Two churches in San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Valley of the Fallen has 7 tickets and tours to book; El Escorial has 10 tickets and tours to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Cuelgamuros is not an easy half-day and the practicalities decide most visits. The site lies in the Guadarrama hills above San Lorenzo de El Escorial, roughly fifteen kilometres from the town by road, with no frequent public transport to the gate. Organised trips from Madrid nearly always bundle it with the royal monastery at El Escorial and sometimes with Segovia as well, which is the sensible way to do it if you do not have a car. Choose the guide carefully.
The state heritage service sells a single ticket for the Royal Site, which covers the basilica, the palace apartments, the pantheon of kings, the chapter houses and the library; there is no cheaper partial version worth buying. Entry is free in the last hours of the afternoon on Wednesdays and Thursdays for EU citizens, which is well known locally and makes those windows busy. Audio guides cost extra. Guided tours run in Spanish and English and take about ninety minutes.
