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.
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RODNEY W
USA
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!
Frank H
USA
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.
Anonymous
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.
I had visited these places some 38 years ago as a young college sophomore; this time I made the visits so that my wife could view these locations. We thoroughly enjoyed our guided tours. I only recommend that this agency arrange for the participants to start off with a coffee/breakfast before going on said tours.
The tour was a enjoyable experience. When you arrive at the office it's a bit hectic because all the tours leave from the same place, but once we got going things went very smoothly. The key to it being a good experience was our tour guide, Carmen, who was excellent! We had read beforehand the the tours are in Spanish and English, but our tour was in Spanish, English and Italian. I'd say this was harder on our tour guide who had to give the tour in 3 languages. While it would be nicer if the tour were only in English, or at least only 2 languages, the tour was still very thorough and interesting. El Escorial was wonderful. Valle de los Caidos was also very impressive but it would have been nicer if we could have spent more time there. At Valle de los Caidos you really have to be efficient in the amount of time you spent looking around and taking pictures. The bus was very comfortable and the whole experience was very enjoyable. Definitely recommend.
It was a great tour, but the guide could have been more informative. On the other hand she was quite funny and casual, which was good.
The guide was excellent and it was beautiful weather. The Escorial tour was excellent and the historical royal successions was interesting. The visit to he monastery including the the experience of hearing the boys choir sing was a bit rushed. The memorial to the fallen of which we had read and heard gave us the unique experience of ring in such a picturesque location of historical significance. There is no freedom without the ultimate sacrifice, a lesson our young people should learn and our politicians never forget. The only complaint is that the tour schedule is too rushed and more time should be given for a better coverage.
We recommend a day tour, say 2 hours more, should cover the field well. We are experienced travelers and the writer has travel agency experience.
Very goog guide, very interesting trip.
This is a must do when you are in Madrid. It is so beautiful and gives you another flavor for Madrid. The local tour company were very nice and the guide was kind enough to speak in English for us.
chaos at start in dingy little office with lots of tours going out at once and all over spain. madhouse, and no one knows what bus is going where. we left late as our guide spent half an hour once we finally located our bus and tour with some unfortunate fellow tourist who had bought a longer more expensive tour which didn't exist. bad show. so we were at least a half hour late returning - though that didn't inconvenience us as we were not going on any toledo or madrid tour afterwards. all that aside, once we got going the guide was very good, more than adequate, and the tour he gave of the escorial was good and interesting, much better than if we had saved money and did that on our own. and we also got to the valley of the fallen which was interesting. i would recommend this tour in spite of the chaos at the start.
It was very good. The guide, Carmen, was excellent - she gave us lots of information, with a touch of humour, and I enjoyed it very much. My only complaint is that there was not enough time, particularly at El Valle de los Caidos. But I was so pleased to see these places with the benefit of an experienced guide. Thank you.
Valley of the Fallen was awe inspiring.
The monastery was fascinating with the beautiful cathedral and the crypt of the kings. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and had planned the tour in such a way that helped us to imagine the layout of the rooms in relation to the cathedral. Would like to have heard more about the Spanish civil war.
exelent and very proffessional.on time and confortable.we learned all about escorial in a short and easy tour.
We enjoyed the trip very much everything took place as advertised. The only problem was the weather which no one can control.
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