miércoles, 2 de mayo de 2012

SPAIN: MONASTERIO DEL ESCORIAL

I visited the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial one of the days I spent in Madrid in 2012 visiting Toledo, Segovia as well as Madrid. It was like a time travel to the Middle Ages. Churches, synagogues, mosques, convents, walls, bridges, towers and this monastery are really well preserved.



Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial


Since in school I learned the existence of this monastery built in Herrerian style, I always wanted to visit it for its artistic importance rather than for having been the political center of the empire of Philip II or for hosting the Pantheon of the Kings.

San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a historical residence of the King of Spain, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres northwest of the capital, Madrid.

In November 1984, UNESCO declared The Royal Site of San Lorenzo of El Escorial a World Heritage Site. It is an extremely popular tourist attraction, often visited by day-trippers from Madrid.


Facades of San Lorenzo del Escorial




Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Main facade of San Lorenzo del Escorial




Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Another view of the main facade of San Lorenzo del Escorial


Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Overview of San Lorenzo del Escorial



Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
One of the towers of San Lorenzo del Escorial




Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Beside the monastery you can see the town of El Escorial


Courtyard of the kings


Courtyard of the kings of Monastery del Escorial
Courtyard of the kings and the Basilica of San Lorenzo del Escorial



Basilica



Basilica of Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Basilica of Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial


Cloister


Cloister of San Lorenzo del Escorial
Cloister of San Lorenzo del Escorial


- How to get there:



  • Bus: 664 and 661 from Moncloa (COACHES HERRANZ).
  • By Car: Madrid-San Lorenzo de El Escorial, A-VI, until Rozas, turning to the M-505, A-VI, turning to the M-600.
  • Train: Madrid-El Escorial. Line C-8 (Atocha Station)

Other cities I visited during this trip were:



Finally, other beautiful places you can visit in Spain are:



- Catalonia

- Basque Country

- Cantabria

- Granada

- Sevilla, Córdoba, Cádiz and Costa de la Luz

2 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

Great photos! Your blog is being featured on hopper.com. I'd love to set up a time to talk with you more about what Hopper is and get your feedback on some tools we're creating. Let me know if you're available: nicole@hopper.com. Thanks!

Frank dijo...

Thanks a lot for your comment, Nicole.