I am trying to figure out how much it would cost to take a taxi for three to see El Valle de Los Caidos (Valley of the Dead)from San Lorenzo de El Escorial. AND if it is a hassle to get a taxi back to San Lorenzo when we are done. I tried the telephone numbers listed on the El Escorial website, but had no luck. The bus is a bit late in the day.

Does anyone know anything about this or have numbers that I might try?

Less than two weeks until we go!!!!

Are you nuts? Why do you want to take a taxi? Would you consider taking the bus?

I was told that taking a taxi was an option because it is only 15 minutes away. The bus does not go to El Valle de Los Caidos until 3:15 and returns at 5:30. The last bus on Saturday is at 5:30 (IF the posted schedule is correct) although I would guess that returning by train is still an option. I want to get back to Madrid so we can take a nap before going to the 9:00 show at Casa Patas. I am traveling without my husband and with two of my kids. YES, I may be nuts for trying to plan 6 weeks in Spain, but.....

Fear and frustration are beginning taking their toll. This world of the unknown takes on a different dimension when you are with kids.

I just want to know if using a taxi is REALLY an option before I get there.

sel writes: That's Valley of the Fallen!
By taking taxis to/from El Valle de los Caidos you would probably wipe out any saving you accrued taking public transportation from Madrid to El Escorial (and back) and you make a pretty good case for taking one of those daytrip tour buses that take you to both sites.

Sel,

The last time I was in Madrid (1992), my wife, two kids and I took a city tour with Pullmantur, Plaza de Oriente, 8, near the Palacio Real.

This folks at the time advertised a trip to Escorial and Valle de los Caidos, and perhaps they are still around. If I were you, I would consider a tour group. We traveled with my two sons through out the 90s in Europe (ages ranging from 2 to 8) and we found tour groups were a good way to get places with kids.

Besides, as I was told by a hotel manager in Madrid once, in Spain, kids rule. I found this to be true.

My apologies, I meant Valley of the Fallen.

I wish I could find out some specifics about the day trips. I checked the websites listed on a different thread, but they just confirmed that there were day trips available...no specifics as to times or cost.

Does anyone know any specifics about the day trips?

sel, (Hello to you across town!!) if I were you, I'd BOYCOTT Valle de los Caidos altogether. Have you yet read the lonnnnnng thread about it @ " Valle de los Caidos " ? Don't waste your time there. Just go straight to El Escorial and come back.

But have you seen the thread " El Escorial & Valle de los Caidos " with Eddie's and Antonio's comments? Apparently several of the tour companies do a ESCORIAL-CAIDOS loop, lasting about 5 hours, costs.. well, around $50 US (probably), and leaves at 8:45am from Madrid.

I'm not at all sure it only takes 15 minutes by taxi to go to El Escorial. Maybe 25-30, no? But still, taxis are relatively cheap.. they may add a surcharge for such a trip though, but would doubt it would be more than, what, $30-$40 US each way - I'm only guessing here. Why not just rent a car for the day and then go at your own pace?

Good luck, sel! Have a great time! Saludos, MadridMan

Why would one boycott it? It's part of the history of Spain. You visit the Palacio Real no? How many people did they kill?

Pullmantour is still around and many others go there:

http://www.tour-madrid.com/areas/iryconocer/excursiones/excursiones_organizadas.asp

I visit (only once in my life) the Palacio Real as I would visit a museum for its art, furniture, and architecture. Visiting Valle de los Caidos is more like (I've never been there) visiting a cemetary or a little corner of hell where you can practically hear the screams of political prisoners laying down another layer of cement for Franco's pre-death, egotistical tomb. I don't claim to know a lot about all this -- all I do know is that the FATHER of someone VERY VERY close to me was ONE of those political prisoners under Franco's thumb. He wasn't one who died in the construction of Valle de los Caidos, but he spent many years in jail because of his views against the ruthless dictator. And... THAT'S ALL I'm going to say on THIS topic.

SO ANYWAY, HOW can sel get to El Escorial cheaply? I still say that renting a car for the day might be a good option. Probably much cheaper than taking a taxi AND you'd have it for the whole day.

Say, didn't ANTONIO take a small group of friends to El Escorial for a non-professional tour one time? I think the visitors rented a van/car and Antonio went along.

Saludos, MadridMan

I have to disagree with you, MM--by that standard, nobody should visit the pyramids or any of the other ancient tombs that were constructed by forced labor. Now should we walk on the Great Wall, or wander through the ruins of ancient Rome (not just in Rome, but scattered throughout the former empire). I could go on listing places on a "do not visit" list, but you get the idea....

It seems there are a couple of things that set the Valley of the Fallen apart for many people, though--(1) it's gloomy and depressing and architecturally monstrous and (2) it was built during our lifetimes or during the lifetimes of people we know and care about. But for me, that makes it even more important to see. That Spain was under the control of an egomaniacal dictator FIVE YEARS AFTER I WAS BORN is something I should know about.

Too many American schoolchildren are exposed to American history (and some fragmented European history) up to WWII (many don't even hear about Korea or Vietnam, let alone the Spanish Civil War or any other recent European struggles). If bringing them to the Valley of the Fallen opens the door to a lesson about that horrible chapter of Spain's history, I'm all for it. From the descriptions and pictures I've seen (I haven't visited, but would), it's not going to get them praising Franco...it seems likely to inspire awe and fear and an understanding of how fragile nations can be. And for adults, it seems an especially poignant reminder of where Spain was a generation ago--and a remarkable contrast with where it is now.

Of course, I understand that for some people, the memories are too painful to go...just as many family members of concentration camp victims would choose not to visit those places, or the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. I would never encourage people who are still grieving the losses or separations from family members to visit (nor would I encourage family members to visit Ground Zero in NYC unless they felt a compulsion to go). People process heartbreaks differently...but to deny the potential cathartic and definite educational value of places like the Valley seems to me to be a shame.