Home > Madrid > El Escorial Monastery and the Valley of the Fallen from Madrid
USD $78.00
El Escorial Monastery and the Valley of the Fallen from Madrid
Madrid, Spain
Experience the grandeur of Spain on a guided half-day visit to El Escorial monastery and the Valley of the Fallen monument from Madrid. Discover why the Baroque-style El Escorial complex was considered the eighth wonder of the world, and admire the poignant sculptures of the Valley of the Fallen monument, erected in memory of the millions who died in the Spanish Civil War. You’ll gain insights into Spain's intriguing history at these symbolic monuments, reflecting the Spanish monarchy, church and 20th-century conflict, and have the option to include a half-day city tour of the highlights of Madrid.
Departing Madrid by air-conditioned coach, travel to the Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Spanish monarchs’ historical residence and royal monastery, 28 miles (45 kilometers) northwest of Madrid. Your guided tour reveals the history behind this massive, regal complex of buildings, celebrated for their architectural perfection and a striking symbol of 16th-century Spanish power.
Your tour of the World Heritage-listed royal complex takes you to the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real, built by King Philip II to house the remains of his parents, Charles I and Isabella of Portugal. The tour guides you through the monastery’s basilica, with its important religious relics, highly decorated altar and Baroque dome inspired by St Peter’s in Rome.
Your guided tour of El Escorial also takes you to the austere but grand palace and the royal mausoleum known as the Pantheon of Kings, home to the marble tomb of Charles V, the first king of Spain. For insights into the construction of El Escorial, browse the Architecture Room’s collection of architects’ and builders’ equipment dating back hundreds of years. Visit the Weapons Room to see ornate armaments, and admire painted frescoes in the highly decorated library.
Your tour continues from El Escorial to the Valley of the fallen, 6 miles (9.5 kilometers) to the north. Admire the vast basilica built into the side of a mountain, topped by a gigantic granite cross that towers 150 meters (500 feet) high and dominates the landscape. The monument was built by the Spanish dictator General Franco to commemorate the dead of Spain's Civil War.
Take a guided tour inside the austerely modern basilica, with its vaulted crypt and sculpted angels, then look out from the surrounding esplanade of arches to admire the spectacular valley countryside surrounding the complex.
Relax on the scenic return journey to Madrid, where your tour ends in the early afternoon, or where you'll continue your day of sightseeing on a guided 2.5 hour city tour highlighting Madrid’s famous monuments and landmarks (if upgrade option selected).
Great Tour Guide and Great Tour, well worth the money loved that our Tour guide had patience with the group and also asked if we all spoke Spanish that way she did not repeat more then once the history portion the guide also made sure of making sure her group was together!
Review by: Robert D L, May 2018
Our guide for El Escorial Monastery was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He gave us a wealth of information about the monastery, its contents, and Spanish history. The Valley of the Fallen was a sobering experience and represented an entirely different historical period.. All-in-all, the day left us with a better understanding of Spain and its past.
Review by: Ximena H, May 2018
Great, but thought we could use a little more time.
Review by: jen, April 2018
The Monastery and the Valley were extremely important sites to see. _br/_ I was very interested in them despite the terribly cold and windy and snowy day that we went on the tour. As I read the other reviews for this tour, I saw well organized and well appointed and knowledgeable, and I agree with that. I did, however, feel a sincere lack of heart from our guide. She was very intelligent, and when I had the opportunity to look into her eyes, she would smile back, and I felt engaged, but that was the only time. It could have been the day, the cold, the group size, something personal, but the entire trip was quite cold, and not just because of the weather. If we had not gone on another Viator tour the night before, we perhaps would not have had the idea that this would be an engaging day, but...we did. If you are extremely interested in these sites, DEFINITELY go. If you feel like you MIGHT be interested if your guide is engaging, perhaps our guide would not be the one for you. We lost a member on the tour, he was older and a bit slower walking than the rest of us. Carmen - I believe her name was - was NOT walking fast, but also was not looking back to see if we were all accounted for, nor really paying attention to us at all. If you have ANY issues walking 75 steps in a row, consider a different tour, as some of the older folks on our tour were a bit uncomfortable with all of the walking, and by the time 22 folks get up 75 stairs, the guide was often already two rooms further into the tour. It was not a bad tour, but there was not much personal attention paid at any time to any person. I feel that was an unfortunate oversight. _br/_ I also do not remember seeing much in the way of a walking disclaimer...there were folks with canes coming onto the tour and I wondered how the heck are they going to make it through this place? _br/_ We also happened to be taking the tour as the country of Spain sprung ahead and there was NO mention of that on the website when we booked the trip. As the tour met at 8:45 am in the morning which became 7:45 am with daylights savings time, it would have been extremely helpful to have had that information pop up on the calendar when we were booking the tour. That should not have been very hard to do, and since most of the tours seemed to be stocked by persons from other countries, most would have had no idea while booking that that day was daylights savings... Had we missed the tour we would have had to forfeit 150. I just found the lack of forethought and customer service distressing.
Review by: Laura W, March 2018
Very nice experience in half a day and tour guide was excellent!
Review by: Ana A, March 2018
Love the tour
Review by: HonestIndianReview, March 2018
Very nice tour of the monastery followed by Valley of the Fallen. It is easy to get to the tour office by bus/taxi. They run everything professionally and on time. The tour guide was well-informed. There is a little walking to get to both places from the bus parking lot. So if you are going in winter like we did, be careful of the snow and ice on the footpaths. Other than that, you should have a great time.
Review by: lealenrique, February 2018
Excelente tour. La guía que nos llevó Beatriz nos brindó una magnífica explicación y muchos detalles de ambos lugares. Quedamos muy complacidos de la visita. Muy recomendable.
Review by: Roberto L, January 2018
Very nice and educational tour. We could have a overview of main kings of Spain buried in Escorial! Very impressive!
Review by: Neil F, January 2018
Very well run tour with clear instructions as to where one should be and timings. Coach good quality, language skills of staff faultless, and the technology used for communication worked well. El Escorial very impressive, in terms of its size, artwork, and history. The majority of the Hapsburg and Bourbon royalty are entombed there, and one visits the royal crypt with its intricate marble carvings. King Phillip's rooms, where he may well of reflected on how his Armada was doing, brought home the nature of this man. Paintings by Titian and El Greco, as well as many others, and beautiful frescos, adorn the walls of the cloisters and the church. A simply beautiful alter. The contrast with Spain at the height of empire, El Escorial, and at its lowest ebb, empire lost and subject to facist dictatorship after a bloody civil war, the Valley of the fallen, works well. The memorial is huge in scale, set in a beautiful mountain valley, and is magnificent. The tour guide does not shy away from the controversy of having the tombs of facist leaders so prominent, or that the memorial was effectively a prison work camp for Republicans after the war. In all, beautiful, thought provoking, informative, helped one understand modern Spain, nice to get up into the mountains, and half a day well spent
Review by: Juan G, December 2017
The tour was poorly organized, the intercom system provided by Julia travel was not working, we were rushed through the whole tour, including the valley of the fallen. Actually the tour guide did not accompany us inside the building. I recommend a different tour group for those sites.
Review by: Kerry B, December 2017
Anyone who visits Spain for the first time would not want to miss this attraction. The Monastery is essential to understanding the reign of Philip II and Spain's period as a global power. Going from there to the Valley of Fallen introduces you to the dramatic period of instability and the rise of fascism in Spain and other European nations. We were completely satisfied with this tour and would highly recommend it.
Review by: Justin C, November 2017
The tour ventures into the crypts, the personal study of Philip II, and the chapel, but little else of El Escorial is seen, let alone discussed such as the library. I did not get a good sense of who Philip II was or who I should care from this tour, which is disappointing given that Philip II was a larger-than-life king famous for launching his Armada against Elizabeth I of England in a bid to put a Catholic ruler on the English throne. Not much detail is given during the tour except in the crypts, and most of the history of this place is better seen beforehand online. As for the Valley of the Fallen, we had more free time there and even less explanation from the tour, with a brief allusion to the controversy over Franco's construction of the monument and its religious significance, but little else.
Review by: David F, November 2017
We had Carmen as a guide on our trip, who was excellent very well organised, very well presented tour information. She spoke 1 sentence in Spanish and then in English which kept everyone listening and interested. A very knowledgeable lady who made our trip special. A word about the bus, it seemed to be brand new, very clean, very compfortable and quiet.
Review by: travel, November 2017
would prefer English only tours, otherwise too much time is wasted while listening to the other languages.
Review by: Sam, November 2017
An excellent experience that saved a lot of hassle. The tour guide was great, and the price reasonable. If there was any criticism, it would be that the experience at El Escorial was slightly rushed...
Review by: Frances R, November 2017
A very good trip .these sites are not easy to get to from Madrid so to see them both in5 hours was much easier .guide excellent spoke English well.
Review by: Maryann K, October 2017
Excellent trip and excellent tour guide.
Review by: William M, October 2017
Excellent tour, well managed and led by a very interesting, informative guide. Ideally, we would have liked to spend longer at El Escorial, either being guided or visiting independenty, but what we did see was wonderful. Visiting the sinister Valley of the Fallen was a welcome, if disconcerting bonus.
Review by: LUCILLE R, October 2017
Great tour. Took 3 tours from Madrid handled by Julia tours and have one suggestion for improvement. The drop off point should be clearly stated and provided prior to departure. We were dropped off at different places each time. Although we did finally figure out that all three places were within close proximity to each other, we felt that we were abandoned. For tourists who do not speak the language, this was an uncomfortable feeling especially at the end of the day.
Review by: Robert P, October 2017
The guide was very knowledgeable and her English was very good however she did not keep adequate control of the group which meant much time was wasted and not spent enjoying the two venues
Review by: Kathleen K P, October 2017
This tour was excellent! Be prepared to walk over cobblestones and up and down stairs! Full of history with detailed narrative by the tour guide. Very professional and a great way to see this historical site.
Review by: James L, October 2017
The guide and driver were both escellent. But we found the tour of the monastery too long, and quite physically demanding. We are both over seventy, and there were a lot of stairs. The Valley of the Fallen is lovely but we found the actual tomb and mausoleum very disturbing, a megalomaniac's edifice. Great view, though!
Review by: Tony L, October 2017
This would have to be one of the all time best day tours ever! El Escorial Monastery is unbelievable and a must see. Our large group was split into Spanish and English on arrival, and the lady that took the English group was superb. Did a great job moving us through the big crowds and was a fountain of knowledge. The huge tomb? carved into the mountain at the Valley of the Fallen was also incredible, even though it is only a monument to one mans ego! I believe it is actually a consecrated cathedral? Well worth seeing. I would highly recommend this tour. The operator's, Julia Travel are like a well oiled machine, and meeting place was only about a 10 minute stroll from our hotel which was a big bonus.
Review by: Lakshman K, October 2017
This tour turned out to be the worst tour. In large part this was due to the guides who were very detached. They provided monologues during the drive and did NOT accompany us during the walk. Instead they told us where to go and when to come back to the bus. There was absolutely nobody to explain things inside the monastery site. Not happy a waste. Also, the tour turned out to be about 3.5 hrs including travel time because the guide had to be ready for the next tour which was about 1.5 hrs later.
Review by: Mayra R, October 2017
This was not a good tour for us. It was rush, rush, rush. There was a gentlemen who had trouble walking and everyone on the tour was telling the tour guide to wait for him but she said she had a scheduled to follow and could not wait, she said the tour was for all of us and not for just one person. I totally understand that she was doing her job however I think that a description should be added clearly where is states that there is a lot of walking and is not suited for people with difficulty waking. It was very unpleasant to see so many passengers arguing with the tour guide and rush, rush, rush we have to be at The Valley of the Fallen by a certain time.
Review by: Allan, October 2017
Two important sites to see when visiting Madrid. Its about 50 minutes by bus from downtown. It's a good tour but not enough time at either site. And no photos allowed inside both. Well worth seeing where the Kings and Queens and other members of Spain are layed to rest in El Escorial. And the massive Basilica built inside a mountain by Franco is amazing and yet leaves a bad taste considering Franco's dictatorial rule of Spain. And this is obviously a monument to himself.
Review by: Darryl D, October 2017
Monastery was impressive, but was blown away by the chapel built in the mountain at the Valley of the Fallen!
Review by: Patricia C, October 2017
The tour guide who led the tour from Madrid did not possess the friendliness and cheerfulness that I have come to expect from Viator guides. She never smiled, was unapproachable and acted like she wished she were anyplace else other than leading this tour.
Review by: Chris B, October 2017
Tour guide was exceptionally rude and discourteous. I use a cane and must walk slowly over trough terrain such as pebblestone streets and uneven and broken block pavement lest I fall. Tour guide consistently walked so fast I could not keep up and several times other guests fell back to make sure I did not get lost. I asked her several times to slow down and she consistently refused blaming me. I cannot believe I am the only person using a cane taking this tour who must be careful when walking on uneven surfaces.
Review by: David C, October 2017
Very interesting history and beautiful countryside. You cannot take pictures inside the El Escorial or the Valley of the Fallen basilica.
Review by: Russell C, September 2017
We found the half day El Escorial Monastery and Valley of the Fallen trip from Madrid a very interesting experience. It was well organised and informative. Our bilingual guide Spanish and English gave both groups excellent explanations of the history and significance of both the sites that we visited. Despite the very large numbers of visitors to El Escorial, our guide was able to shepherd us through the multiple rooms in such a way that we felt well satisfied with our visit.
Review by: Catherine W, September 2017
A very disappointing tour and we have taken many world wide. Two guides for 81 folk, one very friendly however difficult to understand her English, especially on the bus where the Spanish speakers chatted loudly during English announcements. The other had good English and was knowledgeable but seemed rather bored a lot of the time. It was far too rushed, especially at the Valley of the Fallen when we had 40 minutes, to get off the bus, walk 5 minutes to the basilica, listen to our guide for 5 minutes, then only 20 minutes to see the largest basilica Iin the world including a 5 minute return to the bus. No time to read anything about the chapels and the magnificent tapestries. I had been wanting to visit this site for a long time, so really unhapp, Sorry folk but could not recommend.
Review by: GABRIELA N, September 2017
THE TOUR OPERATOR WAS TERRIBLE WITH US! We arrived 5 minutes later and they told us that we misssed it and we couldnt do anything about it!!!!_br/_ I ask them to please help, as we were prepared to get a taxi to meet the tout but they say that they couldnt do anything about it!!!_br/_ I couldnt believe that they couldnt help us and we had to missed it.
Review by: Kristen L, August 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Boris T, August 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Kathleen F G, August 2017
This tour was very interesting - seeing where a king and queen lived without many possessions or home comforts. My only slight complaint was the tour was very rushed - leaving the coach to walk to the monastery was at full speed and some travellers could not keep up and there was no time for refreshments. I would have preferred to have spent longer at the monastery but as we included the Valley of the Fallen this was not possible as some of the coach party were continuing to Toledo on our return to Madrid.
Review by: Michael S, May 2017
The tour might have been nice, but the meeting point was not clearly identified by the provider. Viator's customer service didn't do anything about it. Very disappointed by Viator and will not use them again.
Review by: Paulo P, May 2017
I really enjoyed this tour, valley of the fallen is a must-see.
Review by: John N, April 2017
This is an excellent tour, ably and expertly conducted by Carmen. The tour was listed as bilingual but the English and Spanish groups divided immediately into two different buses and ours ended up being only in English. That's good because one group would not be distracted while another was listening. Carmen led us through both venues efficiently, explaining key highlights of both locations. No guided tours are allowed in the Valley of the Fallen, so Carmen had to describe the interior before we parked the bus. No photos are allowed at either site. The only problem I had with this tour is that it is very rushed. There is no free time at the Escorial, everyone has to stay together. And as for the Valley, you have only 45 minutes to see the basilica. That is not enough time. Therefore, do not stop for lunch: bring a snack to eat at the Valley, but be warned you can only drink water on the bus, no food is allowed. There are signs everywhere. The buses are very new and extremely clean, and they want to keep them that way. Given the hardships of public transportation between the two venues, this is really the only way to see both in the same day.
Review by: Nancy S, April 2017
Good tour. Guide knew her stuff. The Valley of the Fallen is bigger than I thought. Dress for the cold.
Review by: Dianne R, April 2017
This was a superbly organised tour. We arrived at the monastery as the bells rang out at 10 am. We were first into the monestry so the group was able to enjoy the monastery virtually alone. The crypt was amazaing as was the whole monastery._br/_ The Valley of the fallen was interesting and worth the visit. I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would recommend it.
Review by: Denise K, April 2017
I'm not a big fan of tour group sightseeing, but this was very well done, and certainly the most efficient way to go to El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen. I'll add my recommendation to tweak this tour a bit: I'd rather visit the museum attached to El Escorial and spend less time at the Valley and that's not only because it gives me the creeps!.
Review by: Catherina R, March 2017
This tour is good but personally felt mislead by the detail! The monastery is beautiful but the main point of interest that they are keen to show you is tombs not the gardens! The valley of the fallen is lovely but I booked an English tour and the lady spoke for the majority of the tour in Spanish
Review by: Christine H, March 2017
Very enjoyable. I had a really great time and learned much about the Spanish Civil War---a topic I knew very little about previously. Julia Tours, who presented this program, were very well organized and professional.
Review by: Mark S, March 2017
Particularly the valley of the fallen is amazing. It is in a valley a long way from anywhere else which gives great views. The church was formed by blasting a hole/cave in the rock. An amazing structure and fascinating. El Escorial was interesting for the royal tombs and possibly a bit rushed but did get a good view of everything.
Review by: Virginia B, January 2017
A very nice day tour. Nuria, our guide, provided a very nice history. She timed everything nicely and allowed lots of free time too.
Review by: Tatiana K, January 2017
The Valley of the Fallen is must: very impressive!
Review by: Sandi C, January 2017
The tour of the monastery was good but we did not enjoy the valley of the fallen as much as we thought we would.
Review by: Barbara G, January 2017
The Escorial Tour was a great tour, lots of places to see and the tour guide was polity and helpful.
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