monasterio de santo tomas

Visited here using the family tourist ticket.Worth the trip. Kids enjoyed it thanks to the self guided audio tour.A wedding was about to take place while we were there so the church was decorated with flowers and looked lovely.Very interesting tour, well presented and not long winded.

This monastery is on the edge of Avila but it is well worth seeking it out. The history is of course related to Ferdinand and Isabella, and their son's tomb is there; there are three courtyards of varying size, becoming increasingly decorated; up in the choir you get a view into the church with its unusual structure around the altar, and you can admire the beautifully carved choir stalls.

Royal monastry (of the Catholic Kings) with an impressive cultural richness. You can easily spend 1.5 hours here. Included in the entrance price is an audioguide which is really interesting to guide you through the visit. Be aware that on Sunday, there is a 12:00 and a 13:00 mass, so there is little time in between to visit the church.

We had train tickets to leave Avila at 5:30 but hadn't yet had time to visit this monastery, so we went to the station to alter our plans. Luckily we were able to change our tickets to 7:30, and did get to see the monastery. Like so many monuments in Spain it is about Isabella and Fernando---this is where they buried one of their children, so they had to make it big and profuse. THere are three courtyards, each increasing in size and interest, a church, and a museum. The church is not opulent, but rather down to earth, and the sculptural sarcophagus of the prince is central. Surprising are the two museums: one is filled with taxidermy and is skippable; the other contains great small pieces of art brought back from the orient by missionaries.

We visited "El Escorial" two days before, and preferred much more "Santo Tomas". More alive, even though it is of course a very quite place, very plain.

We came here during our recent trip to Avila. It's about a 20/25 minute walk from just outside the cathedral, all downhill - which of course means its all uphill on the way back!We visited on a Sunday and had to wait to enter the church until after mass was finished. We followed the audioguide around the main buildings and spent a pleasant time looking at the rather impressive three cloisters. The carving of pomegranates is really excellent. There are some rather odd museums in one of the cloisters. The oriental one is fine enough, with a collection of oriental art and sculpture brought back by the monks from their time in the Far East. The other museum is possibly the world's oddest museum of natural sciences - containing many threadbare stuffed animals and some really quite creepy stuffed birds. Not worth visiting, except in a 'can't believe it's here' type of way. In the church, there are some well carved choir stalls and a fine altarpiece. It reminded me a lot of St Esteban in Salamanca, and I think these are both Dominican houses, so maybe there's a 'house' style that they used when they were built. The church also houses the tomb of the only son of Ferdinand and Isabella, who died in his late teens. Rather touching.So, worth the walk there and back, but don't bother with the natural sciences museum. You can also get entrance using your Avila card, saving money.

This attraction moved me like no other in Avila. It is still in operation and if you're lucky you'll catch a mass or a monk strolling about. It contains the tomb of young Prince Juan, who died young. The cloisters are beautiful. Unlike many of the attractions in Avila, El Montesario does not close during siesta.

What a pity we could not share the interest of others in getting to see this monastery. We tried finding our way on foot but signs ran out and local map was not marked clearly. So we found it by GPS in the car, parked, circumnavigated the site twice - but still not open 30 minutes after opening hours. There were no signs to indicate one way or the other. Disappointing!

Monasterio con 3 claustros, iglesia barroca muy curiosa. EStá enterrado el hijo primogénito de los Reyes Católicos, y en todaqs partes se ven las Flechas y Yugos de ambos monarcas. Historia plena y gran arquitectura. Hay que subir al coro para ver la iglesia.

Iglesia, claustro, museo, tumba del hijo de juan a la Loca. Regido por los Dominicos. Tiene una residncia para estudiantes.

Dos claustros, una iglesia fantástica, unos relieves en granito que impresionan y mucha historia. Aquí fue enterrado el Inquisidor Torquemada, pasaron tiempo los Reyes Católicos y tiene un museo de arte asiático que podría ser el mejor de España. Sin embargo, no es de los monumentos más visitados de Ávila, y eso es una lástima, sin duda.

Bonito de verdad, por los claustros y la iglesia vista desde el coro.Audio-guía incluida.Un frío inaceptable en su museo de Oriente: tenía los calefactores desenchufados en enero.

Sitio muy bien explicado con los audioguias, muy bonito, con una exposicion de objetos chinos y una visita muy interesante

O lugar é maravilhoso e merece uma visita.Fica um pouco afastado, mas vale a pena ir até lá e conhecer,Os claustros são sensacionais.

Consta de hasta tres claustros, cada uno de unos estilo diferente. Fue residencia de los Reyes de Católicos en Ávila. Tiene además un museo de Ciencias Naturales y otro de Arte Oriental muy recomendables para el visitante, de obras y especies traídas por los frailes dominicos de este monasterio.