Castles · Tour
Royal Palace of Madrid, Twice the Floor Area of Versailles, Group of 15
Fifteen people at most, which puts this closer to a private booking than a group tour, and a route that walks up to the palace rather than starting at its gate.
The group sets off from Calle Coloreros 2, crosses the Plaza Mayor, turns down the Calle del Codo, passes the Plaza de la Villa and reaches the Royal Palace along Calle Bailén. A walk that puts the building in the city that grew around it.
The palace itself carries a number worth having in mind before you go in. Madrid covers 135,000 square metres; Versailles covers 67,000. The palace most people assume is the largest in Europe is roughly half the size of this one, and almost nobody who visits Madrid knows it. Add 3,418 rooms, 870 windows, 240 balconies and 44 staircases, all finished by 1764, when Carlos III became the first king to live here.
It is still the official residence of the King of Spain, although the royal family lives at the Zarzuela and this building is used for state occasions.
Check in at the main office 10 minutes before the start.
What's included
- Only 15 passengers maximum for this semi-private visit to the Royal Palace
- Visit with Radio Guide and gift headphones.
- Skip the line access to Royal Palace
- Official Bilingual Guide - Spanish Group and English Group
Itinerary
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C. de los Coloreros, 2, Madrid
Check in at the main office 10 minutes before the start time.
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Plaza Mayor
Five names, five regimes. The square began as the Plaza del Arrabal and was the busiest market in Madrid until the end of the 15th century. The Constitution of 1812 turned every major square in Spain into a Plaza de la Constitución, a name this one wore again in 1820-1823, 1833-1835, 1840-1843 and 1876-1922. The Bourbon restoration of 1814 made it the Plaza Real. In 1873 it was the Plaza de la República. The present name dates only from the end of the Civil War.
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Mercado San Miguel
Open for over a century, the Mercado de San Miguel started as a wholesale market and is now one of the best known food halls in the world. Iberian ham, Galician fish and shellfish landed daily, rice from the Mediterranean coast, cheeses from Castile, Asturias and the Basque Country. More than twenty stands, all holding to the same standard of tapas and bar food.
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This small street is one of the two most charming squares…
A short street between two of the finest small squares in Madrid, Conde de Miranda and Villa, and the whole stretch is protected. The 15th-century Torre de los Lujanes stands on the corner of the Plaza de la Villa. Along the same street are the Real Sociedad Económica Matritense de Amigos del País, the old municipal newspaper library, and the Church of Corpus Christi with the Convent of Las Carboneras, whose nuns keep an image of the Immaculate Conception found in a charcoal kiln and credited with miracles.
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Plaza de la Villa
One of the main medieval centres of Madrid: three streets from the original city plan start here, Codo, Cordón and Madrid. Three buildings of different centuries face the square. The oldest is the Casa y Torre de los Lujanes, 15th century, Gothic-Mudéjar, on the east side, now the seat of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.
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Royal Palace of Madrid
The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the King of Spain, though the present monarchs live at the Zarzuela and the building is used for state ceremonies. This is where the visit proper starts. Juvarra's design was never built, but what replaced it is the largest inhabited palace in Europe: officially inhabited, since the royal family keeps its residence here without living in it. Work ran until 1764, when Carlos III first occupied it. The building covers 135,000 square metres and 3,418 rooms, with 870 windows, 240 balconies and 44 staircases. For comparison, Versailles covers 67,000 square metres, so Madrid is the larger of the two by some distance.
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Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid
Not included
- Gratuities
Good to know
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Although the entrance to the Royal Palace is always reserved for our clients, sometimes the access control may be blocked due to capacity and security controls, delaying the entrance for a few minutes for reasons beyond the operator's control.
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- To speed up entry, rucksacks and large bags are not permitted.
- Check-in at our main office is mandatory. Please do not go directly to the Royal Palace.
- Up to 8 travelers per booking.
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Guiding available in: en, it, es.
Reviews
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