Location: calle Floridablanca, nos. 3 and 5.

Although physically separate, the First and Second House of Trades make up an edifice conceived as a single unit. The concept for the houses arose out of the lack of space at the Monastery for housing all the palace quarters.

Designed by Juan de Herrera, and beyond the walls of the monastery, the work was directed by Herrera and later by Francisco de Mora between 1587 and 1596. Located between the low-level stone esplanades, or the lonja, and the high-level street currently known as Floridablanca, they were a satisfactory solution to the greatly different height levels of these two areas. As a result of this, their façades are of different heights, with three floors giving onto the lonja and two floors facing Floridablanca, leading to two different scales, one of continuous façades similar to the Monastery, and the other where this continuity is broken by three patios for each House, with arcades and square pillars.

In the 19th century the two Houses of Trades were functionally separated, initiating their use for different purposes, a separation that has continued to our time.

At present, the First House of Trades houses the Cultural Centre, the Manuel Andújar Municipal Library, an Exhibition Hall and the Local Tourist Information Office. In the Second House is found a chapel, what was the capilla de los labrantes (chapel of the labourers), now the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Gracia, and it also holds the "Padre Antonio Soler" Music School, belonging to the Madrid regional government.

Location: calle Floridablanca, 7.

Carlos III assigned Juan de Villanueva to create this building, which was executed between 1785 and 1797 designed to build suitable lodgings for the First Secretary of State, the Count of Floridablanca. With the creation of this building, the perimeter of the stone esplanade of the Monastery, the lonja, was closed.

The plot of land chosen was not an empty plot; the first Bourbons had permitted a good number of houses and kitchens for palace servants to be built there which, due to their "improper look", had to be demolished. In its construction, the design of Juan de Herrera was followed when solving the problem of the difference in height between the upper street, now known as Floridablanca and the lonja.

Just as in his design of the Casa de Infantes and in the Houses of Trades designed by Herrera, Juan de Villanueva proposed a freestanding building, separated at the sides by streets.

In the elevations, Villanueva – just as in all his works on the Royal Site – once again chose historical dimensions. Even the façade facing the lonja became an imitation of the Herrera-style Houses of Trades, echoing their rhythm and composition.

In 1797, a raised passage was constructed which joined it to the Second House of Trades. For a time it held the administration area and offices of the Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage) in San Lorenzo de El Escorial and is currently completely occupied by private renters who use it as dwellings.

Location: paseo de los Alamillos, 2.

The Company Quarters were designed by Francisco de Mora, architect, and disciple and follower of Juan de Herrera. The construction work was undertaken between 1590 and 1597, with the aim of housing in a single building all the warehousing, services and animals of the Hieronymite Community, the religious order entrusted with the care and maintenance of the Monastery.

The main building of the Company Quarters had a square floor plan with a square interior patio, and there was a first floor with fifteen arches per side on square columns and a second floor with large square windows over which the slate roofs were placed.

On the ground floor were the mill, the ovens, the refectory with kitchen, as well as cells for guests and friars of the mendicant orders. On the upper floor were the craftsman workshops and the infirmary. In the southern row of rooms, a large doorway of a Tuscan order was opened to allow carriages and livestock to pass. To its left was a one-floor building for the smithies and coach houses.

The main façade is the southern one, of Herreran style; it stands out due to its sober wall surface of granite masonry, interrupted by the embellishment of the openings, the fascia and the stonework cornice.

At the end of the 19th century, the buildings were in an abandoned state. This brought about their delivery in 1892 to the Order of Saint Augustine, the new community that took care of the Monastery, in order to establish in it the Royal College of Advanced Studies of El Escorial, known today as the Real Centro Universitario María Cristina (Maria Cristina Royal University) in honour of its protector, the reigning queen Maria Cristina of Hapsburg-Lorraine.

The declaration dated 3rd June 1931 classifying the Palace and Monastery of San Lorenzo as a Historical-Artistic Monument includes the Company Quarters among the attached buildings.

Currently, the Maria Cristina Royal University teaches courses in Law, Business Administration and Management and Chiropractics. In addition, it is one of the centres providing Summer Courses in San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Location: plaza de la Constitución, 9.

The architect Juan de Herrera carried out this project, the House of the Professors, in 1583. This was the first building to be built outside the Monastery grounds, and was to provide accommodation for the teachers of art and theology at the College, as being lay teachers they could not reside in the Convent.

The construction took place on land that was at a quite considerably higher level than the Monastery, and this meant that Juan de Herrera had to create a containing wall to deal with this difference in height. This has given rise to the importance for the town of the house, as it was the origin of what would be the first street in the locality, now Floridablanca.

The house had a rectangular floor plan, on two levels, and is divided into three dwellings that internally are completely independent from each other as dwellings. At the end of the 19th century, an additional floor was added

Location: calle del Rey, 38.

The design for this building, the House of the Princes' Families, is from 1792, but the owner was unable to undertake the work. In 1803, it was put up for sale and the Princes Carlos Maria Isidro and Francisco de Paula, sons of King Carlos IV, became interested in acquiring it.

Juan de Villanueva is considered to have carried out the renovation and extension work between 1803 and 1808. After the War of Independence, it was abandoned until the end of the 19th century, when it became municipal property.

In 1909, it was acquired by a lawyer, José Peláez Urquina, and came to be known as Casa de Peláez.

In 1984 it was declared an Historical Artistic Monument. Later, it was acquired by the company Euroforum/Escorial in order to restore it and create a educational and residential centre that currently gives the Summer Courses of the Madrid Complutense University and varied training courses.

The restoration work was undertaken by the architect Miguel de Oriol e Ibarra in 1989, respecting its historical value, rebuilding the building, incorporating historical remains that have been kept and providing the whole with a definitive solution and a continued use that up until that time it had never known.

Location: paseo de Carlos III s/n (Highway M-665).

Located in the Dehesa de la Herrería (Herrería Meadows), to the west of the Monastery, Gabriel de Bourbon, son of Carlos III, commissioned the architect Juan de Villanueva in 1771 to carry out the work on the Upper Pavilion. Its purpose was to allow him to enjoy his greatest interests, among which were music, and to permit him to have a private life, in the company of his circle of friends and away from the protocol that surrounded the palace.

The building was inspired by Italian villas and its use was purely recreational. It is a concentrated and free-standing construction, surrounded by architecturally-designed terraced gardens, which create a sensation of unity, being related to the building.

The main room boasts a dome decorated with allegoric paintings relating to music. This was the listening room, the musicians being placed in the upper part and their music being heard from the small, central square in the garden.

From the garden, there are marvellous views of the Monastery.

His Majesty King Juan Carlos I was the last member of the Royal Family to reside in the building, living there over the period when he studied the area of Law. This building was declared a Historical Artistic Monument in 1931, along with the Monastery.

For visiting times and other information, you can telephone Patrimonio Nacional on 918 905 903 or visit their web site (see Royal Palaces).

Location: calle Floridablanca, 20.

The building of the Carlos III Theatre/Coliseum was undertaken by Jaime Marquet, a French architect living in Spain since 1752. Construction began in 1770 and by May 1771 the work had been practically completed. It is laid out in the shape of a rectangle in which the theatre seats forms a U shape. On the upper level, there are two levels of boxes and one amphitheatre level. The building was completely roofed, which was extremely innovative for its time.

When the work was finished, its management was granted to the residents, although the Crown conserved its ownership. This system led to many disputes that only ended when the State sold it, removing it from the estate in 1869.

Subsequently, the building passed into the hands of private individuals, and it was even used as a cinema from 1918. In 1967, it closed its doors and began progressively to deteriorate.

After numerous difficulties, the theatre was definitively restored by the architects José Luis Martín and Mariano Bayón between 1974 and 1979, at the request of the Sociedad de Fomento y Construcción del Real Coliseo Carlos III, the Royal Coliseum's group of supporters and patrons. In 1979, it was inaugurated with a recital given by Teresa Berganza, attended by Her Majesty Queen Sofía. Since then, the stage of the Royal Coliseum has been trod by great figures from the theatre and music world.

The restoration work was awarded the Spanish National Prize for Restoration in 1980. In 1981, it became part of the Spanish network of national theatres and festivals in Spain under the Ministry of Culture, and since 1985 the Madrid Autonomous Community has been in charge of its programming. In 1995 it was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in the Monument category.

The Princes' and Queen's House is located on the stone forecourt (or lonja) of the Monastery on its western side. It is the first great work of Juan de Villanueva in his professional career. The house was created to house the servants or families of Princes Gabriel, Antonio Pascual and Francisco Javier during the visits of His Majesty.

The house has a rectangular floor plan, with the longer side being five times the length of the shorter side, and was built on three levels: the lower-ground floor entrance, the ground floor and the main floor, in addition to the attics. The slope of the terrain meant that the main façade and the back façades were built at different heights. In his design, Villanueva chose to place the ground floor on the upper level, which could be entered directly from the so-called "long patio".

In the principal façade which gives on to the lonja, the architectural style of the House of Trades and the Monastery is preserved, and shows a rhythm of continuity and openings, with Herrera-style decoration that stands out on the smooth stone surface. The fascia lines also alter its bareness, dividing the three levels, as does the simple cornice that separates it from the sloping roof.

In the back façade, which has only two floors due to the slope, Villanueva allowed himself greater license, expressed in the lack of similarity with the Monastery.

The death of Prince Francisco Javier caused the house to be divided between his two brothers. As Prince Antonio Pascual had no descendants, his half passed into the hands of the Crown, with the house since then acquiring the name of the Queen's House. At the wish of Alfonso XIII, the other half was acquired by the Administration of the Crown in 1925 and, after remodelling, it was placed in a rental system for temporary and permanent residence.