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This is a full day, please plan accordingly. Discuss any timing issues with the area office well before the day.
El Escorial visit with guide
Segovia visit with TM
· This is a full day and timing can be tricky. Please convey that to your group leaders and ask that they help you with group logistics to stay on time.
Escorial
· Call Escorial guide the day before to confirm. Entrances to Escorial are paid by the guide.
· The timings of entrances to El Escorial can only be changed well in advance through the Area Office.
· Please check in advance to make sure the entrance time on your voucher will enable you to make all the visits today. If not, please call the Area Office.
Segovia:
· Tickets are now reserved in advance through the Clorian system by the Araque office – you should have a voucher or confirmation paper in your documents
· You are required to call the Alcazar at least 48 hours in advance to confirm your group number and expected time of visit
· You may need a copy of your rooming list for the ticket office of the Alcazar.
· There are toilets at the tourist office next to the aqueduct, if they are working… There are also plenty of cafes on Calle Juan Bravo for drinks/rest stop. There are plenty of toilets at the Alcazar too.
El Escorial – visit
Remind your group to leave their backpacks on the bus – checking them in takes up a lot of time.
The bus drop off and pick up point is the bus station. Take your group up the ramps and make a left on Calle San Juan this curves around to become Calle Juan Leyva. Take the second street on your left – Calle San Francisco which will lead you down to a dead end that is covered in ivy. Walk under the ivy
and down the stairs and turn right. The Hotel Florida is just up the street on your right-hand side. Meet you guide there. If you arrive about 15 minutes before your scheduled meeting time, allow the group to use the bathrooms in the lobby of the hotel (more bathroom’s downstairs). Please introduce yourself to the hotel staff at reception. Meet your guide and walk over to the Palace together. The guide will go in one entrance to pay for tickets and will direct you to another entrance where you’ll meet back just after the second security check point. The tour takes approx. 1.5 hours, and includes Royal apartments, the library and the Mausoleum. After the visit, allow time for toilets at Hotel Florida.
A – Hotel Florida – Meeting place with guide & bathrooms
B – Bus drop-off/pick-up point (there is a ramp from the bus station
up to Calle San Juan, which is faster and a bit nicer than the
road)
Depart El Escorial for 40/45 minute drive to Segovia.
Segovia – visit with TM
The coach will drop you at the Aqueduct. However, if you are told otherwise, the drop off point will be the bus station.
Bus Station Drop Off
The bus drops you off at the main bus station. From here, lead your group up the Avenida de Fernandez Ladreda and into the Plaza del Azoguejo where you meet your local guide. You will see the aqueduct straight ahead. The tourist office in this plaza has lovely pictorial maps for a small charge if anyone in your group is interested. If you are stopping for lunch, there are good lunch places around the Plaza del Azoguejo.
From the Alcazar garden, you will take another route back down to meet the bus, which is parked in a different parking lot than the bus station. Upon leaving the Alcazar gardens, take the road furthest on your right – Ronda de Juan II. This road changes names to Calle de San Valentin and the Paseo de los Tilos and the photo ops are great. At the end of Paseo de los Tilos make a right onto Calle del Puente Sancti-Spiritu (gardens/river on your right). This leads you to a round-about and the bus parking lot is just on the other side of the round-about.
A – Bus Station – bus drop-off point
B – Plaza Mayor & Cathedral
C – Alcazar
D – Calle de San Valentino & Paseo de los Tilos
E – Roundabout in front of bus parking – bus pick-up
A – Bus Station – bus drop-off point
B – Plaza Mayor & Cathedral
C – Alcazar
D – Calle de San Valentino & Paseo de los Tilos
E – Roundabout in front of bus parking – bus pick-up point
Aqueduct Drop Off
The tourist office in this Plaza (on the right-hand side with the Aqueduct at your back) has lovely pictorial maps for a small charge if anyone in your group is interested. If you are stopping for lunch, there are good lunch places around the Plaza del Azoguejo. Give your group time for lunch and the meet again in the Plaza.
Your local guide will meet you in the Plaza del Azoguejo and continue with them until the end of the Alcazar visit (or bring you back to the aqueduct if you prefer)
Either way, the Plaza mayor makes a good place to get the group together before walking back down to the Aqueduct. Allow time for a bathroom break in the tourist office and call your driver and arrange a pick-up time. Buses cannot wait outside the Aqueduct, so please make sure you allow plenty of time for the stop and arrange a meeting time accordingly.
A – Aqueduct & Tourist Office
B – Plaza Mayor & Cathedral
C – Alcazar