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The Royal Palace of Madrid is a towering structure that has already 250 years of history and it is considered one of the best in Europe.
The Royal Palace of the Borbons, today known as the Royal Palace or the Palacio de Oriente (Palace of Orient), eventhough it is standing on the western part of Madrid, our capital.
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We assure you that this palace is no country house! With 870 windows, 240 balconies, 44 sets of stairs and 110 doors, it maintains its janitors pretty busy during the week. The building occupies a square area of 135,000 meters, the same as the old Alcazar of the Hapsburgs, which in the Christmas of 1734 was destroyed by a fire. Four years later during the reign of Ferdinand VI, construction began following the plans drawn by Juan Bautista Sachetti with the collaboration of Ventura Rodriguez, Sabatini, and Father Scirmiento. But this time the only wood was that of the doors. Not even the ceiling of the vaults is flammable! They did not want anything to do with fire. |
The Palace has an immaculate appearance both inside and outside. The gardens are beautiful, especially in bloom. (Don't forget your allergies medication, because this one of those views that a picture does not do justice).
For the inside of the Palace, we recommend that you take more than one day to visit and really take in its beauty. Even though the Spanish Royal family does not reside there anymore, it is still use for official acts of state as well as special ceremonies. Why? Well, it is really breath taking!
It is not only the size of the rooms, (some of them you could put more than one tennis court) but also the tapestries and frescoes which adorn the Palace and which have been done by master artists, and do we have frescoes! There are walls covered with red velvet lined with silver (no joke). The tapestries come from the Royal Factory of Tapestries.
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We have bronze sculptures of the rococo style, as
well as many other decorations which will amaze you. Add
to these, china from China, but also from the best Spanish
furnaces and style by Sevres. Most of the decorations
come from the Royal Factory of the Granja. But it is impossible to try to describe all of its beauty in this page. Just the throne room alone would take these and more; and it is still used as we said before. Add to it the China Room, the Alabarderos, the Official Dinning Room, The Queen's Room (also known as the Game Room), just to tell you a few of the rooms that you could let your eyes rest. The Palace is open to the public, and it is one of the sites which you must not miss when coming to Spain. So do not wait! We are waiting for you! So do not wait! We are waiting for you! |
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