Royal Palace of Madrid
Europe's largest working royal palace by floor area, open for self-guided visits.
The Palacio Real stands on the site of the Alcázar of Madrid, the Habsburg fortress-palace that burnt down on Christmas Eve 1734. Philip V commissioned Filippo Juvarra to design a replacement; after Juvarra's death the work passed to his pupil Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, who reduced the scheme to a single square block around a central courtyard, built in granite and white Colmenar limestone to reduce the risk of fire. Charles III moved in during 1764, and Francesco Sabatini later added wings and the northern gardens.
With some 135,000 square metres of floor space and around 3,400 rooms, it is the largest royal palace in Western Europe by area. The Spanish royal family no longer lives here, using it instead for state ceremonies, so most of the state rooms are open to visitors. Highlights include the Throne Room with its Tiepolo ceiling, the porcelain-lined Gasparini Room, the Royal Armoury and the Royal Chapel with its Stradivari instruments.
Highlights
- Throne Room with a ceiling fresco by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
- Gasparini Room, lined with rococo porcelain, stucco and silk
- Royal Armoury, one of the most complete collections of its kind
- Changing of the guard in the Plaza de la Armería on set dates
![Afrique occidentale française : Cathédrale à St Louis / [photogr. Eugène] Gallois ; [photogr. reprod. par Radiguet et Massiot pour la conférence donnée par] Gallois](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Afrique_occidentale_fran%C3%A7aise_-_Cath%C3%A9drale_%C3%A0_St_Louis_-_%28photogr._Eug%C3%A8ne%29_Gallois_%3B_%28photogr._reprod._par_Radiguet_et_Massiot_pour_la_conf%C3%A9rence_donn%C3%A9e_par%29_Gallois_-_btv1b532798828.jpg/500px-thumbnail.jpg)
![[Golestan, Le Salon et Fete de l'equinode, Teheran, Iran (le Pavillion du Trone)]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/-Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg/500px--Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg)
![Théâtre de la guerre dans l'Inde sur la coste de Coromandel / par M.B.C.T. [Monsieur Bourcet Capitaine ?] ; gravé par Croisey](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg/500px-Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg)
