Monasteries Worth Planning Around
Cloisters, abbey kitchens and pilgrimage churches where Spain's monastic history is still lived in, and still worth arranging a morning around.
- Sights & Nature13
Aragón · Basque Country · Castilla y León · Catalonia · Extremadura · Galicia · La Rioja · Madrid · Navarra
- Essential1
- Recommended9
- Optional3
- Under-the-Radar Spain · 1 shared place
- The Camino Staging Towns · 1 shared place
- Madrid Day Trips · 1 shared place
These are not ruins kept behind a rope. Most are working or partly working houses, several sit on the Camino Frances, and a few take in guests, which changes what a visit is for. Give each one a morning rather than an hour, and check opening times before you drive.
13 places
Monasterio de San Martiño Pinario
Spain's second-largest monastery, Baroque and immense, facing the cathedral — its churrigueresque facade and twin-squared cloister dwarf everything on the plaza.
Santuario de Loyola
A Baroque basilica and pilgrimage complex in the Basque Country marking the birthplace of Ignatius of Loyola.
Santo Domingo de Silos
A working Benedictine abbey with a first-rate Romanesque cloister and daily sung offices.
Guadalupe Monastery
Spiritually significant monastery featuring ornate Mudejar cloisters and a rich colonial history
Roncesvalles (Camino Start)
Historic gateway to the Camino Francés, steeped in legends of Charlemagne and medieval piety
Convento de San Francisco
Gothic Franciscan convent, traditionally founded by St Francis himself on pilgrimage in 1214.
Monastery of Yuste
Quiet monastic retreat where Holy Roman Emperor Charles V chose to spend his final days
Monastery of Poblet
A grand Cistercian monastery and royal pantheon, set in a forest clearing.
Monasterios de San Millán (Yuso y Suso)
A pair of monasteries in La Rioja, Suso and Yuso, linked to the earliest written texts in the Spanish language.
Monastery of Santes Creus
Cistercian abbey on the Catalan Ruta del Cister — a Gothic cloister by a Moorish master-builder, royal tombs, and a still, fortified quiet.
Monasterio de El Escorial
A 16th-century monastery, palace, and royal burial site built by Philip II northwest of Madrid.
Monasterio de San Xulián de Samos
Benedictine monastery on the Camino Francés, continuously occupied since the 6th century — two cloisters, one Renaissance, one Neoclassical, set deep in a river gorge.
Monastery of San Juan de la Peña
Dramatic Romanesque monastery built directly into a cliffside, famous for its intricate stone carvings
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