Royal Palace of Madrid
Madrid,
Spain
The Palacio Real de Madrid, or the Royal Palace of Madrid, was once the official residence of the Spanish royal family in Madrid but is now only used for state ceremonies. It boasts 135,000 m2 (1,450,000 sq ft) of floor space and houses an impressive 3,418 rooms, making it the largest royal palace in Europe.
While the palace is open to the public, visitors are only allowed to see a selection of rooms on the visitor route at any given time, with the route changing every few months due to the palace's enormous size. Admission is €13, but there are times when it is free. The palace is owned by the Spanish state and managed by the Patrimonio Nacional, which is a public agency of the Ministry of the Presidency. It is located on Calle de Bailén in the western part of downtown Madrid, east of the Manzanares River, and can be reached via the Ópera metro station. However, the current Spanish monarch, Felipe VI, and his family reside in the Palace of Zarzuela in El Pardo instead of the Royal Palace of Madrid.
The Royal Palace of Madrid sits on the site of a former Muslim-era fortress that was built by Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba in the 9th century. During the late Middle Ages, the impressive Alcázar of Madrid served as both a safe for the royal treasure and a habitual residence for the Trastámara monarchs. The royal alcázar was expanded during the 16th century, but it burned down on December 24, 1734. In its place, a new palace was built from scratch for the Bourbon dynasty between 1738 and 1755. The construction was led by Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, who worked in collaboration with Ventura Rodríguez, Francesco Sabatini, and Martín Sarmiento. During the Second Spanish Republic, the building was known as the "Palacio Nacional."
Inside the Royal Palace of Madrid, visitors can admire the wealth of art and the use of many fine materials in the construction and decoration of its rooms. The palace houses paintings by renowned artists such as Caravaggio, Juan de Flandes, Francisco de Goya, and Velázquez, as well as frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Corrado Giaquinto, and Anton Raphael Mengs. The building also houses other collections of great historical and artistic significance, including the Royal Armoury of Madrid, porcelain, watches, furniture, silverware, and the only complete Stradivarius string quintet in the world.