Palacio Real Madrid

The Royal Palace of Madrid is definitly one of the major spots in the City, and needs to be visited when you're in the Spanish Capital. If you can afford it in terms of timiing, the two gardens Campo del Moro and Sabatini are also worth a walk. You need to count 3 hours to visit the palace and 2 more for the gardens plus another half an hour for Madrid Cathedral just next to the Palace.
The Palace has some major attractions such as the Royal Pharmacy, Armoury and Library, as well as a few beautiful rooms.

The Palacio Real is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, but it is only used for state ceremonies. King Juan Carlos and the Royal Family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the more modest Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid.

The palace is on the site of a 9th-century fortress, called mayrit, constructed as an outpost by Muhammad I of Córdoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent Moorish Taifa of Toledo. After Madrid fell to Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085, the edifice was only rarely used by the kings of Castile. In 1329, King Alfonso XI of Castile convoked the cortes of Madrid for the first time. Philip II moved his court to Madrid in 1561.

The palace has 135,000 square metres (1,450,000 sq ft) of floorspace and contains 2800 rooms. It is the largest palace in Europe by floor area. The interior of the palace is notable for its wealth of art, in regards to the use of all kinds of fine materials in its construction and the decoration of its rooms with artwork of all kinds, including paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Velázquez and Francisco de Goya and frescoes by Corrado Giaquinto, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Anton Raphael Mengs. Other collections of great historical and artistic importance that are preserved in the building are the Royal Armoury, Porcelain, Watches, Furniture and Silverware.

To get there:
Bus: Línes 3, 25, 39 and 148
Metro: Línes 5 and 2 - Ópera Station
Train Cercanias: Principe Pio Station

For more information, visit the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palace_of_MadridLess

El palacio es increíble!
Have you seen the Royal Armoury?
It's an attraction definitely worth seeing in Madrid, the gardens behind the palace are also breathtaking!Less