El Escorial bicycle tour

Our meeting point is at Bravo Bike’s office’s at calle Juan Alvarez Mendizabal, no. 19, close to the Plaza de España in Madrid city centre.
From here we will transfer in our minibus to the hillside city of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, to the west of Madrid, a one-hour journey. Here we begin the day’s sightseeing with a tour by your own of the Monastery founded by King Philipp II in the sixteenth century. The tour includes the new art museum housing an outstanding collection of works by famous masters such as El Greco, Rubens, Van Dyck, Tintoretto,Titian (The Last Supper) and Tibaldi (frescoes), amongst many others. The tour continues to the King’s Residence, the Mausoleum, or Pantheon, the basilica and finally the outstanding Royal Library where more than 40000 editions of Latin, Greek, Arabic and Hebrew manuscripts are exhibited.
Following the Monastery visit, our day’s cycling activity begins with an uphill climb into the wooded slopes surrounding the city to reach a level track known as El Horizontal, and from which there are many excellent views of the monastery, and of the skyline and skyscrapers in Madrid way over in the distance to the east. We continue our ride along the foothills of the imposing Abantos mountain peak behind the city, on the level and gently downhill to arrive at a nature trail which leads us to King Phillip’s seat (La silla de Felipe II), a lookout point carved in the rock, from where the King observed the progress of the construction of the Monastery. We continue our ride along easy country trails, in the shadows of the rocky and craggy Machota mountains to the nearby village of Zarzalejo, where we stop for a typical 3-course lunch with drinks included. Our cycle route after lunch continues along similar trails, passing the village of Peralejo and ending with a final uphill climb to find our way back to El Escorial.

Transfer in our minibus back to Bravo Bike’s office in Madrid, where your CD photo album of the tour concludes the day’s excursion.

Other option for advanced cyclists:
As an alternative only for advanced cyclists, Bravo Bike offers a tour starting from our office in Madrid (2166 ft. – 710 m altitude) to El Escorial (3334 ft. or 1100 m. altitude), mostly on off-road tracks. The cycling route to El Escorial is 34 miles (55 kms) long and will last 4 to 5 hours, cycling over rolling terrain with some longer climbs. There is a stop for an excellent 3-course menu lunch in El Escorial. Our return journey is by train form El Escorial to Madrid’s Principe Pio station – a journey of one hour. We also can offer this tour the opposite way from El Escorial back to Madrid.
The basic route is adaptable for medium or advanced cyclists, ideal for families with children, schools or university groups or incentive bicycling programs. It covers at least 30 km or 20 miles, with a few up-hills. The bicycle trip can be extended or shortened depending on the group's cycling proficiency level.

What is included in the price?

Full day excursion (9 am to 6 pm)
Transport by minibus to El Escorial and back to our office in Madrid
Bike rental, helmets and technical support
Entrance fees for visits to the royal monastery, pantheon and library
Guided cycling tour
e course sit-down lunch menu (appetizer, main course and drinks)
CD photo album presented at the end of the tour

On weekends and official holidays there is a supplement of Euro 15 per person. For larger groups please consult for special discounts. A minimum of 4 participants is required.

Euro 125.-