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
Cultural Experience, Must-Do Experience, Monument - Historical, Palace
4:12 AM Sunday, May 27
Clear. Refreshingly cool.
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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 All Royal Palace (Palacio Real) Reviews »
The best thing about this tour for me was that it was short and started at 3pm so I could do other things that day. The Royal palace at Aranjuez was really quite impressive. In fact, I enjoyed this tour much more than the Royal Palace in Madrid. Less people, almost equally as impressive (as the Royal Palace in Madrid) and slower paced as we got to enjoy the sun in the Royal Garden and took a walk around whilst enjoying the lovely spring blooms. Our guide, Manolo, was also very patient, nice and knowledgable. There was one lady in wheelchairs and I observed that Manolo looked after her really well, whilst keeping the rest of us going happily. He mixed facts with jokes and was interested in what he was saying, not just merely stating basic facts. Overall, a highly recommended tour.
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Clean, efficient, great way to get an intro to the sites as well as to stop and site see.
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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.
