Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Awesome, yes, unmissable, of course, fun, no. Monastery, palace, museum and library all rolled into one, the vast complex from which Philip II pulled the strings of the newish Spanish Empire and directed the course of the Counter-Reformation, El Escorial is more awe-inspiring than likeable. Built on the lower slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama overlooking Madrid, it is starker and more imposing the closer you get to it, on an overcast day can seem grim indeed, and the least spine-chilling adjective commonly used to describe it is "sombre."

The severity of El Escorial is not accidental, but intended to reflect the religious spirit of Spain, as well as the fervour of Philip II himself. The ground plan is a grid, in memory of the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence after whom the building is named: he was supposed to have been roasted on a gridiron (though modern scholars say he would probably have been beheaded in real life) and that, to be honest, is about as cheerful as El Escorial gets. Philip II was attached to the place to the point of unhealthy obsession, from its construction between 1563 and 1584, when he is said to have sat for hours on the hillside watching the work progress, to his death and beyond: the basilica of El Escorial has two huge cenotaphs, of Philip II and of his father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In fact, all the Spanish monarchs bar three of the last four hundred years are buried here, the rest being in the Pantheon of the Kings underneath the chancel of the basilica, and if you think that's morbid, wait till you see the Pantheon of the Infantes.

The walls of El Escorial are covered in art, religious and secular, with works by Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Velázquez, Roger van der Weyden, Paolo Veronese, Alonso Cano, José de Ribera, Claudio Coello and others, including Hieronymus Bosch, notable The Haywain.

Gardens Guide classifies El Escorial's garden as "High Renaissance Style," pointing out that it is "is often regarded by visitors as bleak and gloomy, like Philip II’s character." More charitably, it concludes that "the parterres and arcaded courtyards of the Escorial, despite their resemblence to domestic features, are solemn and religious. Originally, they were planted with flowers. Today they are planted with box hedges. They are temple gardens. Herein lies their power."

A visit to El Escorial can include a couple of secondary visits, as well as the garden, to two small palaces, the Casita del Infante and the Casita del Principe. And if your nerves are up to it, the neighbouring Valle de los Caídos is a stunningly unbelievable monument to Spanish fascism.

Click here for Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial opening hours, entrance prices, and how to get there.