Royal Palace and Old Madrid Walking Guide

The Royal Palace stands on the ridge where Madrid began, above the valley of the Manzanares. The streets around it, sometimes called the Madrid of the Austrias after the Habsburg kings, are the oldest part of the city. A morning in the palace and an afternoon walk through them makes a first day with no Metro at all.

Visiting the palace

The King doesn't live here, but the palace is still used for state ceremonies, and it can close at short notice for official events. Book a timed ticket on the Patrimonio Nacional website. Allow about two hours. The visit follows a set route through the state rooms, and these are the ones to slow down for:

• The main staircase, with its painted ceiling by Corrado Giaquinto.
• The Throne Room, in red velvet and gilt, under a ceiling fresco by Tiepolo.
• The Gasparini Room, Charles III's dressing room, covered in stucco and silk embroidery.
• The Stradivarius instruments, a decorated quartet from the royal collection, and the Royal Chapel.
• The Royal Armoury, across the courtyard, one of the finest collections of armour in the world.

Next door, the Galería de las Colecciones Reales, opened in 2023, shows tapestries, carriages and paintings from the royal collections in a modern building cut into the hillside. A combined ticket covers both. On certain days the Royal Guard changes at the palace gates, and on the first Wednesday of most months (not January, August or September) there's a larger ceremony in the Plaza de la Armería. Check the dates on the official site.

The walk

From the palace, it's about two kilometres to La Latina, mostly downhill.

1. Almudena Cathedral. Facing the palace across the Plaza de la Armería. It was only consecrated in 1993, and the neo-Gothic interior is more interesting for its colourful modern ceiling than its age.
2. The Arab wall. On the Cuesta de la Vega, just below the cathedral, a stretch of the ninth-century wall of Mayrit, the Moorish town that became Madrid.
3. Plaza de la Villa. Along Calle Mayor, a small square with some of the oldest buildings in the city, including a fifteenth-century tower.
4. The Plaza Mayor. Walk in through the Arco de Cuchilleros, the steep stone arch at its southwest corner. Stand in the middle and look at the painted facade of the Casa de la Panadería.
5. San Ginés. A short detour towards Sol for churros and hot chocolate at the famous chocolatería in the alley behind the church.
6. La Latina. End in the Plaza de la Paja and on Cava Baja, where the tapas bars start to fill in the early evening.

This walk fits the first day of our 3-day itinerary. For the palace gardens, the Sabatini Gardens beside the palace are free, and the larger Campo del Moro below it looks back up at the western facade. More ideas are in our things to do list.