If you are only in Madrid for a short time and you do not already know Spanish history, do not take this trip.El Escorial is where Spanish kings are buried. The complex is huge, imposing, somber. The interior is lavish, convoluted and torturous to walk in.Valley of the Fallen is monolithic and has spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, but is otherwise mundane.Each of these places has its own fantastic history worthy of study and review, but taking a half day trip from Madrid to see them both on the same day is a waste of time and money.We missed our scheduled tour day and the company generously allowed us to take the tour on the following day with no charges. There were only 6 people on the tour, 3 Spanish speakers and 3 English speakers. Our guide's English was good but not perfect, "kins an der cowr" = "kings and their court". And understandably she appeared to spend more time during the tour talking to the Spanish group than the English group. The 45 minute drive to El Escorial was a "waste of time" because the guide only introduced herself, asked for names and talked generally for about 10 minutes then sat back and enjoyed the ride. She could have used the time to talk about the history of the sites or at least spend time talking to all the tourists.

Fantastico , mucha historia y la gu□a tenia mucho conocimiento !!!

It was ok with this tour. It's not so far from Madrid. But it could be a little longer to have more time visiting El Escorial and Valley of the Fallen.

Kind of a solemn tour for a change. Well-paced. No photography allowed on the inside of both structures but oh well some still sneak a snap or two, maybe they do not understand the verbal instructions of the guide and the instructions which are boldly written in different languages including the English language accompanying the visual signs posted at the entrance and everywhere else along the tour sites. There is 1 area in El Escorial of which you can take a photo of, the inside courtyard or garden of the palace facing the restricted stairwell. Visiting The Valley of the Fallen gives one a really nice break from the busy city of Madrid.Beautiful structures inside and out!

It was great-and when we realized we had to be back before the Toledo tour would return, they let us reschedule that part with no problem. Well run and we saw a lot! Very pleased with both parts of the tour and would recommend.

The places visited are well worth it, but we had the misfortune of being assigned a guide that either was having a bad day or is lacking in the essential people skills to be a tour guide. The guide, Andres, was apparently very knowledgeable in an academic sense spouting dates names etc. but did not seem to care about the well being of the members of his group, many times he would speed up ahead of the group not caring if everyone was there to go to the next area in the castle or whether they could even hear the information he was giving. He seemed to be in a rush and upset if anyone decided to look at something of interest for more than two seconds. His instructions on the rest stop were confusing and and resulted in members of the group not understanding them and having to be re-grouped, which infuriated Andres as he lashed out on the ignorant tourists who did not understand his instructions but who also happen to be paying his salary. Two stars because the places are truly amazing, but the experience almost ruined because we got the wrong guide. Andres needs to be more sensitive to the people in his group if he wants to be a tour guide.

Enjoyable trip. A good way to see things if you are shot of time.

Beautiful you cant miss it. No photos allowed in the inside.

Beautiful places, but no pictures allowed in either one. Just enjoy the view and remember de interiors that are great.

I really enjoyed this visit. El Escorial has a lot of interesting history and the tour guide was very informative. The valley of the fallen is really amazing to see and very important to the history and culture of present day Spain. Wear comfortable walking shoes!