The famous fascist monument, the Valle de los Caidos, is five minutes away from El Escorial. It was constructed by Franco as a memorial to all the fascists who died during the Spanish civil war, and is topped with the world's largest cross. All the day trip packages to El Escorial stop here as well, which is why I included it, but actually on the day we visited the monument was closed and we could only drive around the surrounding park a bit.