Spain Guide
Madrid
Palacio Real
Opening time: April– Sept Mon– Sat 9am–6pm, Sun & hols 9am–3pm; Oct– March Mon– Sat 9.30am–5pm, Sun & hols 9am–2pm; closed occasionally for state visits
Price: Unguided visit €8; tour $10
Website: www.patrimonionacional.es
The Palacio Real, or Royal Palace, 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 assortment of weapons dating back to the fifteenth century. If you're around on the first Wednesday of the month (except July & Aug) between 11am and 2pm, look out for the changing of the guard outside the palace, a tradition that has recently been revived.
Optional guided tours in various languages take in around 25 rooms and apartments, including the Royal Armoury Museum and Royal Pharmacy. They're 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, as each room is clearly signed and described in English anyway.
The Habsburgs' original palace burnt 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 on the western outskirts of the city, using the Palacio Real on state occasions only.
The Salón del Trono (Throne Room) is the highlight for most visitors, containing the thrones installed for Juan Carlos and Sofía, the current monarchs, as well as the splendid ceiling by Tiepolo, a giant fresco representing the glory of Spain – an extraordinary achievement for an artist by then in his seventies. Look out, too, for the marvellous Sala de Porcelana (Porcelain Room) and the incredible oriental-style Salón de Gasparini.
The palace also houses an impressive exhibition space, the Galería de Pinturas (€2), which displays work by Velázquez, Caravaggio and Goya among others and is also used for temporary exhibitions.