Havens of peace and serenity, monasteries are religious sites, primarily full of beauty and harmony, where Christians express their faith and devotion.

In this article, I’ll give you a list of the Most Beautiful Monasteries in Spain! Some will impress you with their remarkable architecture, others with their picturesque location.

Either way, these places have been, for many centuries, important centers of spirituality, treasuring many relics, works of art, and documents of tremendous value.

Besides that, they are also among the most important landmarks in Spain, as it is one of the countries with the biggest number of incredible monasteries in the world!

📌 Read more: 50 Most Popular Landmarks in Spain for Tourists in 2024

Now let me introduce you to the timeless monuments you must visit!

1. Santo Toribio de Liébana, Cantabria

Monasterio de Santo Toribio de Liébana, 39570 Camaleño, Cantabria.

In the heart of the Picos de Europa, in the Liébana valley, is located this monastery of singular beauty dedicated to San Toribio, who, throughout the Middle Ages, was the center of the entire region’s cultural, religious, and economic life. 

Legends and traditions are mixed to explain the origin of this monastery. However, it was most likely built during King Alfonso I in the mid-8th century.

The 10th century was one of the great moments of this monastery, which grew in economic power. In the 13th century, a new Gothic temple began on the foundations of pre-Romanesque architecture.

The interior is beautiful. It has a chapel called “Lignum Crucis” covered with star vaults from the 16th century. Then, there is also a gilded wooden tabernacle on a stone altar where the most sacred relic of the place is kept: a silver cross that hides a fragment of the Cross of the Passion.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

2. Santa María la Real de Irache, Navarra

Cam. de Santiago, 31208 Irache, Navarra

Very close to Estrella, passing through the “Camino de Santiago” pilgrimage is one of Navarra’s most important hospital establishments, the great Monastery of Santa María la Real de Irache.

The first documents about this magnificent place date back to the 10th century. Throughout the Middle Ages, its social and economic power remained unchanged, and its abbots maintained the privilege of the preserve in the Navarrese courts.

Later, a school was constructed in the mid-16th century thanks to the momentum of the reform. Then, it was transformed into a university in 1569.

It is a Romanesque church with a small Gothic façade hidden behind an 18th-century entrance.

🗓️ Visiting schedule:

• Wednesday to Sunday: 10AM–1:30PM, 4–7PM
• Monday and Tuesday: Closed

3. San Millán de la Cogolla de Suso y Yuso, La Rioja

Calle Prestiño, 8, 26326 San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja

The Riojan town of San Millán de la Cogolla was an important stopping place on the way to the tomb of the Apostle Santiago since the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Two monasteries are related to the history of the saint, Suso and Yuso. Both were united by a shared history, only one in the valley and the other in the mountains.

San Millán became famous for defending the poorest and leading an austere life, and when he died, the cave became a pilgrimage place.

The kings also came to prostrate themselves before his tomb to ask him to support them in their wars against the Muslims.

The lower monastery, or Yuso, is eclectic because it grew larger as the abbots needed more space. Whereas the monastery of Suso was an ancient cave sanctuary partially carved in rocks that is now a simple Mozarabic building.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

If you’re in La Rioja Region, you MUST visit the best vineyards in the country. Read more: Spanish Vineyards: Insider’s Guide to the Best Wine Tours

4. San Juan de la Peña, Huesca

A-1603, s/n, 22711 Jaca, Huesca

Solitude and aridity define where this Benedictine monastery is located, and this is because, in its origins, it was a refuge for hermits.

Legend says that its foundation is due to a chance event: the salvation from the inevitable death of a nobleman from Zaragoza after a horse riding accident through the mediation of Saint John.

The altar is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Although other sources say that its origin is due to a group of Christian fugitives from the Muslims.

This complex includes two monasteries considered one of the most splendid in the Kingdom of Aragon during the Middle Ages: a palace of kings and a pantheon.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

5. Monasterio de San Jerónimo de Yuste, Plasencia

Carretera de Yuste, s/n, 10430 Cuacos de Yuste, Cáceres

Forty kilometers from Plasencia, on the side of the mountain, stands the Jerónimo de Yuste monastery, another essential visit in Spain.

Emperor Charles V, one of the great European monarchs, kept his promise to Queen Elizabeth to end his life in a convent, so he spent the last days of his existence in this monastery.

It was founded in the first years of the 15th century and became one of the most important houses of the Jerónima order.

The monastic complex comprises three crucial areas: the church, the conventual quarters, and the emperor’s palace.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

6. La Abadía de Montserrat, Barcelona

08199 Montserrat, Barcelona

This is one of the most beautiful monasteries in the country. The spectacular landscape of the Montserrat massif is close to places such as Cabo de la Muerte, Peña de la Silla, Flautas, etc. (Which, in Spanish, gives us an idea of the surrounding shapes)

Visitors and pilgrims visited the place because of the fame of the miracles of the Virgin of Montserrat.

📌 Read more: The 45 Most Beautiful Virgin Mary Images in Spain

As the abbey prospers, libraries and archives are formed, a publishing house and a printing press, works of art are acquired, and the abbey became an active part of Catalan religious, social, and political life.

The basílica and the monastery are the two main monuments of the complex. In fact, Gaudí designed the First Mystery of Glory, a rosary to pay tribute to the virgin.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

📌 Find out the best activities in Barcelona: 22 Best Things to do in Barcelona: Fun Activities & Food!

7. Monasterio de El Escorial, Madrid

Av Juan de Borbón y Battemberg, s/n, 28200 San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid

At the foot of the Sierra de Guadarrama, near Madrid, a monastery was built in the 16th century that was called to be the stone representation of a king-emperor, his State, and his conception of the world.

The first stone was placed in 1563 in honor of San Lorenzo; today, it is a World Heritage Site.

Felipe II’s idea was to build a large complex of buildings that would accommodate stables, service areas, a school, a seminary, and a royal room or stable for the monarchs. The latter became where the king would retire in the last years of his life.

Many other artists of the time, such as Juan Bautista de Toledo, Ticiano, Claudio Coello, El Greco, and Tibaldi, participated.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

📌 Helpful Resources for your trip: How to Get Around Madrid + 8 Tips I Wish Someone Told Me

8. Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Cáceres

Plaza Sta. María de Guadalupe, 10140 Guadalupe, Cáceres

At the foot of the Sierra de Guadalupe stands the majestic monastery and sanctuary to the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Guadeloupe had its significant era of splendor. The numerous alms and donations arrived promptly and were used to care for the poor and to keep the inn and pharmacy active.

Right next to the sacristy and attached to it is the chapel of San Jerónimo. Both groups form one of the most beautiful examples of the monastery’s architecture.

The interior of this monastery is one of the most valuable and important in Spain due to the number of relics they have.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

9. Santo Domingo de Silos, Burgos

C/ Santo Domingo de Silos, nº 2 09610

In the heart of the Castilian plateau, inside a small valley, stands the beautiful monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, whose origin dates back to Visigothic Spain since apparently the first monks, surely hermitages, settled here around the 7th century.

The abbots who governed the monastery during the 12th and 13th centuries were characterized by the excellent construction activity and the importance they gave to the “scriptorium” of the convent, where some of the best copyists and miniaturists of the Middle Ages were trained.

The cloister of the Silos is one of the most exquisite buildings the monastery has, with an impressive level of Mudejar detail, where you can see exciting motifs about the daily life of the time.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

One of the most beautiful churches in Spain is in Burgos! Find out here: Top 10 Most Famous Churches & Cathedrals in Spain

10. Real Monasterio de San Salvador de Leyre, Navarra

31410 Monasterio de Leyre, Navarre

In the interior of the Navarrese territory stands the beautiful Romanesque monastery that was the court and heart of the Navarrese Kingdom, as defined by Sancho the Elder, the great protector of the Benedictine order.

Surrounding a forested and rugged landscape is this curious place that originates in the so-called Reconquista in the north of Spain and reached its most extraordinary splendor during the 11th century.

The monastic complex is divided into several buildings occupied by the conventual rooms, the church, and the palace of the Navarrese kings.

The main façade has one of the most beautiful Spanish Romanesque doorways. The church’s crypt is the oldest, most exciting, and enigmatic place in the monastic complex.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

11. Santa María de Huerta, Soria

Plaza Monasterio, 1, 42260 Santa María de Huerta, Soria

This medieval monastery stands in the valley of the Jalón River, next to the town of the same name, on the border between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, which was one of the most powerful in Castile for six centuries.

The origin of Santa María de Huerta dates back to the 12th century, when, under the patronage of King Alfonso VII of Castile, this monastery was founded in a place called Cantabos and then moved to its current location.

The king who promoted donations to the construction of this monastery was Alfonso VIII, who was not the only one. The first stone was laid in 1179.

In the 16th century, Santa María de Huerta evolved into a hospederia. Then, the following centuries witnessed wars and persecutions, and then it had to be rebuilt.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

12. Santa María de Ripoll, Girona

Plaça de L’abat Oliba, s/n, 17500 Ripoll, Girona

In the beautiful valley of Ripoll, sheltered by the nearby Pyrenean mountains, stands what was a beautiful Benedictine monastery at the dawn of the Middle Ages, of which only the church and the convent cloister remain today.

The first news about this place dates back to the 9th century, when Wilfred the Hairy and his wife Guinidilde, owners and lords of the valley, decided to found a Basilica to venerate Santa Maria.

It received many donations from kings and nobles and had much splendor.

In 1835, the church burned down and had to be rebuilt according to the taste of the time. Years later, many of its treasures disappeared due to looting and fires.

Finally, starting in 1885, good work was done rebuilding a beautiful temple with three naves and a chancel of seven chapels.

The most impressive thing is its magnificent doorway and the Romanesque cloister.

🗓️ Schedule your visit: Official Web

Other monasteries in Spain

I hope this narrative impressed you as much as it impressed me! I encourage you to visit these beautiful monasteries that, for many years, have witnessed Kings and other relevant figures change the course of history.

And the best part is this experience is just a few kilometers away from the main cities!

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or want to take a religious trip through Spain.