Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comEl Escorial Monastery and the Valley of the Fallen from Madrid
based on 68 reviews of El Escorial Monastery and the Valley of the Fallen from Madrid
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the El Escorial Monastery and the Valley of the Fallen from Madrid. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
It was a cold but clear and sunny January day as we took in the sights of El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen. We enjoyed both very much. In addition to the historical and architectural interest of these sites, the views from both hillside locations were splendid! Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable and patient in providing his commentary in both Spanish and English, particularly so as we were the only English speakers of the group. We highly recommend this tour.
Reviewed by: Lynn M, United Kingdom, February 2008
Great tour and great tour guide. El Escorial is a not to be missed experience. Guide walked slowly and translated well back and forth between Spanish and English.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, November 2007
This was excellent.
Reviewed by: Paula B, United States of America, October 2007
The tour we took in Toledo was extremely fast, but this tour was much slower and much more detailed. The tombs and the area's history were very interesting. Worth seeing!
Reviewed by: Rodney W, United States of America, May 2007
The guide did an excellent job describing the tour. Both tour sites show significant historic aspects of Spain. It was very impressive to be in the 'Panteon de los Reyes' in the presence of the sarcophagi of the kings of Spain. There is only one word to describe the basilica and courtyard of El Escorial and that is impressive. Highly recommended and well worth the price.
Reviewed by: Frank H, United States of America, September 2006
Anyone visiting Madrid is making a big mistake if they don't visit these two incredible sites. The price was no more than if we had booked something locally. Viator did their part of the job well.
Reviewed by: Allan W, United States of America, August 2006
Easy way to see both places from Madrid without a car. The pickup location was near a Metro and very convenient. The tour was in English and Spanish, which was a little disappointing as it left less wording since the content had to be repeated, but overall a good guide. Valley of the Fallen is worth seeing and not easily accessible by public bus without a long walk from the entrance to the monument.
Reviewed by: Steve W, United States of America, May 2009
We booked 2 distinctive tours - El Escorial and Toledo - without being aware of the tiring gap between the two. The tours were absolutely worth doing, only we would have booked them on two different days. Coming back to the travel office and boarding on another tour was a waste of time, useless effort and rather tiring. The lunch between the tours, which we were supposed to take all by ourselves, offered no choice whatsoever and the food was neither according to our taste, eggs and pork, nor to our diets, too fat! We would recommend both tours to all our friends, with a special mention of keeping away of such an unfriendly and unhealthy lunch!
Reviewed by: Anonymous, Romania, April 2009
Well conducted, very interesting. Would have liked to know more about the Spanish people's views of the Valley of the Fallen given that it was built in memory of fallen nationalist soldiers.
Reviewed by: Roger H, United Kingdom, April 2009
Our guide made the tour great. The highlight for me was the Pantheon of the Kings, basically a crypt that contained the coffins of 26 Spanish rulers and their spouses. It's really something to behold. There were two guides on the bus and we broke up into an English tour and a Spanish tour, which was a nice break from the usual say it in English then in Spanish. All these type tours have lots of walking, but this one has an excessive amount of stairs to climb. I re-emphasize that there are A LOT of stairs to climb and the guide doesn't slow down. About half the people in our group was panting heavily at times. So, keep this in mind when deciding whether to take this tour. I find the Viator tours to have the best prices, and I recommend always going for the best prices when touring in Europe as the tours are almost always operated by the same company regardless of who you book through, so there's no difference in quality.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, March 2009
First, although El Escorial is a place you could visit on your own by train, it was nice to have a guided tour and a private coach ride. Our tour guide was well informed and gave a good tour, although at times in the monastery we felt very rushed. She also didn't allow time to stop in the monastery gift shop but said that the gift shop at the Valley of the Fallen had the same items. It didn't. The Valley of the Fallen was very good as well, and it is not as easily accessible on your own; only 1 public bus that goes there, once a day. So it was definitely worth the money.
The "Panoramic Tour" had problems. First, the tour guide gave the tour in 3 languages, and several very rude people talked very loudly whenever it was not their language, so it was hard to hear anything the tour guide said. Second, the tour was 3 HOURS long! That was not clear when I purchased the package. It ended up being an 8 hour day. There were stops at shops where it appeared the tour company had some agreement with the shops to bring crowds. Additionally, my tour bus did not stop at the Hard Rock as advertised here on the website and on the ticket stub.
Definitely worth taking this trip to see things in front of you after learning the rich Spanish history and monarchies in the text books. Did not see a cross at the valley due to heavy fog, but worth seeing this amazing basilica and architecture.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, January 2009
Would have liked to have seen more of the paintings and art work, only required an extra 10-15 minutes to do so.
Reviewed by: Leslie F, Ireland, December 2008
The tour was great, but finding the travel agency office on that large square was quite hard as no one spoke English, and it meant a lot of walking without having precise directions.
Reviewed by: Robert L, United States of America, December 2008
The Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen are definitely not to be missed. The grandeur of the Escorial and the sheer feat of engineering employed in constructing the monument of the Valley of the Fallen are in themselves enough reason to visit these sites.
Reviewed by: Mario S, Malta, September 2008
