San Lorenzo del Escorial

In the mountains to the west of Madrid, lies the little town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The town houses a huge monastery and palace, built by Felipe II is the 16th century. As it is easily reachable by cercanias from Madrid it makes a nice daytrip for tourists and Madrileños alike. The huge complex was built between 1563 and 1584 the construction of the complex was trusted to Juan Buatista de Toledo and later to Juan de Herrera. During the building period, the King himself kept a close watch of the progress of the project, and invited the best artists of that time to contribute to the complex. Besides being a monastery and a palace, it is also a mausoleum. It holds the remains of most of the Spanish royals that ruled Spain during the last 5 centuries.