I once saw an art history programme about the El Escorial Palace in Spain. Is it easy to get to from Madrid? Joan Hodgkinson, Clydebank

Sunday Times travel expert Richard Green responds: The gigantic complex ­ a palace, monastery, and mausoleum - is 30 miles northwest of Madrid and easily reached by car or public transport. It's a popular day trip from the capital, and well worth the effort.

It's vast, austere in style, and took 21 years to build, and inside you'll find a tremendous collection of art, the Royal Apartments, Library, and Pantheon ­ burial place for the Spanish monarchy.

Allow an hour if you are driving. Follow the N-VI highway from the northwest perimeter of Madrid toward Lugo, La Coruna, and San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and fork left onto the C-505 toward San Lorenzo de El Escorial. After that, you really can't miss it.

There are several dozen trains a day from Madrid's Atocha and Chamartín train stations. The journey is about an hour and costs £2.20 one-way - go to www.ctm-madrid.es. The railway station for San Lorenzo de El Escorial is just over mile from the building. Herranz shuttle busses meet all arriving trains and ferry passengers to and from the Plaza Virgen de Gracia, a short distance east of the entrance to the monastery.

If it¹s not too scorching hot, you should walk up the hill to the entrance, along an avenue partly shaded by chestnut trees, so that you approach the magnificent edifice gradually, for the most impressive effect.

There are buses from Madrid too, about 20 a day in each direction, run by Herranz. Allow an hour me is an hour, and a return ticket costs £4.50.

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