The Monastery of El Escorial is said to be one of the architectural wonders of the world. It was built by Juan Herrera, being the personal idea of King Felipe II, who ordered its construction to commemorate the Spanish victory at the Battle of San Quintin in 1557. It was designed to be the burial place of the Royal Family in Spain.

A few miles from El Escorial, in a wild valley of the Guadarrama Range, lies "El Valle de los Caidos" (Valley of the Fallen) a monument to the Civil War dead. This is a crypt made by cutting through 850 feet of solid rock. The stone cross of 150 meters high rises above a Basilica carved 250 meters deep into a rock.