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Royal Palace of Madrid: the house the Bourbons built

The kings of Spain no longer live here, but this is still their official residence and the place of state ceremonies. The rooms you walk through are the ones Charles III moved into in the 1760s, with their silk, their clocks and their painted ceilings.

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Tickets
From €22
Open
Daily, from 10:00
Closed
On days of state ceremonies
Allow
1½ to 3 hours

Madrid this week

    What to see at the Royal Palace

    1. The Throne Room

      Crimson velvet, Venetian mirrors and gilded lions, under Giambattista Tiepolo's ceiling of the glory of the Spanish monarchy, painted in 1764 when the painter was nearly seventy.

    2. The Gasparini Room

      Charles III's dressing room, its walls and ceiling covered in rococo stucco, embroidered silk and porcelain fruit, made by the Neapolitan Mattia Gasparini. Nothing in the palace is more extravagant.

    3. The main staircase

      A single flight of marble that turns back on itself under a painted vault, wide enough for a procession. Napoleon is said to have told his brother Joseph that he would be better housed than he was.

    4. The Royal Armoury

      The armour of Charles V and Philip II, for men and for horses, laid out in a long hall. It is one of the most important collections of its kind in the world.

    5. The Royal Pharmacy

      Shelves of painted jars and glass bottles from the old court pharmacy, and the distilling room where remedies were made.

    6. The squares and gardens

      The Plaza de la Armería on the south front, the Plaza de Oriente to the east, the Sabatini Gardens below the north front and the Campo del Moro going down to the river.

    Tickets and tours for the Royal Palace

    • Sold by GetYourGuide

      Madrid: Royal Palace Fast-Access Admission Ticket

      Entry to the Royal Palace by the fast-access line, to see the state rooms at your own pace.

      Included

      • Entry to the Royal Palace by the fast-access line
      • The state rooms at your own pace

      From

      €22

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    Visiting the Royal Palace: hours and admission

    Opening hours

    Monday to Saturday, October to March
    10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:00
    Monday to Saturday, April to September
    10:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:00
    Sunday
    10:00 to 16:00, last entry 15:00
    • The palace closes, in whole or in part, for official ceremonies, and opens for shorter hours on some days. Patrimonio Nacional lists them on its site.
    • The Royal Kitchen is closed during the free hours.

    Who gets in free

    • From Monday to Thursday, from 16:00 to 18:00 from October to March and from 17:00 to 19:00 from April to September, for the visitors Patrimonio Nacional's conditions name. Entry ends an hour before.

    Getting there

    Metro
    Ópera (lines 2 and 5), five minutes on foot. Príncipe Pío, on the commuter railway, is below the palace to the west.
    On foot
    Fifteen minutes from the Puerta del Sol along the Calle del Arenal, or ten from the Plaza Mayor along the Calle Mayor.
    By car
    The centre of Madrid is a low-emission zone, and parking in it is scarce and paid. Leave the car outside.

    Address

    Palacio Real de Madrid
    Calle de Bailén
    28071 Madrid, Spain

    Entrances

    Visitors go in through the gate at the Almudena esplanade, at the corner of the Calle de Bailén, between the palace and the cathedral. From there you cross the Plaza de la Armería to the main door. Patrimonio Nacional asks visitors not to bring large backpacks, suitcases or bags while works are going on.

    On the map

    Before you go

    • Buy a ticket for a set time online. Patrimonio Nacional, which runs the palace, warns that the ticket office sells few on the day.
    • The palace closes for state ceremonies, sometimes at short notice. Look at its site the day before.
    • Large bags and backpacks are discouraged while works are going on inside.
    • Visitors go in through the gate on the Almudena side, at the corner of Calle de Bailén. The cathedral is across the square.
    • The Gallery of the Royal Collections, the museum built into the slope beside the palace, is a separate visit.

    A stone palace on the ashes of the Alcázar

    On this ridge above the Manzanares stood the Alcázar, a Moorish fortress turned royal residence, where the Habsburg kings lived and Velázquez painted. It burned down on Christmas Eve 1734, and Philip V, the first Bourbon king, had a new palace built of stone on the same site, so that it could never burn again.

    It was built between 1738 and 1755 to the designs of Filippo Juvarra and his pupil Giovanni Battista Sacchetti. It is the largest palace in Western Europe by floor area, with more than three thousand rooms, of which visitors see a small part.

    The route takes you up the main staircase, through the guards' hall to the Throne Room and on through the private rooms of Charles III, ending at the Royal Chapel. The Royal Armoury and the Royal Pharmacy are on the far side of the great courtyard.

    Royal Palace of Madrid: common questions

    What are the opening hours of the Royal Palace?
    Monday to Saturday, October to March: 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:00. Monday to Saturday, April to September: 10:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:00. Sunday: 10:00 to 16:00, last entry 15:00. The palace closes, in whole or in part, for official ceremonies, and opens for shorter hours on some days. Patrimonio Nacional lists them on its site. The Royal Kitchen is closed during the free hours.
    Is the Royal Palace ever free?
    From Monday to Thursday, from 16:00 to 18:00 from October to March and from 17:00 to 19:00 from April to September, for the visitors Patrimonio Nacional's conditions name. Entry ends an hour before.
    What does the ticket include?
    Entry to the Royal Palace by the fast-access line. The state rooms at your own pace. It is sold by GetYourGuide.
    Does the Spanish royal family live in the Royal Palace?
    No. It is the king's official residence and is used for state ceremonies, but the royal family lives in the Zarzuela Palace outside the city.
    How long does a visit to the Royal Palace take?
    About an hour and a half for the state rooms, and two to three hours with the Royal Armoury, the Royal Pharmacy and a walk in the gardens.
    What is the best room in the Royal Palace?
    The Throne Room, with Tiepolo's ceiling, and the Gasparini Room, Charles III's rococo dressing room. Both are on the route every visitor takes.

    What visitors say about the Royal Palace

    Rating from Google

    4.7

    134,556 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 17 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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