El Escorial

San Lorenzo de El Escorial (also San Lorenzo del Escorial) is a town about 45 km northwest of Madrid in Spain. Set in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, its chief attraction is the Monastery of El Escorial, a World Heritage Site that was the power centre of the Spanish empire under King Felipe II. It's usually visited as a day-trip from Madrid.



By plane
The nearest airport is Madrid Barajas. From the airport take the metro to Madrid Chamartin and change to Renfe local line C3, as below.

By bus
Autocarres Herranz operates emerald-green buses 661 and 664 from Madrid Moncloa bus station. They run every 30-60 mins, taking about an hour, fare. Get off directly in front of the monastery. For the return bus to Madrid, walk to the nearby (bus station) on C/ Juan de Toledo 3.

By car
El Escorial is well signposted from AP6 north from Madrid, exit at Junction 47. Parking just outside the monastery is €5 for 2 hours.

See




Sleep
Other small, central hotels here include Miranda & Suizo, Florida, NH Victoria Palace, Sercotel Los Lanceros, and Posada Don Jaime.

Go next
On Mondays El Escorial is closed (as are most visitor attractions in Spain) and there's not much else to see or do here, so consider an outing to somewhere else scenic. Choices within an hour's drive include Segovia, Avila and Salamanca.

In and around Madrid are Toledo, Aranjuez and Alcalá de Henares. Reaching more distant cities such as Barcelona and Seville will probably mean travelling via Madrid, see that page for transport options.

Further west beyond Salamanca lies Portugal, while routes to the north and east lead to Leon, Burgos and Bilbao.