Royal palace
Plaza de Oriente, Bailén street s/n
Visiting hours Monday to Saturday from 9.30 to 17.30. Sundays and holidays from 9 to 14.
The Royal palace was built over an old fortress. Construction began in 1738 and was concluded 30 years later. Mohamed I ordered the 9th century Arabian fortress to be built in 852. With the arrival of the Christians in 1083. Alfonso the 1st restored this building and later on a series of other reformations took place, ending with the project of Felipe de 4th, who designed Diego de Velazquez to decorate the inside. But there is no trace of this project since it was burned during a fire in 1734. Four years later Felipe the 5th put the Italian Filippo de Juvana in charge of reconstructing this ambitious project. Construction lasted for more than twenty years, Sachetti, the most famous architect of the Spanish court also worked on it.
The Royal Palace is located on a great square patio with galleries on all four sides. Its entrance was modified into two symmetrical stainways. The visitor will start at the entrance that leads to the different halls that were decorated by Carlos the 3rd and Carlos de 4th. Its interior is one of the most luxurious ones in Europe and ir preserves a very good part of its original furniture. The most outstanding rooms are private rooms of Carlos the 3rd that were decorated by Gasparini, and the Elegant Dining room. During the visit you can observe excellent canvases and frescos by national and European artists including Tiepolo, Rafael Mengs, Goya, El Bosco, Caravaggio, Lucas Jordan and Velazquez.
The Royal palace is surrounded by big gardens on its lateral sides. The oldest ones are known as El campo del Moro and El Parque de palacio. They are located on the best side of the palace.
