Visiting the Royal Palace of Madrid!
Madrid is the capital city of Spain and is full of treasures to explore like the Royal Palace of Madrid. In Spanish, it’s known as Palacio Real de Madrid. It is the official residence of the Royal Family, but they don’t actually live here. Today, the Palace is mostly used for state ceremonies. Right next to the Royal Palace is Madrid’s Cathedral that was completed in 1994! The Palace is also just a short walk from other famous Spanish squares like Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor.
History of the Royal Palace of Madrid
The current location of the palace is located on the site of a 9th century Moorish Alcázar, (Muslim fortress), after it burned in 1734. King Felipe V decided to construct a new Royal Palace on the same site. During this time, the palace was also known as “Palacio Nacional”. The palace was built in the form of a square and was inspired by sketches made by Bernini he construction of the Louvre in Paris. The palace is made up of over 3,000 rooms, which makes it one of Europe’s largest castles and is now filled with multiple artworks and antiques.
Touring the Royal Palace of Madrid
If you don’t have enough time to tour the inside of the palace, that is fine because you don’t actually need to enter the palace, you could just walk around the outside of the Royal Palace because the architecture and attention to detail is very impressive. There are also gardens, fountains and courtyard behind the iron fencing. If you do decide to venture inside the palace, you will see just how lavish it is inside as visitors can wander through about 50 of the palace rooms with or without a tour guide. To enter the palace, you must pay between six and ten euros. There are also multiple ways to get into the palace for free, but I would suggest that you refer to the official Royal Palace website for the current ticketing prices and ways to enter the palace for free. You can purchase a ticket for a guided tour or a normal ticket so that you can walk around at your own pace. The guided tour explains the large amount of artwork and the history of everything that your eyeballs will see, which generally takes about 45 minutes. If you decide to walk around by yourself, there are information points around the palace that help explain the different rooms that you visit. You will be able to see lavish rooms and halls, including the banquet room, the throne room and even some residential rooms. The Royal Palace also houses many pieces of famous artwork so you won’t want to miss that either.
Getting to and from the Royal Palace
The easiest way to get to the Royal Palace is to take the Madrid Metro to the Opera station. From there it’s about a five minute walk to the entrance of the palace. If you are near Plaza Mayor or Puerta del Sol, the central part of Madrid, you can walk along Calle Mayor directly to the palace. It’s about a 15 minute walk so it’s not too far.
Meet Up With Friends and Hang Out at the Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid is a great place to meet up with your friends and catch up while relaxing in the large quartyard before you tour the palace. It’s also ideally located in the central part of Madrid so there are many other sites and locations that you can visit that are close in proximity to the Royal Palace.
Visit other Interesting Tourist Attractions Close to the Royal Palace of Madrid
Catedral de la Almudena is a Baroque Catholic cathedral known for its colorful chapels, plus a Romanesque crypt & museum.
Temple of Debod is an ancient Egyptian temple & museum that was moved from Aswan & rebuilt in Parque de la Montaña in downtown Madrid.
Monumento Cervantes is a mixture of sculptures and fountains dedicated to Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote.” It is located in Plaza de España, in Madrid.
After visiting all of these awesome time pieces of history, take a break and get a bite to eat at El Club Allard.
There are many treasures of traveling throughout the capital city of Spain to discover, like Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. Madrid has many things to offer any tourist and the Royal Palace of Madrid is a wonderful place to start your journey. There are also many wonderful southern Spanish cities to discover like Granada and Seville.
— Luke Keeler
Check out the map below to see where the Royal Palace of Madrid is located at!
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