Aranjuez

Introduction

Aranjuez, Royal Chapel

© Herr Bert

Aranjuez is a town with a population of around 53,000 people in the south of the Autonomous Region of Madrid about 50 kilometres south of Madrid. The main attraction of this town is the Royal Palace and the surrounding gardens, which have been put on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001, as a cultural landscape. For lovers of classical music, the town might be famous because of the Concierto de Aranjuez, which was composed by Joaquin Rodrigo.

Neighbourhoods

The town of Aranjuez is divided into 8 neighbourshoods: Centro, Vergel, Olivas, Las Aves, Nuevo Aranjuez, Foso, Moreras and La Montaña.

Sights and Activities

Aranjuez, Royal Palace

© Herr Bert

The Royal Palace

The palace was build in the late 16th century upon the wished of King Felipe II, and over the years completed and extended with two large wings. The Palace is situated at the place where the river Jamara and the Tagus meet. A visit to the castle includes visits to the King's and the Queen's private chambers, the Gala Dining hall and the Throne room. One of the highlights however is the Arabian Room, which is decorated with the Alhambra in Granada in mind. The room was done by the architect who was in charge of the restauration on the Alhambra. In the room is also a painting of the Courtyard of Lions, that can be found in the Alhambra. Another highlight is the Porcelain Study, which has all the wall covered by Chinese porcelain figures which are held in place by screws. On the southside of the palace is the Garden of the King, and the Parterre, with layed out garden, and the fountain of Ceres.

Jardin del Principe

Near to the palace there are a lot of gardens, which make a nice retreat for the people of Aranjuez as well as for the visitors. Almost every king has extended the gardens. Especially the Jardin del Principe has been extended several time. It can be devided into several gardens, with different themes and dating from different era's. In this garden, you will find a mixture of trees and plants from Europe, and from the Americas. The garden follows the stream of the river Tagus, which makes a natural border for the garden.

Aranjuez, Casa del Labrador

© Herr Bert

If you walk through the gates you can walk the road between the 1st and the 2nd garden, till the end where you will find 5 pavillions, and also the Landing stage for the royal family. It was a custom for a long time that the royals made the trip to the pavillions by boat, which also included musicians, making the trip into a kind of floating opera. Near to the pavillions is the Museo de las Faluas (the boat museum). If you follow the Tagus, which makes a bent here, you will get to other parts of the park. The 5th and 6th garden might be the most beautiful ones. Here you can find the fountain of Neptune, and a nice Chinese pond. In the so called 8th garden you can visit the Casa de Labrador, which is a small palace, build in the 18th century, and now holds a museum.

Jardin de la Isla

Aranjuez, Fuente de Ceres

© Herr Bert

The other garden is the Jarden de la Isla (Garden of the Island), which streches next to the Palace. In this garden you can find fountains tributed to Hercules, Venus, Apollo, Bacchus and Neptune.

The Palace and the surrounding gardens were put on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.

Plaza de Toros

A bit further to the south, just off the big street called the Antigua Carretera de Andalucia lies the bullfighting ring of Aranjuez. It has a small museum next to it, called the Museum "Una Gran Fiesta".

Getting There

Aranjuez - near the Palace

© Herr Bert

By Plane

The nearest major airport is the airport of Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD).

By Train

Aranjuez can be reached very easily by train from Madrid. The cernanias (the commuter trains that services the suburbs of Madrid) also goes to Aranjuez. It is the last stop on the C-3 line. From Sol in the middle of Madrid, it takes around 50 minutes to arrive at the station in Aranjuez.

By Car

Aranjuez lies on the A-4 highway that runs from Madrid to the south to Córdoba and Seville. An alternative for the A-4 is the R-4, which is toll free, and splits off from the M-50 highway, south of Madrid, near Getafe.

By Bus

From the busstation of Mendez Alvaro in the south of Madrid, the company of Aisa y Samar has a direct busconnection between Madrid and Aranjuez.

Getting Around

By Foot

As a visit to Aranjuez should include a long stroll through the several gardins, walking is the best way to see the town. The most important sights are close to each other, on walking distance from the palace. When arriving by train, you have to know that the palace is a good 15 minutes walk, along a not so good road, without pavements, so taking the bus outside the trainstation might be a good option.

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is widely available within Spain. Most airports have wifi-zones and in most towns there are internet cafés or shops where you can use internet for a fixed price. Wi-Fi points in bars and cafeterias are available after ordering, and most hotels offer Wi-Fi connection in common areas for their guests.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international access code for Spain is +34. The emergency number for police, ambulance and the fire brigade is 112.

In cities you can find plenty of public phones, and 'locutorios'. The latter are small shops where you can use the phone and use internet. Most of them also sell prepaid cards for mobile telephones. These shops are used a lot by foreigners to call to their mother country.

The main mobile network operators in Spain are Yoigo, Vodafone, Movistar and Orange, as in most of Europe voice and data coverage is generally good in urban areas however it can be patchy in rural locations. Cheap mobile phones (less than €50) with some pre-paid minutes are sold at FNAC or any phone operator's shop (Vodafone, Movistar, Orange). Topping-up is then done by buying scratch cards from the small stores, supermarkets, vending points (often found in tobacco shops) or kiosks.

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times will vary according to the size of the city/town and the main post offices might be open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages. Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78. If you want to send a package you are probably better off with a private courier company like TNT, DHL or UPS, as they offer quick and reliable services against competitive prices.