Palacio Real la Granja

Palace in Segovia

Palacio Y Jardines De La Granja, Vista Frontal — CC BY-SA 2.0 / Miguel Ángel García.

The Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, known as La Granja, is an early 18th-century palace in the small town of San Ildefonso, located in the hills near Segovia and 80 kilometres north of Madrid, within the Province of Segovia in central Spain. The town is a popular weekend retreat for the people of Madrid because of its gorgeous natural setting.

The area was a favourite hunting grounds for many Castilian kings, due to its location on the forested northern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama. In the early 18th century, Philip V chose San Ildefonso as the site for his palace modelled on Louis XIV’s Château de Versailles. Built between 1721 and 1739, the palace beautifully imitates the Baroque style of the famous French palace. Today, the former royal apartments are open to the public.

Visitors can see the Throne Room, the dazzling Room of Mirrors, and other apartments decorated with superb Flemish, French, and Spanish tapestries. The palace has an exquisite church that contains a red marble tomb of Philip V and his wife Isabella Farnese. Surrounding the palace are extensive formal French gardens with beautiful fountains.

The Palacio Real la Granja appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Segovia!

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