Having visited many royal palaces, I would definitely recommend Madrid's Palacio Real. Not only does it provide an insight into the history of the Spanish royal family (exceedingly complex) but it also gives a real feel for the history of Spain. While it's possible to take a guided tour if you turn up at the right time, this tends to be a bit whirlwind. It's also possible to hire an audio guide but they're not always available in every language and once you've put the headphones on, you can't really share what the palace has to offer with your travelling companions. Far better in my view is to buy the excellent guide to the palace from the book shop and appoint one of your group as tour leader. You can then take as long as you like to look around the palace and marvel over some of the fascinating objects within the palace.

If you want to visit the inside of the Palace you have to be on time because there is quite a waiting queue. The palace is quite impressive and worth a visit especially the "Real armeria" which has a collection of medieval and modern weapons, lances, metal armor of knights and armor for the horses from the heritage of King Charles I and his son Philip II.

Sprawling gardens and beautiful architecture made for a magnificent view.. unfortunately it was unreasonably hot when i went in late June.. Madrid is an amazing city though there are a lot of great things to see around the Palacio

Otra de mis zonas preferidas de Madrid, es preciosa la vista que se tiene del palacio y la Almudena cuando vas por el Puente de Segovia y se ven en lo alto junto al resto del perfil de Madrid .

che dire...stupendo!! potevo elencare i vari locali che abbiamo girato ma il palazzo reale mi è rimasto decisamente impresso!! un po di cultura a volte non guasta in fondo!! ;-)