monastery and its surroundings rather than going into the state rooms. That is a real difference from the tours that include the interior, and it is worth knowing which one you are buying.

What it does give is the setting, and the setting is not a consolation. The monastery is a single enormous rectangle laid out on the slope below Mount Abantos, and the only way to read that plan is from outside it. The town of San Lorenzo grew up around the building because of it, and the whole approach was designed to be seen on foot.

El Escorial remains one of the official residences of the King of Spain, and the guide covers its history along the way.

The Valley of the Fallen follows, high in the Sierra de Guadarrama, with the views out over the mountains.