We visited Aranjuez during our road trip in eastern Spain. The Aranjuez Palace would be a nice addition to any visit to Madrid, especially for those wanting to explore attractions further afield. It could easily be done with public transportation as a day trip from Madrid.
Not even an hour south of Madrid (depending on traffic of course!), you’ll find the Aranjuez Royal Palace and grounds.
We came to Aranjuez primarily to see the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and the Jardín del Príncipe. While the idea was good, we soon realized that not only was the palace closed on Mondays, so were many of the other attractions and even many of the restaurants.
Not discouraged we changed up our plan by visiting Segovia on Monday morning and arriving in the afternoon to explore the outside gardens of the Royal Palace which are open year-round and all week (until 18:00pm).
As for the palace itself, we visited that first thing on Tuesday morning as it opened at 10am. Our hotel offered a 12pm checkout and we had ample time to tour the inside of the palace in an hour and still enjoy breakfast before checking out.
Royal Gardens of Aranjuez
There are two main garden areas, both of which are huge and could easily take many hours to explore fully.
Jardín de la Isla
There is the Garden of the Island which is directly behind the palace. These gardens are wonderful and have many small statues and fountains. The fast-running water was filled with geese and ducks navigating the rapids next to the palace’s walls. We had fun watching them frolicking in the rushing waters.
It was really nice to walk around the gardens near the castle spotting for birds while admiring the fountains.
We were there on a cold rainy day at the end of November, so well past the time one might expect to see many flowers. I’m sure the gardens would be remarkable in the summer when the flowers are in full bloom.
Jardín del Príncipe
Connected by a royal bridge (under repairs when we visited) are the larger Jardín del Príncipe gardens. These are huge and we could literally see the pathways extending as far as the eye could see. Comparable in size to Madrid’s Retiro Park, the perimeter extends for 7 km.
Visiting at the end of November in the rain didn’t show the gardens in their best light, but we could appreciate their grandeur all the same.
In the off season the fountains are only turned on for fixed intervals (10-11:30 and 16-17:30) but even without the water running they are quite beautiful to see.
Royal Palace of Aranjuez
Beginning as a modest hunting lodge, the Royal Palace of Aranjuez was originally built in the 16th century under Philip II. It was inspired by Italian designs. The Bourbons later expanded the palace with the two wings making it the U-shaped structure it is today.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, under Philippe V and Charles 3, it served as a spring residence for the Spanish monarchy who wanted to spend every spring here hunting. The Royal Palace of Aranjuez is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The outside of the palace is meticulously restored and quite beautiful to look at from all angles. The inside is lavishly decorated with antique furnishings, sculptures and artwork.
Do get the audio guide for more details on the rooms and unique features. Even listening to all the details only took us an hour for the full tour. For example, we would have easily missed the unique stucco floor in the Banquet Room with just a quick look.
Another particularly unique aspect of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez is the Porcelain Room. This remarkable room is filled with 17th century porcelain chinoiseries affixed to the walls with screws.
A central porcelain chandelier shaped like a palm tree with climbing figurines crowns the masterpiece of a room. It is spectacular and unlike anything we had ever seen elsewhere!
The audio guide spoke of the Royals moving a porcelain factory to Aranjuez to create the works for the palace. You must really love porcelain to do that.
Another highlight was the Arab Study inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
Even if it’s still a Royal Residence, you are allowed to take pictures which is nice as many palaces don’t allow that.
The lavishly decorated rooms are on par with what we have seen at some of our favorite palaces and castles. While definitely smaller when compared to Madrid’s Royal Palace or others, the visit took us about an hour and was very enjoyable. The restorations are on a scale you’d expect in a royal palace making the visit delightful.
Where we stayed
We stayed at the perfectly situated Hotel NH Collection Palacio de Aranjuez which is situated directly across the street from the Royal Palace.
The hotel itself is also a historic building, originally built as a palace for Spain’s Prime Minister in the 18th and 19th century. It was clean and comfortable and had indoor parking under the hotel. We had a view from the room that looked out at the palace grounds which was nice. It was literally a 2-minute walk to the palace so definitely the ideal spot to stay if overnighting.
They had a special that gave free indoor parking if you took breakfast, and so we did. Breakfast was delicious and indoor parking gave us some peace of mind. We couldn’t help but notice that the surrounding areas were all covered with graffiti.
Conclusion
While unnecessary to stay overnight to visit the Royal Palace of Aranjuez we are glad we had planned it this way so that we could visit it on Tuesday morning. It took us about an hour with the audio guide to go through the palace interior. We took a couple of hours to explore the gardens the previous afternoon on arrival but on a nice summer day it could be fun to make a day of it.
We didn’t see much else to do in the town although we did read about boat tours along the river which would probably give some fabulous views of the palace and city on warmer days.
We definitely enjoyed seeing the Aranjuez Royal Palace and Gardens and were glad to have added it to our Spanish road trip itinerary. From here we headed off to Valencia to continue our tour.