Bus from Moncloa and Cercanías

You can reach San Lorenzo de El Escorial without a car by bus from Moncloa or by Cercanías train to El Escorial station, in the neighbouring municipality. The Moncloa buses stop at the bus station on calle Juan de Toledo, five minutes' walk from the monastery. The train arrives at El Escorial station, an hour from Atocha; from there the L1 town bus goes up, or you can walk about 20 minutes uphill past the Casita del Príncipe. Check Sunday timetables with the Consorcio de Transportes and Renfe.

Buses 661 and 664 from Moncloa

Both lines leave the Moncloa interchange, are operated by Irubus, of the Alsa Group, and take about an hour, according to the tourism website and the Consorcio timetables:

• 661, via Galapagar. It calls at Las Rozas, Galapagar and El Escorial before going up to San Lorenzo. At weekends it leaves Moncloa once or twice an hour from 8:00 in the morning until after 23:00.
• 664, via Guadarrama. It goes along the A-6, Collado Villalba and Guadarrama. On Sundays and public holidays it leaves Moncloa at 8:00, 9:05, 10:15, 10:45, 11:00, 11:45, 12:15, 13:00, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00, 19:45, 20:30, 21:00, 21:45 and 22:15.

According to the timetable, some services use the A-6 bus-HOV lane: on Saturdays, on the 661, those leaving between 9:30 and 14:45; on Sundays, on the 664, those leaving between 8:00 and 13:30. Alsa answers on 911 77 99 51.

Cercanías to El Escorial

San Lorenzo has no train station. The nearest is El Escorial, on calle Santa Rosa, served by the C-8a branch of the Cercanías (Atocha – Santa María de la Alameda), according to the Consorcio de Transportes. The town council website gives a journey time of an hour from Atocha. Renfe answers on 912 320 320.

From the station to the town, the L1 town bus, San Lorenzo – El Escorial station, goes up. If you prefer to walk, the uphill path passes the Casita del Príncipe and leaves you in the centre in about 20 minutes.

Other useful lines

From the bus station there are also lines to the sierra and the surrounding villages: the 660 to Guadarrama and Villalba, the 665 to Peguerinos, the 666 to Zarzalejo and Las Navas, the 667 to Majadahonda hospital via Galapagar and the 669 to Villanueva de la Cañada. The 604N is the night service San Lorenzo – El Escorial – Madrid. Within the town, the L4 is a circular line.

Which to choose

For a day visit to the Royal Monastery, the bus is the most convenient: it drops you in the centre with no changes. The train makes sense if you come from an area well served by Cercanías or if you want to start with the Casita del Príncipe. If you end up coming by car, see the car parks in the centre. On arrival, the tourist office, on calle Grimaldi, gives out maps and routes.