Museum
Prado Museum
Madrid, Spain
One of the world's great art museums, with Velazquez, Goya and El Greco at the centre of its Spanish collectio...
Palace · Spain · Community of Madrid
El Escorial Monastery
A severe, majestic sixteenth-century monastery-palace in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama.
UNESCO World Heritage Paid entry about 3 h
For storytellers
Why El Escorial Monastery matters
El Escorial is the vast stone monastery and palace that King Philip II built in the sixteenth century. It combines a palace, a basilica, a library and a royal pantheon, all in a plain, austere style. You can walk through the royal apartments, the library and the crypt. It is easily reached from Madrid and is a good trip if you like history.
Talking points
- It combines a monastery, a palace, a basilica and a library in one complex.
- It was built under Philip II in the sixteenth century.
- The royal pantheon below the basilica holds the tombs of many Spanish monarchs.
Free to read aloud or adapt in your video. Check facts that matter to you against an official source before you publish.
More in Madrid
Square
Plaza Mayor, Madrid
Madrid, Spain
A grand enclosed seventeenth-century square surrounded by arcades, cafes and painted facades.
Museum
Reina Sofia Museum
Madrid, Spain
Modern and contemporary art museum, home of Picasso's Guernica.
Park · UNESCO
Retiro Park
Madrid, Spain
Madrid's beloved green lung, with a boating lake, a glass palace and shady avenues for strolling.
Palace
Royal Palace of Madrid
Madrid, Spain
A vast eighteenth-century royal palace with over a thousand rooms, used today for state ceremonies.
Square
Puerta del Sol
Madrid, Spain
The symbolic heart of Spain, where the clock chimes ring in the New Year with twelve grapes.