San Lorenzo de El Escorial Tickets

With this ticket, you will have the opportunity to visit the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Along with the tickets, you can optionally purchase a digital guide in PDF format or an audio guide. This will allow you to learn about the history and architecture of the place, as well as a multitude of interesting facts related to the monument.

The monastery was built between 1563 and 1584 by order of Philip II, King of Spain. It was erected in commemoration of the victory over the French in the Battle of San Quintín, on the day of San Lorenzo in 1557. The site covers an area of 33,327 square metresand has been a World Heritage Site since 1984. With half a million visitors a year, it is one of the most visited monuments in Spain.

The building is considered a museum in itself, due to the enormous amount of paintings, sculptures and artistic works of all kinds that are kept inside. Some of the most important rooms inside the monastery are the following:

• Basilica: This is the chapel of the building, which was granted the rank of basilica by papal bull. The basilica is the nucleus of the monastery complex, as it is around it that the rest of the building's rooms are articulated.

• Sala de las Batallas (Hall of Battles): This is a gallery in which paintings of victorious battles for the Spanish armies are displayed in fresco. It measures 60 x 6 metres, is 8 metres high and shows, among others, the victory of the Battle of San Quintín, closely linked to the origin of the foundation of the monastery.

• Pantheon of the Kings: Crypt of the kings of Spain. It has 26 marble tombs where all the Spanish monarchs of the Austrian and Bourbon dynasties are buried, with the exception of Philip V and Ferdinand VI.

• Palace of Philip II: Known as the Palace of the Habsburgs. This is where the private rooms of the kings of Spain were located. Nowadays, it houses works of art from different European schools of painting, such as Spanish, Flemish and Venetian.

• Royal Library: This library shows the broad education and intellectual character of Philip II, the library's custodian. It has around 50,000 volumes in its interior, placed on fine wood shelves on marble floors.

It is an activity full of art and history, ideal for culture lovers.