Spotlight: Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso

Spotlight: This Royal Palace of San Ildefonso, known as La Granja, is located in the small town of San Ildefonso, about 10 km. east of Segovia, and 80 km north of Madid. The palace was built in the early 18th century, during the reign of King Felipe V, the first Spanish king of the French Bourbon Dynasty, who rose to the throne following the death of Carlos II, who had no male heirs. Felipe, who was homesick for his native France, began building the palace and gardens based on the famous Palace of Versailles. Teodoro Ardemans was chosen as the first architect for the project, but was later succeeded by Andrea Procaccina, and finally Filippo Juvarra. The palace was designed, in the Rococo architectural style, as a quiet retreat for Felipe, who planned to retire there. However, when his successor, King Louis I, unexpectedly died, Felipe was drawn out of retirement, and his quiet retreat became an important meeting place for the King, his advisors and the Spanish Court. The small town of San Ildefonso grew to provide for the needs of the many courtiers who arrived to pay homage to the reagent. Some of these expansions included military barracks, a collegiate church and a royal glass factory. Following Felipe's death, the palace served as the primary summer residence of the royal family until the 1880's. Although much of the palace was burned during a fire in 1918, it has been restored to appear as it did during its heyday. The Palace is part of the Patrimonio Nacional of Spain, which maintains many of the Crown's lands, and is currently used as a museum.

Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso

View from the top of Cascada Nueva

    One of the key attractions of the Palace are its extensive gardens and fountains. The gardens extend over 1,500 acres, and were designed by Rene Carlier in the Jardin a la francoise style, which was popular throughout Europe in that era. The gardens include 26 sculptural fountains which feature themes from classical mythology, particularly in the Greek tradition. The fountains are made of lead, to avoid corrosion, but painted to look bronze or marble. The original waterworks are still functional, relying on gravity to project water up to forty meters in height. However, most days only a few fountains are in operation.

The Cascada Nueva fountain

The gardens of La Granja

The fountains are rarely on; but the artwork is beautiful

Location: Real Sitio de San Ildefonso

Cost: 9 euros; entrance is free on Wednesdays and Sundays from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Time: open daily Tuesday - Sunday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm (last entry at 6:00 pm); the gardens stay open later based on the month; closed Mondays

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Things you should know: - A few fountains are operational daily from April to mid-October. The Diana Baths is usually operational on Saturday evenings. All 26 fountains are in operation twice a year - on the Feast Days of San Fernando (May 30) and San Luis (Aug. 25).

- Transportation to San Ildefonso is available by bus from Madrid (Avanza) or Segovia (Linecar)

- Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the Royal Palace. However, you can see what some of them look like, as well as the fountains on display at this link: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/san-ildefonso-palace

Nearby: Madrid - Spain's capital (80 km SE of San Ildefonso); Segovia (10 km to the west of San Ildefonso); Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial - a royal site where most of the kings and queens of Spain are entombed (59.6 km south of San Ildefonso); Castillo de Manzanares - a beautiful medieval castle (41.5 km SE of San Ildefonso)