Car parks in the centre

San Lorenzo de El Escorial has two public car parks in the centre, the Monasterio one and the plaza de la Constitución one, and blue-zone street parking on the streets near the monastery. Both public car parks charge €0.045 a minute (€2.70 an hour), with a daily maximum of €30.35. On the streets next to the monastery, the tourist blue zone is paid from 9:30 to 19:00 every day, including Sunday; the commercial blue zone only Monday to Saturday mornings.

The public car parks

• Monasterio car park: calle del Rey, 45. Telephone 918 90 72 40. It is the closest to the Royal Monastery and the Lonja.
• Plaza de la Constitución car park: calle Floridablanca, 9, in the centre of the town.

The town council website does not publish the number of spaces or the opening hours of either. For a long visit, with the monastery and a stroll through the town, bear in mind that in the commercial blue zone the maximum stay is two hours; in the tourist zone there is no limit, but you pay each hour until 19:00.

The blue zone

The council distinguishes two zones:

• Commercial zone: Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 to 15:00. It includes streets such as calle del Rey, Floridablanca, Mariano Benavente, Santiago, San Francisco, Patriarca or Rodríguez Ventura. For non-residents it costs €0.824 for the 20-minute minimum, €1.854 an hour and €3.709 for the two-hour maximum.
• Tourist zone: every day, from 9:30 to 19:00, on calle Juan de Borbón y Battenberg, next to the monastery. For non-residents, €0.824 for the 20-minute minimum and €2.28 an hour, with no maximum time.

Residents pay reduced rates. The tourism website links to the town's app, but does not explain the method of payment; check the instructions on the parking meter.

Coaches

Coaches have their own space at the bus station on calle Juan de Toledo, with maximum rates for loading and unloading (€9.60) and for day parking (€15.95) or night parking (€21.40). For these rates the telephone is 647 99 70 61.

Without a car

If you prefer not to look for a space, buses 661 and 664 leave the Moncloa interchange and reach the station on calle Juan de Toledo in about an hour, five minutes' walk from the monastery.

For the nature walks

For Philip II's Seat, La Herrería or the Abantos pine forest, check each page for where to leave the car. The tourist office, on calle Grimaldi, gives information on the routes.