Kids take to royal places when there is room to run and something to climb. The Royal Palace and El Escorial are as grand as it gets, while Aranjuez, Segovia and the palace gardens at Boadilla let children roam between the sights. Here's what we checked, from the Royal Palace to a ruined castle above Chinchón.
The largest royal palace in Western Europe has more than 3,000 rooms, and the self-guided route through the state halls takes in the grand staircase, the Throne Room, the Gasparini Room, the gala dining room and the Royal Chapel. Across the Plaza de la Armería courtyard, the Royal Armory holds the personal armor of Emperor Charles V and King Philip II, with knights mounted on armored horses.
Twenty hectares of romantic gardens below the Royal Palace, laid out so a long lawn climbs straight up to the palace facade. Peacocks wander the paths, two big old fountains mark the central avenue, and shady winding walks lead off on both sides. It is one of the quietest green spaces in the center, with a café terrace and public toilets inside.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a mountain town built around Felipe II's vast 16th-century monastery and palace, where the kings of Spain are buried. Families can solve the free En Busca del Templo de Salomón phone gymkhana, 14 riddles over 2 km, then walk out through the royal La Herrería forest to the Silla de Felipe II, a rock seat with the whole monastery spread out below.
Aranjuez is a royal riverside town on the Tajo, ringed by the palace gardens of the Spanish kings. Kids can run the paths of the Jardín del Príncipe, the biggest of them, see the decorated barges the royal court once sailed in at the Museo de Falúas Reales, take a 45-minute boat trip on the river, or loop the town on the Chiquitren tourist train.
Segovia's Roman aqueduct strides through the city center on stacked granite arches, and kids can stand right beneath them in Plaza del Azoguejo. At the far end of the old town, the Alcázar is a turreted castle on a rock above two rivers, with suits of armor inside and a 152-step spiral climb up the Torre de Juan II. The city tourism office also runs free treasure-hunt gymkhanas for families.
The palace gardens step down in three terraces with fountains, sculptures and a labyrinth, plus a lake with a working water wheel and a 16-sided bird house. Ventura Rodríguez designed the neoclassical palace in the 1760s. Kids can roam the terraces and orchards on their own time while adults take in the views.
Chinchón's Plaza Mayor is a sloping square closed in by three-story houses with wooden balconies and arcades, used over the centuries as an open-air theater and a bullring. Kids can find the Torre del Reloj, a clock tower that lost its church in the Peninsular War, look up at the ruined Castillo de los Condes above town, and eat lunch on a balcony over the square.
Kids take to royal places when there is room to run and something to climb. The Royal Palace and El Escorial are as grand as it gets, while Aranjuez, Segovia and the palace gardens at Boadilla let children roam between the sights. Here's what we checked, from the Royal Palace to a ruined castle above Chinchón.
The largest royal palace in Western Europe has more than 3,000 rooms, and the self-guided route through the state halls takes in the grand staircase, the Throne Room, the Gasparini Room, the gala dining room and the Royal Chapel. Across the Plaza de la Armería courtyard, the Royal Armory holds the personal armor of Emperor Charles V and King Philip II, with knights mounted on armored horses.
Twenty hectares of romantic gardens below the Royal Palace, laid out so a long lawn climbs straight up to the palace facade. Peacocks wander the paths, two big old fountains mark the central avenue, and shady winding walks lead off on both sides. It is one of the quietest green spaces in the center, with a café terrace and public toilets inside.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial is a mountain town built around Felipe II's vast 16th-century monastery and palace, where the kings of Spain are buried. Families can solve the free En Busca del Templo de Salomón phone gymkhana, 14 riddles over 2 km, then walk out through the royal La Herrería forest to the Silla de Felipe II, a rock seat with the whole monastery spread out below.
Aranjuez is a royal riverside town on the Tajo, ringed by the palace gardens of the Spanish kings. Kids can run the paths of the Jardín del Príncipe, the biggest of them, see the decorated barges the royal court once sailed in at the Museo de Falúas Reales, take a 45-minute boat trip on the river, or loop the town on the Chiquitren tourist train.
Segovia's Roman aqueduct strides through the city center on stacked granite arches, and kids can stand right beneath them in Plaza del Azoguejo. At the far end of the old town, the Alcázar is a turreted castle on a rock above two rivers, with suits of armor inside and a 152-step spiral climb up the Torre de Juan II. The city tourism office also runs free treasure-hunt gymkhanas for families.
The palace gardens step down in three terraces with fountains, sculptures and a labyrinth, plus a lake with a working water wheel and a 16-sided bird house. Ventura Rodríguez designed the neoclassical palace in the 1760s. Kids can roam the terraces and orchards on their own time while adults take in the views.
Chinchón's Plaza Mayor is a sloping square closed in by three-story houses with wooden balconies and arcades, used over the centuries as an open-air theater and a bullring. Kids can find the Torre del Reloj, a clock tower that lost its church in the Peninsular War, look up at the ruined Castillo de los Condes above town, and eat lunch on a balcony over the square.