Royal Palace (Palacio Real)
- Address: Calle de Bailén, Madrid
- Hours: Oct - Mar: Mon - Sat 9:30am - 5pm (9am - 2pm on Sundays & public holidays). Apr - Sept: Mon - Sat 9am - 6pm (9am - 3pm on Sundays & public holidays)
- Admission: Admission: € 8, or with guided tour € 10. Other palace areas have separate entrance fees
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Must-Do Experience,
Monument - Historical,
Palace
The Palacio Real (or Royal Palace, also referred to as the Palacio de Oriente) is the lavish site of royal events, but is not home to the royal family (they have lived in the smaller Palacio de la Zarzuela for some time).
The Palacio Real is still a fascinating place to walk through though, with its maze of 50 themed rooms decorated in the finest metals and richest fabrics - though this is only a small sampling of the total 2,800 rooms of the palace. On the guided tour, you will also learn much about the interesting history behind the Bourbon dynasty, during whose reign the palace was most in use.
Highlights of the tour include the throne room, the immense staircase, the collection of suits of armor and the peculiar royal pharmacy, filled with all sorts of strange concoctions.
Latest Reviews
Review by BELINDA C, May 2013
Doing what: Madrid City Hop-on Hop-off Tour
The hop-on-hop-off tour is the best way to see the main highlights of Madrid! I would highly recomend this to anyone who doesnt have too many days to spend in the city but would like to see as much as possible.
Review by Amy D, May 2013
Doing what: Madrid Bike Tour
My friend and I absolutely loved our bike tour of Madrid. It covered all the key historical and cultural attractions whilst enjoying additional scenes from the bike route itself. The tour was perfectly timed at each stage, with plentiful information from our enthusiastic tour guide Yop, and a refreshment break half way through. It was definitely worthwhile for an enjoyable way to see the best of Madrid.
Review by jan g, May 2013
Doing what: Madrid Bike Tour
Loved this! Jose, our guide was very informative. Biking around Madrid was amazing. Highly recommend
Practical Info
In front of the palace is the Plaza de Oriente, an immense garden area with several statues of monarchs and other important Spanish nobles. From here you can find a good angle to photograph the palace from the outside. Also visit the Almudena Cathedral adjacent to the palace, which took over 100 years to complete and was only recently opened in 1993.
