Palacio Real

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the fifth largest palace in the world, and is covered from wall to wall in luxurious tapestries decorated with Spanish history, enormous rooms, and many crystal chandeliers. There are an incredible number of rooms-3,418 to be exact. There is even a pharmacy and an armory, and there are over 115 clocks throughout the palace, all in working condition. It used to be the home of the Royal Family, but is now used for state ceremonies.

A long time ago, before this palace existed, there were 2 other castles, a Muslim fortress during the 9th century, and then the Royal Palace of Christian kings. That one was built out of wood, and it burned to the ground on Christmas Eve in 1734, so King Phillip V decided to build a new palace on the same site. It took 26 years to build but it is filled with works of art by famous Italian and Spanish artists. An interesting fact about the grand staircase in the entrance right off the courtyard is that it is actually made of just one piece of stone! Also, one of the two bells here in the entrance is a survivor of the 1734 fire, which means it is 282 years old.