Exploring Aranjuez

When taking a day off from waterskiing at the Botaski Seseña Waterski Complex, you will probably think about visiting Madrid or Toledo. Of course, Madrid and Toledo are very much recommended to visit. It is easy to forget about Aranjuez, but you shouldn’t. Here’s why.

The main attraction in Aranjuez is the Royal Palace (Palacio Real). It is a former summer palace used by kings and queens, a big structure with towers and arcades and with expansive gardens around it. There are guided tours during the day and in summer from 5 – 8 pm you can enter the palace for free for a self guided tour. That is a good option if you have an hour or so to spare before dinner. But please note that on the free self guided tour you only have access to the queen’s rooms. On the guided tours you will see all the rooms.

Because we were there for a waterski competition, we didn’t have time during the day so we did the self guided tour at the end of the afternoon. To be honest, we had visited Versailles a few years before, so we didn’t expect much… we were amazed! Every room was different and very impressive, my favorite one was the Porcelain room, a room completely covered in porcelain (on the picture the upper left one).

It is highly recommended and we are definitely coming back to see the rest of the rooms.

Outside the palace you will find the Jardín de la Isla (the island garden). This garden is the most stunning one with fountains, statues, promenades, bridges, flowers... and peacocks.

Another park that is not to be missed is the Jardín del Princípe (the Prince's garden). It is so big, you can spend almost an entire day walking in this garden. This is a very good place to walk when it is hot because it is a forest like park with lots of shade. If you like running, this is a very good place to go for a run in the morning.