monastery of santo domingo de silos

We visited the monastery at Silos, eager to see the cloister and hear the monks chant. What a disappointment! The cloister has been over restored, effectively erasing any sign of wear or age on most of the capitols. The population of monks has declined considerably since their hit recording of the 1990s, and the voices of the monks were drowned out almost completely by organ accompaniment.

This is a Benedictine monastery. It has a two-storey cloister. The monastery is still active. The upper level is closed to the public. The lower level is famous for its carving and capitals. The carvings and capitals are in incredible condition.

A superb building full of great architecture, then at 7pm enjoy a 1,000 year old musical treat when the cloistered Monks enter the church to sing Vespers.If you have never heard the Chant of Angels before, then this is IT!

The cloisters would have to be (one of) the most beautiful in Spain and are most definitely worth a trip. Take your time to discover the multitude of carved capitals as you walk around. Look for the mason's marks on the stonework, as well as "graffiti" from an earlier time.Apart from the cloisters, you can visit (if you are on a tour, or piggy-back onto one if you're self-guiding) the old pharmacy and apothecary (lovely wooden drawer chests, pots and jars and vials, books, etc). This itself is worth a visit, although you don't get to stay there long before being ushered into the little museum space.The Gregorian chanting is free to attend; there's six or seven chants per day and you will be enchanted (pun sort of intended, but very appropriate) if not entranced. Times for the chants are: 06:00, 07:30, 09:00, 13:45, 19:00, 21:35 - with some variation for holidays.I think the only regret is that you don't get to see more of the monastery; only the cloisters and old pharmacy / museum are open to the public.

This was my first time at the Monastery of Silos. The site was beautiful but the guide was extremely rude and began to yell at me and my family for absolutely nothing. He abandoned his group to walk over to us and complain that we had touched the wall however, NO signs were posted not to touch anything!!!! He proceeded yelling at us as we walked away and we didn't get to see the entire Monastery, we were very disappointed! We felt violated and we were treated very poorly. We will be telling others of our horrible experience so that others do not have to go through what we did. It's sad that one person can ruin it for everyone, especially if you work there and Monks are living upstairs. We didn't catch his name however, you'd think he'd be respectful to those visiting the town of Santo Domingo de Silos.

If you ever travel to Spain - put this on your itinerary - the most incredible place I have ever been. I was in tears listening to the Choir and the Gregorian chants in the evening...why?? just being there. It was snowing when we went and it made it even more amazing.

What a neat side trip. We were driving from Madrid up to the South of France and I so happened to read in a Rick Steve's book about this monastery. We decided to go and see and so glad that we did. Only about an hour our of Madrid, a beautiful drive through the country side. A lovely little town with cobblestones and cute little hotels and resturants. We parked and went inot the church and the Monks were chanting their service, so beautiful. We sat and enjoyed for a while and then walked around town and had a coffee. A very worthwhile side trip and looked to be a great place to have an overnight stay while traveling.

The monastery tour was good, but it would be nice if they had a brochure, guide, labels for museum objects, etc. in more languages, than just Spanish.

Though we couldn't make it to mass and listen to the famous chants by the monks, the monastery is still worth a visit, even if only the cloister and a few rooms turned into museum are accessible to the visitor. Guiding was, as usual, in Spanish, and guide chanted all the information he had obviously learned by heart (and seemed to understand little of) in Gregorian rhythm - most bored and boring guide we had in Spain.

Although there is not an awful lot to see it is a lovely place and the church has monks that sing several times of day. The town is enchanting and in a lovely area of spain.

What more can you say about a place like the Monastery? It oozes history and solemnity. History surrounds you in Silos. Hungry? Go to the restaurant at the Hotel Tres Coronas, right there in the middle of town. A delicious say to wrap up your visit!And after lunch, if you are interested in yet more history (and have some time), you can set the GPS for Covarrubias. Great town to walk through, architecturally speaking. Also don't forget the museum. It is small but filled with interesting exhibits.

This is a beutifull Monastery surrounded placed in an incredible natural site

Lugar para visitar y disfrutar. El guía espectacular.La botica preciosa.No perderselo.A mejorar, la persona de la tienda demadiado taciturno para estar cara al público.

Excelente vista guiada por el monasterio Románico de Santo Domingo de Silos, con un guía el cual te hace revivir y apasionarte por el románico, mencionado cada una de la parte importante del Claustro, su épocas de construcción, sus capiteles e iconos, como su artesonado, especial mención a la Farmacia. Son una delicia para los sentidos el canto Gregoriano de los monjes del monasterio

Pudimos disfrutar el pasado viernes de una visita de lujo al Patio del Monasterio de Silos... es un paraje muy bonito, enriquecedor y que te hace viajar a otra época. Totalmente recomendable salirse del camino y hacer una parada en el pueblo y su visita.Sin embargo, querría indicar que el guía que nos explicó toda la visita era un poco malo, era como escuchar una cinta, únicamente preocupado de que la gente que estaba por libre no sobrepasara las cuerdas y con muy poco interés porque los viajeros se vayan encantados de sus explicaciones.