Royal Palace of Madrid

Official Residence Of The Spanish Crown, Begun 1738 After The Habsburg Alcazar Burned In 1734, And The Largest Royal Palace In Western Europe By Floor Area · Madrid, Madrid

The largest royal palace in western Europe by floor area, with something over three thousand rooms, of which a few dozen are shown. It stands where the Moorish fortress and then the Habsburg alcazar stood until that burned down on Christmas Eve 1734, and Philip V replaced it with something deliberately enormous in Italian baroque stone, with no timber in the structure so it could not burn again. The Spanish royal family do not live here, which is the thing people get wrong; they use it for state occasions and live elsewhere, so the building is a working ceremonial palace rather than a house or a pure museum. That matters practically: rooms and entire wings close at short notice when the state needs them. What is shown is the grand route of state rooms, the throne room with a Tiepolo ceiling, a royal armoury that is among the best in the world, and Stradivari instruments. Go early, and check the closures.

Calle de Bailen, Madrid, Madrid, 28071, Spain

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The structure: open daily with SEPARATE SUMMER AND WINTER SCHEDULES and last admission an hour before closing. A FREE LATE-AFTERNOON WINDOW runs on certain weekdays for EU and some other citizens. THE OVERRIDING FACT IS THAT IT IS A WORKING CEREMONIAL PALACE: state occasions CLOSE ROOMS, WINGS OR THE WHOLE BUILDING at short notice, sometimes on the day. The gardens keep their own shorter hours. Confirm closures before travelling for it.

Royal Palace of Madrid on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos