otherwise known as the "royal palace," this notable landmark in madrid houses all of the royal artifacts. the royal family does not reside here, but on occasion, they will hold special events at this venue. after waiting 10-15 minutes in line to purchase tickets, we began our self-guided tour by walking around the palace square, just inside the main gates. we then entered the armory room, which houses more armor than i've ever seen in my life! there were swords, knives, rifles, shields, armor for humans, armor for horses, saddles...pretty much everything you would need before entering battle! we then walked back thru the palace square into the actual palace, and walked thru at least 50 or so rooms, each one fulfilling a different purpose...a dining room, a bed room, a sitting room, an entertainment room, a powder room....and there were definitely multiples of each type of room! each room also had a particular colour and decoration scheme to make it unique, and some rooms had portraits of notable members of the royal family. although some rooms were closed to the public, we felt that we had seen quite a bit inside and outside the palace and definitely enjoyed our visit here. some logistics: +tickets are €10/adult +plan to spend at least two hours on the premises, enough time to walk thru each of the rooms, admire the views, and take photographs +photography prohibited in certain parts of the palace +small gift shop on the lower level read more

The Palacio Real is a true testament of the Spanish Empire's strength and grandiosity in the 17-18th centuries. The Palacio Real is one of the places you have to visit while you're in Madrid since it's the official home of the King and Queen of Spain. Admission is 5 euros if you're a student, and I can tell you that it's worth every euro! There are about 20 or so rooms for viewing -- from dining rooms, bedrooms, smoking rooms, to conversing rooms... there's every room imaginable. And to think, there are EVEN more rooms which aren't even open to the public! Each room on 'display' is different from the previous-- from color, decor, style. Some of the rooms had decorations which were, in my opinion, opulent but gaudy & busy -- but this probably was the norm back 200 years ago. My favorite room was probably the "Chinese room" (not sure of the exact name) since the wallpaper, tiles, and images in this room were Asian-themed. I wanted to take photos here, but photography is not allowed inside the Palacio Real. Technically, you could try to sneak a photo here and there when the guards aren't watching, but most of them do a good job telling any tourists "no fotos" holding a camera. read more

The entrance line is long and slow-moving. Once you get onto the tour, it's like you're on a conveyor belt -- no place to sit and think about what you're seeing, just stay within the narrow roped-off areas and keep moving folks. We did get the audio guide (got one to share so that one person would listen while the other person looked around and then switched roles). Fairly interesting explanations of stuff. It was interesting to see the throne room where Spanish royalty once held court. A little detail that was in the Rick Steves tourbook (but I don't think in the audio guide) is that each monarch actually gets his or her own new throne. So the current thrones are not that old since they were built for the current monarch. I wonder where the old thrones are kept? They probably have a special room for that somewhere off the tour. You may also get a stiff neck from craning your head back all the time to stare at the ceiling, because some of the most interesting artwork (frescoes) is painted up there, including several by the Venetian painter Tiepolo. The dining table is enormous. I think it seats ~140 people. I believe the king and queen sit in the center, so if you are way down at the end of the table you probably don't have much of a chance to exchange pleasantries with them. (Notice I used present tense. Yep, Spain still has a monarchy and I believe they still hold official functions in this palace a number of times per year, even though they actually don't live full-time in the palace anymore, but in a mansion somewhere nearby.) Speaking of which, the Rick Steves guidebook says that the palace has more than 2,000 rooms. I find that VERY hard to imagine. Yes, it's a big building. But only a few stories high. Thousands of rooms? I'd like to get confirmation of that from another source. (Checked Wikipedia and was taken to another dubious source - a random Yahoo answer to a 2004 question that says the palace has 2800 rooms. It also says the palace has only 870 windows. So we're supposed to believe that there are nearly 2,000 windowless rooms in the palace? Maybe they're referring to dungeon cells?) The armor collection is impressive if you're into that sort of thing. I'm not really that interested, so to me it was just one suit of armor after another. As a history buff, I was much more interested to see some of the trophies from the Battle of Lepanto when the Christian navies defeated the Ottoman navy and thereby significantly reduced the threat that the Turks would conquer Europe. (A brother of one of the Spanish kings played an important leadership role as Christian admiral during that battle, which is how the trophies ended up in Madrid after the brother's death in a subsequent battle.) Incidentally, Wikipedia also says that the palace covers an area of approximately 1,500,000 square feet. Since the average U.S. home is about 2,400 square feet, that means the palace has as much floor space as 625 American homes. Apparently, as Spain continues to endure economic turmoil, there is an ongoing debate over the future of the monarchy - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/world/europe/juan-carlos-i-seeks-redemption-for-spain-and-monarchy.html?pagewanted=all Visiting this palace and seeing its opulence, then going outside and seeing all the boarded up buildings on the streets of Madrid, definitely could prompt one to ask if the monarchy continues to add value to the nation. Of course, that is up to Spaniards to decide for themselves, and it will be interesting to see what course they chart. ps - If you have a chance to visit around Spain's National Day (October 12, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesta_Nacional_de_Espa%C3%B1a), you may be lucky enough to see some festive military parades. We were happy to have the chance to witness a ceremony where old-fashioned horse-drawn carriages with bewigged and costumed footmen go to pick up the ambassadors of some foreign nations and deliver them to the foreign ministry to present their credentials. Not the sort of thing you see every day! pps - You will get yelled at if you try to take a photo. Try to turn this limitation into an opportunity and enjoy the opportunity to focus on the present moment without worrying about capturing the 'perfect shot' on your digital device. read more

Long line to get in...hmmm...should I wait? I'd be so pissed if I didn't. Huge courtyard, beautiful architecture, and ornate decorations within this palace. Just ignore the various tour groups and their loud tour guides and bask in the history of this must-see Madrid landmark. You can say Gra(th)ias to me later. read more

I loved visiting the Palacio Real. The Palacio is gorgeous, ornate, historical, and all around a fun and informative place. The tour was approximately 10 euros each, and it probably takes around 2 hours or so to walk through the place yourself at a reasonable place. Try to get away from the tour groups if you're going with your own group or solo, I just hung back in one room and then the tour group kept going. The room was then empty escort for a few others, and I was able to basically experience the room by myself which was nice. You are able to see a lot of the rooms, but not take pictures. But you will probably be so busy being in awe about the rooms in the Palacio that you will forget about your camera! Everything is gorgeous and the place is so well-maintained. I play the violin and was so impressed by their instruments on display in one of the rooms. I also really wish I had such nice dishes to use in my own kitchen ;) Highly recommended to visit while in Madrid! read more

Palacio Real de Madrid - The outside courtyard. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Madrid, M

This is better then Versailles, Windsor, Neuschwanstein and even St Peters basilica. Absolutely breath taking inside. My favorite was the chapel, its just jaw dropping beautiful. This is a must see in Madrid read more

The palace is grand and gives a glimpse into the history of Spain. All of the tapestries, art, fine details is definitely something to see. This is not an interactive visit, you're on your own to wander and walk through. The staff doesn't really add to the experience. read more

This is probably a must see/do whilst in Madrid. There are impressive galleries as well if you like that sort of thing, but I was taken aback at the scale of this place. There's a huge square here too. It wasn't too busy when we went, may have been later in the afternoon perhaps but you don't miss anything coming later as far as I could tell. Definitely worthwhile to tour inside. read more

This is the place to be when visiting Madrid! There's do much to do and to see, whether it was for the inside, outside or around the palace. Such an amazing experience! Everything was jaw dropping. read more

The Royal Palace is probably the best attraction in Madrid, Spain, unfortunately. After having gone to multiple museums and cultural points, the Palace actually had some amazing architecture. We also paid an addition 4 euros for the audio. Make sure to get there EARLY, prior to 10AM opening. It took 45 minutes to even get in, and it was FLOODED with tourists and tour guides. It is extremely difficult to enjoy the venue when people are yelling in the room in order to speak to 30+ people. A must see attraction for Madrid, Spain. read more

The Palacio Real is sooooo sickkk! By that i mean its awesome. Its a toss up between my favorite. Its either Palacio Real or Plaza Mayor for the best place in Madrid well, from what i visited. The Palacio Real has fountains in the front, other statues on the side plus a huge garden reaching the street. The front is gated off. You can go inside but there was a long line to get in, plus you probably had to to pay. The view from outside was good enough for my buddies and i. The architectural design was amazing!!! It like stepping back into time when i saw this place. The inside, from the view outside look like another plaza but more upscale, meaning royal and much much larger. I wish i went inside it was probably nice as well the outside :) read more

It's a nice palace. Can't argue with the lavish rooms, they are a sight to behold. Why the less than stellar rating? Well despite having the largest interior square footage of any palace in Europe, comparatively little is open to the public... maybe a dozen rooms. On top of this there is a very strict ban on photography, making it exceedingly difficult to get any pictures. If you've been to other palaces in Europe (particularly the big ones like Versailles and Schönbrunn), this one could be skipped. If not or you really enjoyed the others, it's worth a visit... particularly at the student rate which is a much better value. read more

See all

The Palace is beautiful, filled with history and a nice place to visit. The armory was my favorite, it was amazing. One should make the trip to visit the armory.  The downside was the staff and how signs were posted. I purchased my palace tickets and audio guides ahead of time online, which is an excellent idea to save time waiting in lines. After passing security, I went to stand in line to pick up my audio guides that I had pre-paid for. After standing in line for 25 mins for the audioguides, when I finally get to the staff, I was told that since I had pre-paid for them, there is another line at the end of the building to pick them up! There was no signage showing there were separate lines for pre-paid audioguides and those who had to purchase them. So off I went to stand in another line for 15 mins to pick them up! Same thing for dropping them off when you are done. You need to drop them off, where you picked them up. Pre-paid or the pur hase line. I saw alot of confused tourists and flustered staff, not know where to drop them off. Again, no signage!  The staff were not friendly, sometimes quite unhelpful. I saw a staff member make fun of and saying negative things about foreign non-spanish speaking tourists, among themselves and to other Spanish speaking tourists. This is truly not professional, and not a good representation of your country to behave this way.  All in all an interesting trip to the Palace. Purchase your tickets early and get ready for long lines and to be patient with the signage and staff. read more

If you haven't visited any European royal palace before, you should check this place out. The beautiful exterior and interior architecture exemplifies the elegance of the palace; however, nothing stood out to be amazingly unique relative to other royal palaces I've visited (perhaps choosing to follow the audio guide would have been the game changer). I was more amused by the accordion and opera street performers who were dueting outside of the palace. read more

Audio guide spent way more time proportionally on the Armory than the Palace itself. I'd just walk through the Armory and ignore the audioguide at that point unless you're a huge fan of Spanish military history. The Palace itself is great and amazing. Line to get in was slightly long, but the monotony of it was broken by the guy playing accordion music. read more

What can I say... I did not make it inside, but the grounds were amazing. If you are in Madrid, this location should be a MUST on your list of things to do. When we went, there was a classic car show outside and I saw some old school Ferrari's and Merc's! Love the vibe! read more

The palace is beautiful from both the outside and inside but you can go thru it relatively fast - I had kept 3 hours and I was done in an hour. The highlights were the porcelain room and the dining room. They do changing of the guard in the first Wednesday of every month which is very cool read more

Palacio Real de Madrid - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Madrid, M

See all

Large, beautiful plaza. The central location helps you appreciate what Madrid is all about. Worth visiting daily if you're a tourist.

The palace is a bit dilapidated outside. But the exhibits inside are more interesting than Versailles. It is much less crowded too.

If you don't want to pay to go in then definitely check out the time they let people in free of charge. Just make sure you are there a good half an hour before they are starting to let people in for free. The line was long waiting to get in. They don't allows people to take pictures inside the palace. I felt like they should have signs showing no pics allowed. They have people standing there telling you in Spanish no pictures for each person who didn't know and attempted to take pics. I visited different palaces when I traveled & in certain rooms they don't allows to take pictures. But here you can't take pictures in any of the room. I am glad I didn't have to pay to get in. The palace itself got tons of chandeliers that are beautiful. read more

Palacio Real de Madrid - The time they are allowing people to go in free of charge. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Madrid, M

Make sure to buy your tickets online and rent the audioguide online too. We were lucky to do so which meant we were in the shorter line at the entrance and were able to get an audioguide. We heard them turning away people who had not made online reservations. The audioguide is a must to understand the purpose and history of each room. The rooms are opulent and one more ornate than the next. The armory is spectacular so don't miss that. The only thing we didn't see was the kitchen. Not sure how I missed that on the online reservation but you need a special ticket to see the kitchen. Next time! read more

Incredibly Grand, both in scope and size. I still can't over the fact that a family actually owned and lived here - just unbelievable. This is a must-see in Madrid as it will help you understand why most countries abolished their monarchies. Most of it now is administration offices - good to see it's being used efficiently. read more

See all

The royal palace is incredible, even if the Spanish royal family isn't. Most of the rooms have a color theme and they are all unimaginably luxurious and beautiful. My favorite room was the dining room with the sprawling table which was cleanly set everyday for absolutely nobody. There was no line to get in. -1 star for not being allowed to take pictures, even without flash. Who cares? There's no national secrets hidden in there. I snuck a few photos anyway while hiding behind a group of Chinese tourists on a guided tour. read more

Beautiful palace in central Madrid that's home to the royal family and boasts an impressive art museum. If you don't want to spend the €10 to enter, the surrounding gardens are equally beautiful and well kept. read more

See all

The Palacio Real should definitely be on your list of places to see in Madrid. It is truly a breathtakingly beautiful place. I highly recommend being sure to see all of the views of the palace from the exterior, rather than just immediately going inside. It's enormous, and there is much to see. For a gorgeous view of the building, go into the lesser known Jardines de Sabatini off to the side - it's a beautiful park with a pool reflecting the palace facade. The parks in front of the palace are gorgeous and elegant, especially the walk with statues lining the pathway. If you are approaching the palace and see a dauntingly long line, don't let it discourage you too much. I got into an incredibly long line (curling all the way around to about the entrance of the Almudena Cathedral), but it only took approximately 20 minutes to get inside. Also note, there are times of day that entrance is free (which is when the lines start piling up), but this is only for EU citizens - as an American, I had to pay about 6 euros (still definitely worth it!). For most of the museum, photography is not allowed. I didn't take any tours, but did read all of the little signs along the walkways, in order to get insight into the rich history of the place. The rooms that you will see here are just magnificent. The detail and extravagant wealth on display is awing, and some of the most beautiful sights were the various detailed ceilings in each room. A must see in Madrid! read more

See all

This place is incredibly beautiful. All the detail that went into all the rooms is amazing. Very Versace. Def worth visiting while in Madrid and only €10 to get in! read more

See all

This place is free during certain hours but only for citizens of the EU and also South America (I believe). US citizens still have to pay. So it sucked that we waited in the long line in scorching heat during the "free" hours when we could have come at a different time, for the same price, and with less of a line. There was a man playing the accordion though during the wait so it wasn't half bad. This place impressed me more than I had imagined. I like that they don't allow you to take photos inside because it keeps the flow moving and it allows you to really focus on the present and decor. The rooms here are phenomenal to look at. There is so much detail, history, architectural design and elaborate decor pieces. Every room in this palace is decorated differently so it is very fun to compare all of the rooms. Each room comes with little descriptions about the history in English and Spanish. read more

So beautiful! If you're in Madrid you have to stop by the Palacio Real! It's $10 to go inside and it's worth it. Outside the Palace you can take as many photos as you like, however inside not so much. As soon as you enter the palace you can't take any pictures of the inside. But it didn't stop us from having fun and enjoying the beautiful experience. read more

I wasn't sure whether or not to come here-it was a hefty walk from my hotel in barrio Salamanca, but I'm SO glad I did. It's a beautiful palace, and such a treat to be inside. Admission is 10 euros and for another 3, you can get the audio tour. I'm not sure that the audio tour added very much for me. I mean, it was well done and super high tech, but I didn't find it all that interesting and found myself skipping ahead often. read more

The guards doesn't know how to do their job. They came up to me with a super rude manner even tho he confuse himself. Put you phone away thinking that I was taking pictures. You can't take pictures inside. That's something I knew. He tells me you put your phone away or you get out even tho I payed. Made my experience really bad because of that simple issue of him getting confused and coming up to me in that manner. read more

A must-see in Madrid- just spectacular furnishings and 500+ years of history. We think we know about the super-rich these days, but we don't know nothin... these monarchs established entire enterprises to handle every element of the decor - woodworks, marble works, porcelain, etc. The rooms are amazing - if you liked Versailles, you'll like this, and great preservation work read more

Aaah, the Palacio Real. It was the first thing that I saw when I went to Madrid a few years back. I would recommend going on a tour as we were able to cut the line and see different parts of the palacio when we were there. I don't know how much different it is now as it's been over 6 years since going there but I think you'll get more for your money going here. As a palace should be its impressive and the decor is quite astounding. There's no way you can plan a vacation to Madrid and not visit two things - the Palacio Real and of course the Santiago Bernabeu. :-) read more

One of the best Palaces that I have visited besides staying at my palace in Lisbon, The Pestana Palace. All the rooms are amazing, it is an education. For 4 euros pick up your own walking tour, it is easy to use own your own. I went on a Monday about 11:00 am so there were no lines plus it was the first week of May. I would call ahead to find out if they are open because on state visits it is closed to the public. After and before the tour there are restrooms, lockers, and a big gift shop with fair prices. I was there for almost three hours. It is a great place to take the kids if they can put down their ifons and ipods. If the weather is bad this is the place to visit but one bad thing , NO PICTURES AT ALL. read more

Speechless. Beautiful country and friendly people. Buy tickets to take a tour inside. Nice restaurants and shopping near by.

just smack in the center its really lovely. Beside a beautiful park. You really don't need to pay the 4 euro for the audio guide as its verbatim of the notes in every room. There are a lot of stairs. Entrance is 11 euro per person and its long so if you have walking difficulties Id think about it. It really makes you see the opulence and waste of the Royals as people all over the countryside starve. read more

One of the highlights of my trip to Madrid. Beautiful building set in a peaceful park. Be sure to visit the Palacio Real!

Not as well upkept as I would expect, I was a little disappointed with the palace. It's pretty and the architecture is fantastic, but I felt a little underwhelmed with the visit. You can only take pictures outdoors, which added to my disappointment. If you have the time, it might be worth a trip especially if you have the Madrid card (admission is free if you do). read more

This is my second time going into the Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid). Each time is an awe-inspiring experience. The current royal family of Spain does not live here, but the palace is used mainly to host worldwide leader visits and official conferences. There is a dining room that seats over 160 people with true silverware. Apparently, they lock down the room is there is any piece of silverware missing to ensure all pieces are retrieved. This royal palace is twice the size of Versailles and about 3 times the size of Buckingham. So that gives you an idea on how big this palace is exactly. The most decorated royal in this palace is King Philip (small head, big nosed guy according to the tour guide). His portrait and figurine are placed everywhere. There is even a relic (preserved dead body of royal) in this palace for you to see. There is no picture inside the rooms, but you can feel free to take pictures outside and in the hallways. read more

Simply amazing. Words can't even describe it. The palace is so damn huge, and even though you only get to see a portion of it when taking the tour it's like nothing you've ever seen before. You simply have to visit it! read more

We had a lot of fun walking around and taking it all in. We loved the tour and loved looking out over the city. Make sure you get the audio tour. I think it was a couple euros, but worth it. The whole walking tour took about 1 to 2 hours. So much to see read more