Monastery of Santa María la Real de las Huelgas

Alfonso VIII and Eleanor of England founded Las Huelgas in 1187 as a monastery of Cistercian nuns and a pantheon for the royal family, and during the 13th century the founding monarchs and their direct descendants were buried here. Today it is run by Patrimonio Nacional and the visit is always guided, in a group, lasting roughly an hour; those bought online are in Spanish.

What you see on the visit

The tour passes through the church, with the Gothic tombs of the kings, and the cloisters. The oldest, the Claustrillas, is Romanesque and was built before 1214; beside it is preserved the chapel of the Asunción, of Almohad architecture, and the Mudéjar chapel of Santiago is another of the pieces you are shown. In a few metres it mixes Romanesque, Gothic and Mudéjar. The visit ends at the Museo de Ricas Telas (Museum of Rich Fabrics), with the textiles and medieval clothing taken from the royal tombs, and the banner from the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, of 1212. The guide decides the order and the spaces that are open depending on the day.

Opening hours and tickets

It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 18:30, and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:30 to 15:00. Ticket offices and admission close an hour earlier. It is closed on Mondays and, in 2026, also on 1 and 6 January, 3 April, 1 May, 24, 25 and 31 December and a few more days for official events; on 29 November it opens only from 10:30 to 11:00. On Sundays there is Mass at 10:00.

The basic fare is €9; on the Patrimonio Nacional website a charge of €0.77 per ticket is added. At the ticket office you can pay by card only. It is free for under-5s, large families, the unemployed and people with a disability of at least 33% with one companion, among others, always with proof. Citizens and residents of the European Union and Latin America go in free on Wednesday and Thursday from 16:00 to 18:30, at the ticket office only, and on 18 May and 12 October admission is free. The Junta's tourist office advises buying first on the website, especially on long weekends and in summer.

Getting there

The monastery is on Calle de los Compases, 1.5 km from the centre: about 20 minutes' walk from the cathedral along the bank of the Arlanzón. City buses 5, 7 and C1 go there, and the 22 at weekends. It has a souvenir point and a left-luggage facility.

To round off the day, the Miraflores Charterhouse holds the other great royal pantheon of Burgos, that of the parents of Isabella the Catholic, at the opposite end of the city.