monasterio de las huelgas

vlgal

It is possible to visit the monastery with guide only. We attended it with Spanish group, however the guide kindly gave us short but important comments in English. Photos are strictly prohibited during tour opposite to another also very interesting Miraflores monastery. That was a pity.

eurilla

Admission is only by guided tour in Spanish. You would have to speak very good Spanish to follow it. It sounded very detailed and informative and good value for those who understood. But with no information, no audio guide or leaflet available, we just followed the group wondering what it was about. Given that they are charging some E8 for entry, they could at least print off a few A4 pages for visitors in different languages.

am08540

It is a bit of a cruise from the cathedral area. We had a car so it wasn't a problem. You could easily get a cab there from a hotel but getting back would be tougher. I noted one reviewer saying the tour was in Spanish. Ours was bi-lingual in Spanish and then English. Interestingly enough most on the tour were English speakers. The monastery is still active and the tour staff/guards are extremely intent on making sure that no photos are taken from the inside. I've been in plenty of "no photos allowed" monuments but the security here was like I was visiting the US Mint. Don't take that as a negative. Its just an opportunity to take in what is inside and it's incredibly impressive. We are academics and were blown away by it. Next time we are in Burgos, we will go again.

BeatrizR791

It's amazing. A guided visit through the history of Castilla and its ancients. Great museum, great place and great guide!!!

Anthony-Susan

My wife and I loved it, especially the mudejar stone carving and roofs. But...it was a hike out of town to get there, and you can only see it as part of a guided tour. The scheduled tour started 45 minutes late, and when the guide spoke in both Spanish and English, the tour seemed to last forever. And her explanation in either language, which I understand well, was definitely not worth it. Skip this, and instead go to the Cartuja de Miraflores, which in my view is must see and easy to do.

Devon155

We were bowled over by this. The monastery is still active and is beautifully preserved. It is stuffed full of historical artefacts, including ancient tombs of the Castilian monarchs. Very strong connection with English history through Queen Eleanor, daughter of the English Henry II. Beautifully preserved 800 year old royal clothing and possessions. Fascinating early Arabic Christian architecture. Go and see it!

BarryF401

Although the building and interiors are exceptionally beautiful and impressive be warned that this is a guided tour with a strict no photos policy and, based on our experience yesterday afternoon with a thoroughly charmless guide who either couldn't or wouldn't speak a single word of English and with almost no written explanations to fall back on, you will inevitably be hugely frustrated and disappointed if you are not fluent in Spanish. By comparison Burgos cathedral is very welcoming and accommodating of foreign language visitors.

HugoSampaio

you breathe history once you enter the monastery.No photos allowed. you have to record it in your mind.There are a lot of tombs of princesses, princes, abbesses, nuns. You'll be able to stand next to the roots of the Castilla and Léon kingdom. The museum is awesome. All the pieces on exhibit are real one and not replicas as i'm used to see on a regular museum. The most impressive thing for me was the fact that the clothes that are in exhibit were the real clothes where all those knights and princess were really burried in. The artifacts that survived the looting of the Napoleon troops are also on exhibition. Since all those things were real, for me it was very intense.

Cambalacho

Positive: it's a nice place to visit, where we learned more about Burgos history and has a really cool S. santiago statue.Negative: The monastery only has guided tours and although the guide was very friendly there wasn't much concern about the non spanish turists. The desk information staff is really unfriendly and will not explain how everything works.

snoopysmum

Beware rubbish information! Today we cycled for almost an hour to visit the monastery at Huelgas. We were told it was free on a Wednesday and Thursday. We were NOT told that you had to show your passport or pay 7 euros each! The woman on the desk would not believe we were European tourists - strange as we speak English and were wearing T shirt and shorts in October! She was an inflexible bureaucrat! I'm sure the monastery is beautiful but with this kind of attitude it is no wonder that the Spanish economy is in such a mess!

Pinky Parker

This is an easy 20 min. walk from Burgos Cathedral, but you can also take the bus. There is an admission fee and groups will go in on tours. You are not allowed to wander around by yourself. The gift shop has some lovely things, so it is worth a look.

Tadalf

Utterly interesting catacombs and sarcaphagi of the early royal families. Grandiose halls, chapels and rooms. Worth a visit.

mccartna3

Although I am still unhappy we were not permitted to take photos here, I loved it. It´s definitely a hidden beauty, packed away in a residential area of Burgos, but totally worth the trip. It´s only about 10 minutes walking from the main Arco de Santa Maria, so GO.

jazzyalan

Only visited the courtyard. Will return to see more. Loved it. Great little restaurant across the street too.

196PascalL

You are not allowed to wander freely on the premisses, but a guide shows you around. I know Spain has sometimes problems with terrorists, but I found the security a little extreme: I had to leave my small rucksack in the locker, but before I was even obliged to put it in a scanner.