Mr. Selfish and I thoroughly enjoyed Madrid so we didn’t really want to leave the city. However, when we received a recommendation from some locals for a day trip to El Escorial, we couldn’t resist.

El Escorial is about 30 miles northwest of Madrid and takes about an hour to get there by bus. It was the royal residence for Spanish royalty and also has also functioned as a monastery, museum, and school.

The outside of El Escorial is pretty epic. It was nice just to walk around and admire the majesty of the building.

Once we went inside, it got even better. Unfortunately, photos were not technically allowed, so I only got in a few shots. The Hall of Battles was a huge hallway mural of battles. It was quite epic, and I’m not a military buff by any stretch of the imagination. We also saw the Pantheon of Kings and Princes where Spanish royalty have been buried since Philip II.

Mostly, we enjoyed walking around the outside of the El Escorial, especially in the garden area.

Mr. Selfish and I didn’t make it out of Madrid but for this one day trip. I would highly recommend it since it was easy to get to and quite beautiful to behold.