Day Trip: El Escorial

About an hour’s drive outside of Madrid, the UNESCO World Heritage Site El Escorial was built by King Philip II, a highly spiritual ruler, as a place of retreat but also to serve as a monastery and burial place for his father Emperor Charles V. The massive building, the largest in Spain, dates to the mid 1500s and still houses most of the dead Spanish kings and their families. With hundreds of rooms decorated by great Spanish and Italian Renaissance artists, the former palace still functions as a monastery and a school so you may hear angelic voices practicing or pass monks in robes on your tour. Among the highlights of a visit are the massive library and painted salons and a gallery with incredibly accurate maps from the 16^th century, though the tombs of the kings may be the most famous rooms. There are lovely gardens as well. While it is much more austere palace than Granaja in Segovia, El Escorial has a harmonious elegance that should be seen by art and architecture lovers.