Burgos - Monasterio de las Huelgas

Some 2km/1.25mi northwest of Las Huelgas is the Hospital del Rey, a hospice for pilgrims traveling on the Way of St. James founded by Alfonso VIII. It has a fine Plateresque doorway of 1526.

The Gothic church, built in the undecorated style of the Cistercians in 1248, contains in the Coro de los Capillanos, in the center of the nave, the tomb of Alfonso and Eleanor, with kneeling figures of the king and queen. In the south transept, in which the infantes were buried, is the tomb of Alfonso X's eldest son Fernando de la Cerda. The gilded pulpit could be turned to face either the choir or the nave, which were separated by the rood screen, so that either the nuns or the ordinary faithful, according to circumstances, could hear mass. The transept contains fine Beauvais tapestries.

Medieval Tomb Garments of the Spanish Royalty make up some of the key pieces of the collection.

In the chapterhouse, which opens off one of the Romanesque cloisters, are a banner captured from the Moors in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) and four Turkish standards taken in the battle of Lepanto (1571), as well as tapestries and various sacred objects.

In Alfonso VIII's palace, reached by way of another Romanesque cloister with plant capitals, is the Capilla de Santiago, which has a figure of the saint with a movable arm holding a sword. This is said to have been used for the knighting of royal personages, including the future king Edward I of England.