Palacio Real de Aranjuez

About the museum

From the Christian conquest onwards, Aranjuez belonged to the Order of Santiago, whose grand masters had a palace on the site of the present one. When the office of grand master passed to the Crown, the territory was integrated among the royal palaces and country houses. Philip II wanted to turn it into a grand town in the Italian style and commissioned Juan Bautista de Toledo to lay out tree-lined streets, while the 16th-century dams regulated the Tagus and made it possible to irrigate gardens and crops.

The present palace was begun in 1564 to a design by Juan Bautista de Toledo, and Juan de Herrera only managed to complete one half. Philip V resumed the works in 1715 and Ferdinand VI completed them in 1752. In 1775 Charles III commissioned Francesco Sabatini to add two wings, which gave the building its characteristic U-shaped plan. The architecture is in the classical style of the Spanish Habsburgs, alternating white stone and brick.

The Bourbons spent the whole spring at Aranjuez, from the end of Holy Week until June, and the splendour of the royal site lasted until 1870. The official rooms open to visitors today mainly retain the decoration of that period, including such unusual rooms as the Arab Cabinet, the Porcelain Cabinet and the Chinese Cabinet, adorned with some two hundred paintings given to Isabella II in 1846. The complex forms part of the Cultural Landscape of Aranjuez, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is surrounded by more than one hundred hectares of gardens open to visitors.

Highlights

• Porcelain Cabinet
• Hall of Mirrors
• Arab Cabinet
• Chinese Cabinet with some 200 paintings given to Isabella II
• Queen’s dressing room, ballroom and state dining room
• Prince’s Garden, Island Garden and Parterre Garden

Permanent exhibition

• Salones oficiales del Palacio Real – Tour of the rooms decorated mainly in the Bourbon period, including the Porcelain, Arab and Chinese Cabinets.

Operated by

Patrimonio Nacional

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Wednesdays and Sundays 15:00–18:00 (October to March) or 15:00–19:00 (April to September) for citizens of the European Union and Ibero-America with accreditation, only for self-guided visits; 18 May and 12 October for all visitors.

Also free of charge: under-5s, people who are legally unemployed, active teachers, official tourist guides and members of ICOM and ICOMOS, with accreditation. The Island and Prince’s Gardens are free of charge. The visit is eligible for the Bono Cultural Joven. Time-slot free admission tickets are sold only at the ticket office.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Access for people with reduced mobility is available, and manual wheelchairs are provided at the palace.

Kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Educational activities for families are organised on special dates.

Getting there & parking

By car, via the A-4 motorway (Madrid–Aranjuez) and the turn-off onto the M-305. Visitor access to the palace is at the main façade, next to Plaza de Parejas.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit