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Palacio Real and other sites

Madrid Travel Blog › entry 2 of 7 › view all entries

Madrid is a beautiful city with broad avenues, plenty of museums, and relaxing parks. The amazing collections of art vary from Picasso to Velazquez to Dali. The food is terrific, from the tapas to the manchego cheese!! This trip was awesome, and I will never forget it.

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Palacio Real and other sites

April 2, 2007

Inside the chapel.

Today we decided to pay a visit to the "Palacio Real", or the royal palace of Spain's rulers. First we walked into the large courtyard in front of the palace, and made our way into a separate building- the armory. Inside, we saw the fine collection of armor (from the 16th-18th century), weapons (swords, etc.), and shields. Everything inside was splendid, and taught us many interesting facts surrounding Spanish royalty. Once we exited the armory, we entered the main building, and started the tour (on our own, but with listening guides). Inside, there was a level of unparalleled luxury that I had never experienced before. Everything seemed magnificent and grand, reminiscent of the age of kings and queens. The "fences", which prevented people from touching anything, actually helped me take some amazing pictures in night mode (the "fence posts" were a great place to set the camera up without moving it). Of course, the no-flash rule was in place. After touring the amazing palace, we ate lunch at a local cafe. Later on, we went to the main plaza (Plaza Mayor). It is basically a large, enclosed courtyard, filled with cafe chairs and exquisite restaurants. After taking a look through the plaza we decided to look for a place to eat dinner, after all it was getting pretty late. So, one of the restaurants had a quaint underground basement area in which we ate a delicious "paella". After all the adventures of the day we decided to return to the hotel and call it a day.

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Inside the chapel.

The porcelain room.

The outer facade of the "Palacio…

The main foyer

There was no light here, all the…

Inside.

The Palace's Cathedral, locate a…

The medicine stock of the palace.

A fountain just outside of the p…

Inside the cathedral.

At "Plaza Mayor"

"Casa Botin", one of the best Sp…

Plaza Mayor

Inside one of the palace's chapels.

Roof of the throne room.

Some good sights in Madrid

Well... There are many interesting attractions in the city of Madrid. If you're the museum type, then you would want to visit "El Prado", an art museum with one of the best collections in the world. You could also try "Museo Reina Sofia", a museum based on contemporary art, and also has a sizable collection of Dali's works (and Guernica, Pablo Picasso's masterpiece). Another interesting museum is the "Dress Museum" (Museo del Traje), which showcases different types of clothes and dresses used by Spanish royalty, all the way to modern fashion.
If you don't really like museums, you could try visiting "El Palacio Real", a gigantic palace which used to be the home of Spain's kings and queens. It has a large armory, displaying different types of armor, shields, swords, etc. The main palace is very interesting, and has a room made mostly with porcelain. As in most attractions like this one, you are not allowed to take pictures with flash. Apart from that, I would absolutely recommend this site to any traveler visiting Madrid.
Away from all the bustle of the city, you could visit the "Parque del Buen Retiro", a huge park with a beautiful man-made lake flanked by large fountains on the side. On Sundays the park fills up with people enjoying the outdoors and the sights. This is a great place to relax.
A good place to take pictures and to look around is the "Puerta de Alcala", a big arch near the Parque del Retiro. It was built on the orders of Carlos III, a Spanish king. It is beautifully illuminated at night, so be sure to visit it during this period of time.
You could visit the "Santiago Bernabeu" soccer stadium, home to Real Madrid, one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world.
Another great site to visit is "Plaza Mayor", Madrid's main plaza. It is basically a very large, enclosed courtyard. The buildings that surround it are filled with many restaurants and cafes. A great place to visit!!
In Madrid, there are countless of places to visit and to explore. These are just a handful of the many sites. Enjoy!!