San Lorenzo de El Escorial entdecken

The Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built for Philip II between 1563 and 1584 by Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera. The granite complex joins a monastery, a basilica, a royal palace and a library. The visit covers the Habsburg apartments, the Royal Pantheon where most Spanish kings since Charles I are buried, the library and the painting collections.

The Casita del Príncipe is a Neoclassical pavilion designed by Juan de Villanueva and built from 1771 for the future Charles IV, then Prince of Asturias, and enlarged in 1781–1784. It was meant for leisure and has no bedrooms. Its rooms keep 18th-century decoration with Pompeian-style ceilings, silk hangings, clocks and furniture, set among formal gardens with fountains.

The Casita del Infante, also called the Casita de Arriba, is a small granite Neoclassical pavilion built in 1771–1773 to designs by Juan de Villanueva for Infante Gabriel, son of Charles III, who used it for chamber music. It stands on a rise south-west of the monastery above terraced Italian-style gardens. King Juan Carlos lived here before his marriage; his rooms are kept.