El Palacio Real - Madrid Spain
The Palacio Real or Royal Palace (April-Sept Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun & holidays 9am-2.30pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun & holidays 9am-2pm; closed occasionally for state visits; free on Wed for EU citizens; www.patrimonionacional.es scores high on statistics. It claims more rooms than any other European palace; a library with one of the biggest collections of books, manuscripts, maps and musical scores in the world; and an armoury with an unrivalled collection of weapons dating back to the fifteenth century. If you are around on the first Wednesday of the month (except July & Aug) at noon- lpm, look out for the changing of the guard outside the palace, a tradition which has recently been revived.
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Optional guided tours in various languages (€8; usually with a wait for a group to form) have been abbreviated in recent years, now taking in around 25 (rather than 90) rooms and apartments, including the Royal Armoury Museum and Royal Pharmacy. Nevertheless, they're still a pretty hard slog, rarely allowing much time to contemplate the extraordinary opulence: acres of Flemish and Spanish tapestries, endless Rococo decoration, bejewelled clocks and pompous portraits of the monarchs, as well as a permanent display of Goya's cartoons and tapestries. You're probably better off going without a guide (€7), as each room is clearly signed and described in English anyway, the main disadvantage being trying to fight your way past the guided groups. |
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The palace real also houses an impressive exhibition space, the Galeria de Pinturas (same opening hours; €3.40), which houses work by Velazquez, Caravaggio and Goya amongst others and is also used for temporary exhibitions. |
The Palacio Real and outhouses
The Habsburgs' original palace burned down on Christmas Day 1734. Its replacement, the current building, was based on drawings made by Bernini for the Louvre. It was constructed in the mid-eighteenth century and was the principal royal residence from then until Alfonso XIII went into exile in 1931; both Joseph Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington also lived here briefly.The present royal family inhabits a considerably more modest residence in the western outskirts of the city, using the Palacio Real on state occasions only.
The Salon del Trono (Throne Room) is the highlight for most visitors, containing the thrones installed for Juan Carlos and Sofia, the current monarchs, as well as the splendid ceiling by Tiepolo, a giant fresco representing the glory of Spain - an extraordinary achievementfor an artist by then in his seventies.
The palace outbuildings and annexes include the recently refurbished Armeria Real (Royal Armoury), a huge room full of guns, swords and armour, with curh curiosities as the suit of ammour worn by Carlos V in his equestrian portrait by Titian in the Prado. Especially fascinating are the complete sets of armour, with all the original spare parts and gadgets for making adjustments. There is also an eighteenth-century Farmacia, a curious mixture of alchemist's den and laboratory, whose walls are lined with jars labelled for various remedies.The Biblioteca Real (Royal Library) can now only be visited by prior arrangement for research purposes.
The gardens of Palacio Real
Immediately north of the palace, the Jardines Sabatini provide a shady retreat and venue for summer concerts, while to the rear the larger, and far more beautiful, park of the Campo del Moro (April-Sept Mon-Sat 10arn-8pm, Sun 9am-8pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 70am-6pm, Sun 9am-6pm; occasional closed for state visits; access only from the far west side off the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto) affords shady walks and a splendid view of the western facade of the palace |
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Agumar   From € 50
Paseo Reina Cristina, 7, Madrid
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Spain map |
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