The Monastery of Guadalupe used to be an important pilgrimage site, just as important or more so than Santiago de Compostela.
It also has the only paintings by Francisco Zurbarán (famous Spanish painter of the 1600s) that are still in their original site in the sacristy. I didn't take any pictures of them, because the guide was kind of picky about where pictures could be taken, but I did take this picture of the cloister, with its decorative central temple-thing (that I am describing as a temple, but is purely just decoration).
The Monastery of Guadalupe is also home to the original Virgin of Guadalupe (if you're familiar with Mexico, you know she's kind of a big deal there). Spain's Virgin of Guadalupe is a bit different, however, as she's one of the few Black Madonnas in the country.
Some of the rooms in the monastery have been converted into a museum to display artwork and embroidered vestments. There is also a massive reliquary near the sacristy.
The monastery is still active, with about 7 monks living there. But parts of it have been converted in a hotel, restaurant and bar.
We actually went to the bar one evening and were amazed at some very elegantly garbed people who were hanging out chilling. At first, we thought they were members of a wedding party that we had seen wandering the streets, so C went up and asked what was going on. Turns out the most richly garbed man was a Marques in Portugal, and they were making their annual pilgrimage to Guadalupe. Because that's what you do when you're a Marques.
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