The Santa Teresa museum features the ring finger of the Santa Teresa and her history…read moreunsurprisingly. In order for one to become saint in the past, the saint's body has to be not decomposed after burial and also need to then be cut apart so that the body parts can be hosted at various sites for religious purposes. Saint Teresa's body underwent such a special arrangement since she became a saint because her body did not rot. Her ring finger is cut and featured at this museum. When you see the finger, the finger no longer resembles a finger but more of a long, strange wooden stick with growths on either side. There is a large ring on Saint Teresa's finger because like all priests and nuns, she is married to God. Saint Teresa is also known as Jesus's Teresa because she is known to see visions. One such vision revealed her speaking to Jesus, who called her Jesus's Teresa.

Very cool place. Built in 1510 this monastery for nuns is still in use. This is the place that…read moreSaint Theresa lived. Beautiful grounds and interesting tour. Living history! Just outside of the incredible walled city of Avila. Do them a favor if you visit, buy a cheap trinkets from the gift shop. All handmade items by the nuns of the convent. The nuns have almost no contact with the outside world! Must see!

Amazing, from start to finish! I was greeted by a very friendly receptionist who explained…read moreeverything we needed to know to navigate the museum including the use of the audio guide. Once beginning I was so impressed with the time and detail that was put in to every explanation for each point of the audio guide. They clearly really wanted you to understand the material and took great efforts to make that happen. Once I entered the museum I was wowed by all of the artifacts that they had preserved and showcased. Again, the attention to detail paid in every display including the description of each item's significance, really helped establish a holistic understanding of the various facets of the mint and how it worked. One of the really cool things was seeing the components of how the water wheel worked form the interior of the building and then viewing it from the exterior of the building, again so a holistic understanding of the mechanism at play could be understood. Absolutely top notch museum, if traveling to or through Segovia, neglecting to come here would be a huge mistake.

We visited El Escorial as part of a team meeting. The monastery is an amazing site to see, with a…read morerich history! We were lucky and had amazing weather, which meant we could see all the way back to Madrid.

There are so many places worth a day trip from Madrid and this is one of them. In wanting to find a…read moreplace that could be a longer half day trip (but not more than this due to the short duration of my trip), this monastery appealed to me in that the commute time via public transportation is about an hour from Madrid Chamartin, or only about a 40 min drive (€40 rideshare price) from the western edge of Madrid city center. Certainly you could take more time around town and make this a full day trip in addition to visiting the Valle de los Caídos (the Valley of the Fallen) monument, there are a number of bus tours that run this exact itinerary. Departing from Madrid Chamartin the Cercanius C8 line arrives at El Escorial station, from which it's about a 25 minute walk or 15 min bus ride to the monastery which is the major tourist destination in town. The town itself is quaint and nice to take a stroll around to get a feel of a suburban downtown area. Tickets are available online and in-person by time slot and while in late September I didn't see times fully booked I imagine during peak tourist season you should book at least a few days in advance. Inside larger bags need to checked in lockers (€1 euro deposit for the lock mechanism function, returned upon unlocking the cubby), and then you follow signs indicating the direction of the tour starting from the main courtyard. Two highlights for me were a) the library with beautiful ceiling murals and filled with antique books, b) the elaborate pantheon crypt facility which are in current functional use as burial chambers for Spanish monarchy. I also appreciated that almost all the description placards were translated into English so there was a lot of information to learn. The grounds and gardens are very expansive and well maintained around the main complex so plenty of tourists and locals alike were enjoying a walk in the afternoon. Bathrooms are located within the building only after ticketed entry. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes within a 5-15 minute walking distance from the main entry/exit of the monastery where you can grab a snack, drink or meal.

Great museum, can bring water in, no photos allowed, confusing directions to taxi stand…read more The most popular painting by far was the Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. The only painting that was hard to see due to the crowds! Consider bringing small handheld binoculars or field glasses to better see the Bosch and for some large paintings. People drank from their water bottles in the hallways. Appreciated that we could stand within about a meter (three feet) of each painting and sculpture! We felt that the people of Spain trusted us with their heritage. People behaved well and returned the trust. There is a lesson there.

If you ask for museum recommendations, Museo Nacional del Prado often pops up. Its iconic halls are…read morefilled with historic art from the royals and others. If you love art or architecture, it's worth going for 1-2 hours. I arrived at the museum on a Sunday at 5pm when the free hours start. (The last two hours each day is free.) The line was 45-60 minutes deep. I waited an hour and got a ticket right away. That left me an hour to explore. The free hours extend to the permanent collection only, but there's plenty to see across three floors and over 100 rooms. Signs clearly mark what kind of art it is from paintings to sculptures. The only thing going during the free hours is that it's crowded. Most restrooms have lines and the gift shop is packed. It's still worth it.

This is a must see museum, but enjoyment might be a bit hampered by the crowds. In fact, there…read morewere so many people on a relatively slow winter Sunday, they had to stagger entrance and make us wait. The house is not actually El Greco's house, that was a misunderstanding, but it is a uniquely lovely structure for this art collection. You'll benefit from a prior trip to the Prado where there are excellent informational and educational posted notes. There are many important pieces here but my favorite is his depiction of Toledo.

Museo Del Greco's located in the Jewish Quarter of Toledo and is the home of El Greco. It contains…read morea significant amount of his art collection. You think it's a small exhibit, but once you get inside the museum, it's full of a ton of artwork and you can easily spend a chunk of time browsing through the history. I personally didn't take photos of the artwork only because it's scattered all over the internet as it is. I just spent the time wandering in the home. For 3 EUR, it's basically a no-brainer to visit. I enjoyed the courtyard area with all the flowers too. Just need to come here, relax, and enjoy the art.

The last time Jamie W and I vacationed in Madrid over 15 years ago, we made the big mistake of…read moretrying to squeeze this museum and the Prado into the same afternoon. We had to race through the Reina Sofia without allowing the requisite time to appreciate the masterworks constantly hidden by the crowds. We didn't make the same mistake last week and decided to focus a full afternoon here. There was no avoiding the long line that snaked around the plaza even though we bought the 32,8€ Paseo del Arte passes which covers all three of Madrid's essential museums. We still had to redeem our passes to get our museum tickets. It only took about 25 minutes before we made the beeline to the museum's spotlight masterwork, Picasso's "Guernica" on the second floor. Viewing was packed and unmovable, but it's still the definitive visualization of the horrors of war made striking by the monochromatic palette (Video 1). The building was once an 18th-century hospital before it became an art museum as recently as 1988. It houses Spain's most significant collection of 20th-century art. Along with Picasso, other contemporary masters are also on display here. Artists represented include Salvador Dali (Photos 3 & 5), Joan Miro (Photo 2), and Rene Magritte (Photo 7). Up on the third floor is even more contemporary art dating back only to 1975 including works by Andy Warhol (Photo 6) and Robert Mapplethorpe (Photo 4). This was our favorite of Madrid's Golden Triangle which includes the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemisza. Definitely take your time perusing. RELATED - Exploring Madrid? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/qwUK6nAE-z

If you're into 20th century art, pop by this famous art museum. Near many other sites in Madrid,…read morethis museum is big. It's 3-4 floors of exhibits with art from some famous artists like Picasso. On a Friday afternoon in September, I walked in, paid 12 Euros, and explored for 1.5 hours. The museum is easy to navigate with signs everywhere, elevators and stairs taking you up and down. Don't miss the courtyard in the middle. There are benches and more art there.

While randomly walking through Segovia, my friend and I ran across this museum. For 3 euros, you…read morecan tour the museum and do a food tasting of cheese, wine, and iberian ham. The museum isn't that big and has 3 major sections. There are translations in English, so you can find out what is going on. They have information about some of their spirits industry, wheat, and food. Afterwards, you watch a short video about Segovia, then do the tasting. To me, the most charming thing about the museum is the owner. He is super nice and answers all of your questions about Segovia or just food in general. Caveat though, the owner speaks mainly Spanish, so you will get the most out of your experience conversing in Spanish rather than English.

This food museum was next to our hotel so immediately after checking in, we checked out this…read moremuseum. The museum itself is quite small, and features a few old items but it has a lot of interesting information regarding the history of food in Segovia printed on colourful displays on the walls in both Spanish and English. I have the feeling that the Spanish version is a tad more comprehensive, but nevertheless, you get a real sense of the scope of food production, tradition and importance that is held in this little walled city - both for the city itself, as well as for the rest of Spain. If you pay 5 Euro, following your walk around the museum (you'll need no more than an hour), you are treated to a tasting of local cheeses, bread, meats and a "sweet treat". I won't spoil what that is, but we did pick up a box of these to eat later! The staff are supremely helpful and informative. And whilst their English isn't great, and my Spanish is basically non-existent - we made do just fine.The foyer also sells a range of local dairy products, meats, wine and beers. We took away a few Segovian beers to drink on our hotel's terrace and they went down a treat!

Someday I'll learn the differences between a Church, a Basilica, and a Cathedral...is it just based…read moreon the size of the building? If you've made it this far in Europe, I'm 100% sure this isn't your first European Church/Basilica/Cathedral. I wasn't planning on visiting, but it was part of the tour group Paseos Madrid. It was built during the 12th Century and...uh...um...I don't remember much after that. Google it. But its still beautiful and impressive inside, complete with art, sculptures, and impressive alters, per the usual.