San Lorenzo de El Escorial and other Madrid, Spain Off The Beaten Path Tips

King Felipe II's reign in the 16th century was marked by the rise of Protestantism in Europe. In 1559, the king gave Spanish architect Juan Bautista de Toledo the task of creating a "perpetual home for the Catholic Crown of Spain" that would become "an expression in stone of Catholicism in Spain". It resulted in the construction of the magnificient monastery and royal palace of El Escorial, located in the small town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 50 km away from Madrid. The palace is now open to the public, and it makes for a really great day-trip destination.

A visit to the palace includes a tour of the royal family's private chambers, the beautiful basilica and stunning library, with its priceless collection of over 40,000 volumes, as well as the Royal Pantheon where, for the last five centuries, the kings and queens of Spain have been buried. As with all Spanish royal palaces, there is also an impressive collection of paintings on display. There's a small but beautiful garden next to the palace, from where you can enjoy a nice view of El Escorial.

But for the best possible view of the palace and the surrounding village, you need to go to "La Silla de Felipe II" (King Felipe II's chair), located in the beautiful forest of La Herreria (for directions, check out Redang's tips). Legend has it that the king had picked this particular spot to keep an eye on the palace as it was being built. There's indeed a seat carved in stone from where you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the palace and its natural surroundings - truly worth the little detour!

To get to El Escorial, you can catch a train leaving from Atocha station every 30 minutes, from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the station to the palace. Opening hours are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm every day (closed on Mondays). Admission: 8 Euros.

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Phone: 91 890 53 13
Website: http://www.patrimonionacional.es/en/escorial/escorial.htm
Other Contact: info@sanlorenzoturismo.org

I guess we could say that Aranjuez is to Madrid what Versailles is to Paris: back in the 16th century, King Felipe II selected this little town as the new seat of the royal family's country residence. Construction of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez began in 1561 following the design of Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, the same architects who were to work on the royal palace and monastery of El Escorial. Along with the palace came the royal gardens and the "Jardin del Principe", a large English-style park.

The Royal Palace of Aranjuez is now open to the public. I have to admit that the first few rooms are not very impressive, but keep going because it does get better! As much as possible, the rooms have not been altered since the days when Queen Isabel II lived in the palace (mid-19th century). It is possible to walk through the royal family's private appartments and the royal chapel, and a section of the palace is also dedicated to illustrating the daily life of the royal family. Something I thought was really interesting was the collection of wedding dresses that were worn by the present royal family's daughters and daughters-in-law.

After you're done visiting the palace, it's worth going for a walk around town and perhaps stopping at a restaurant to enjoy the town specialty: strawberries! Of course, one shouldn't leave without walking through the royal gardens, which are open to the public free of charge. The "Jardin del Principe" is very large, but I must admit that I preferred the "Jardin de la Isla" (the one located right next to the palace), with its numerous fountains and french-style gardens and walking paths.

To get to Aranjuez, you can catch a train leaving from Atocha station every 30 minutes, from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm. It takes about 10 minutes to walk from the train station to the palace. The palace is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm every day (closed on Mondays). General admission: 5 Euros.

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Phone: 91 892 15 32
Website: http://www.patrimonionacional.es/en/aranj/aranjuez.htm

The beautiful historic city of Toledo is one of the most popular daytrip destinations for people visiting Madrid. It's located within an easy 1h train, bus or car ride, and it offers a fantastic medieval atmosphere that is completely different from the one you'll find in Madrid. Since Toledo was at the top of my "daytrip wishlist", I went there with my friend Luis during my first weekend in Spain. I spent a day walking around the city's charming narrow streets, taking in the beauty and history of "The Glory of Spain". For more information, check out my Toledo travel page!

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Phone: 92 525 40 30
Website: www.toledo-turismo.com
Other Contact: info@toledo-turismo.com

Alcala de Henares, the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes, is a small city located only 30 km away from Madrid. For some reason, it doesn't seem to be as popular a daytrip destination as Toledo and Segovia, and yet the city has a lot to offer to those interested in history: the very first Spanish university was founded in Alcala de Henares in 1499, and in 1486, Christopher Columbus first met with Queen Isabella I of Castille in the city's Archbishop's Palace, which also happens to be the birthplace of Queen Catherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's first wife. So on a rainy Saturday morning, I hopped aboard a train along with fellow VTer Nico (white_smallstar), and we spent an entire day walking around the lovely streets of Alcala de Henares. Want to find out more about this off-the-beaten-path destination? Just check out my Alcala de Henares travel page!

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Website: http://www.turismoalcala.com

I decided to spend my very last day in Spain in the beautiful city of Segovia, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made! First, because it made it possible to go with fellow VTer Cecile (CesVT), and we had an amazing time together; second, because it is such a lovely city, it would have been a real shame to leave Spain without seeing it; and third, because after spending a wonderful day soaking in the lively and yet very relaxing atmosphere of Segovia, I don't think I could have handled spending another week in busy & bustling Madrid!! So for a recap of this memorable daytrip, just check out my Segovia travel page!

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Website: http://www.turismodesegovia.com

A few years ago, a new business center was created in Madrid with the construction of four humongous towers north of the Puerta de Europa, along the Paseo de la Castellana. At 223 m, 236 m, 250 m and 249 m, respectively, the Espacio, Cristal, Repsol and Sacyr Vallehermoso towers stick out like a sore thumb no matter how you look at them... or perhaps not quite?! After having stated very clearly and emphatically how much he hated them, Santi (aka Redang) took us near the towers so we could have a closer look at them and what do you know? After having seen them from up close, he was the first one to admit that they were in fact somewhat elegant!!

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Even if I really don't know much about European football (which we call soccer in Canada), I was still curious to see the famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, home to the Real Madrid. This mythic stadium was inaugurated back in 1947 and it sits a little over 80,000 people. If you're a football fan, you'll probably be interested in going on a tour of the stadium, which includes a visit to the dressing room, the trophy room, a walk down the players' tunnel and onto the field, among other things. The stadium is open for visit every day from 10:30 am to 6:30 pm, and admission costs 15 Euros. It is located at No. 1, Avenida de Concha Espina (at the corner of Paseo de la Castellana). Metro: Santiago Bernabeu.

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Phone: 91 398 43 00
Website: http://www.santiagobernabeu.com

Since Madrid is the capital of Spain, you would expect to find a building that resembles the Capitol building in Washington DC, or perhaps the Houses of Parliament in London UK, but it's not quite the case. The Palacio de las Cortes de España is a very nice but rather modest building located on the Carrera de San Jeronimo, next to the Thyssen Museum. It was built in 1850 under Queen Isabel II in a neoclassical design reminiscent of a Greek temple. It is only possible to visit the building on Saturday mornings, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm (check out the Website for more information). If you can't make it, it's still worth taking a look at the main entrance, which is guarded by two rather mean-looking lions!

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Phone: 91 390 60 00
Website: http://www.congreso.es
Other Contact: informacion@congreso.es

After walking through the Parque del Oeste, I was surprised to stumble upon the Arco de la Victoria, a monument that very much resembles Paris's Arc du Triomphe. The 39 m tall monument is not open to visitors and after asking around, I discovered that it was built under Franco in 1956 as a tribute to the Nationalist army's victory during the Spanish Civil War. It is therefore not the most popular monument in the city, and a lot of people actually refer to it as the Puerta de Moncloa as way of avoiding making reference to the Spanish dictator. The monument is located near the Plaza de Moncloa (Metro Moncloa).

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