The child-friendly infrastructure of the monastery guarantees a relaxed family outing. Next to the terrace of the Café Escorial, there is a children’s playground in front of the Sala terrena with the visitor reception area and the monastery shop. For some of the themed tours, audio guides for kids are available, and some of the hands-on activities such as the Materials Cabinet and the Discovery Desk can be explored individually by children and their families. The “Stiftsfalter” (monastery folder), an interactive leaflet, inspires kids to recall some of the highlights of their visit to the Monastery at home in drawings and writing.
Kids Audio Guide
In cooperation with young people, our art experts have developed an audio guide for children, which they can take along on the Sacred Tour, to the Treasure Chamber and through the Imperial Rooms. The children follow exciting conversations between the giant atlases, they witness an audience with the Emperor and listen to amazing stories from the perspective of a monastery mouse.
This multi-media guide stimulates the senses with various original recordings, dialogues, interviews and questions to sharpen the children’s perception. They will be motivated to listen closely while walking through an unknown world. This art mediation tool guides the kids on their sound trip through the Monastery, opens unexpected points of view and prompts questions that will make them look for answers even after the visit.
- Kids’ Audio Guide Sacred Tour – all year round, to take along on guided tours
- Kids’ audio guide Treasure Chamber – all year round, available during opening hours
- Kids’ audio guide Imperial Tour – all year round, to take along on guided tours
The kids’ audio guide is available for free in combination with an admission ticket.
Materials Cabinet
An interactive experience point near the Sala terrena/visitor reception, on the way to the Treasure Chamber: accessible all year round during opening hours, in combination with an admission ticket.
The Materials Cabinet adds a level of hands-on, in-depth experience to the valuable artefacts in the Treasure Chamber. Designed by Toledo i Dertschei, the Cabinet makes visitors curious to touch various materials and feel their quality.
Discovery Desk
Highlights from the 900 years of history of the monastery, embodied in an imaginative piece of furniture featuring pop-up elements, dioramas and peepholes, on the gallery above the Sala terrena/visitor reception; accessible all year round during opening hours in combination with an admission ticket.
For the art experts, the ancient desk of convent member Gregor Doxat turned out to be a true discovery. In cooperation with the designer duo “Wunderkammer” (Angelika Höckner and Gerald Moser), adding other objects found in the furniture storage they created an imaginative display desk. At the entrance to the monastery art studio, its drawers and secret compartments wait to be explored more closely by curious visitors.
Monastery folder (Stiftsfalter)
An interactive leaflet available at the visitor reception/Sala terrena and in a side drawer of the Discovery Desk.
With its creative design, the Monastery Folder invites children aged 6–10 to put their impressions of the Monastery on paper individually, either during their stay or as a follow-up activity at home.
