Monasterio de El Paular

Santa Maria de El Paular was founded in 1390 by Juan I as the first Carthusian house in Castile, in a valley of meadow and oak on the northern side of the Guadarrama, and it was built over the following centuries with a Gothic church, a plateresque altarpiece in alabaster, and a large cloister. The 1830s confiscations emptied it, and its cycle of fifty-two paintings by Vicente Carducho, made in the 1620s on the life of Saint Bruno, was dispersed to museums and institutions across Spain; they were reunited and returned to the cloister in 2011, which is now the main reason to visit. A Benedictine community occupies part of the buildings and the rest is a hotel. Guided visits run several times a week.

What you actually see

• The Carducho cycle - fifty-two 1620s paintings returned to the cloister in 2011.
• The alabaster altarpiece - plateresque carving in the Gothic church.
• The great cloister - the monastic court housing the paintings.
• The Lozoya valley - meadow and forest setting on the sierra's north side.

When to go

April to June and September to November, when the valley is green or in autumn colour; the visits run on set days at fixed times, so checking before travelling matters. Winter can bring snow to the valley.

Honest expectations

Access to the cloister and paintings is by guided visit only, on limited days and at set hours. Part of the complex is a working monastery and a hotel and cannot be entered. Public transport from Madrid is slow.

Nearby

The Lozoya valley and the Cascadas del Purgatorio are close; Rascafria village is alongside.