Page 62 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID
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El Palacio Real de Madrid
Madrid’s Royal Palace, the El Palacio Real de side as you wend through the 30-plus rooms
Madrid, ranks as Western Europe’s largest, beat- open to the public. Palace tour guides are rela-
ing France’s Versailles. The 1.5 million square tively inexpensive and invaluable if you want to
feet of floor space in this baroque landmark know what you’re looking at, learn some history,
boasts almost 3,000 rooms. It’s meant to impress and revel in royal gossip. (Yes, there really was a
- and it does. No wonder it’s one of Madrid’s toothless Spanish queen.)
most popular tourist attractions. On the site of a 9th-century Moorish fortress,
You don’t need a guide to visit the palace, but the palace rises across from Plaza de Oriente
you would be foolish not to have one by your and the Royal Opera House and Theater and
62 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022
