In the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama is the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, once the summer palace of the royal family. On a sunny Saturday in May we hopped in the car for a trip out of the city.
The palace, built in the early 1700s, was intended to be a smaller version of Versailles. With the weather too glorious to waste the day inside, we went for a stroll around the baroque-style gardens and contented ourselves with a peek inside through the windows.
The rambling gardens are dotted with huge fountains and bronze statutes of mythical figures.
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Less than an hour's drive from Madrid, the palace and the quaint little town of San Ildefonso surrounding it make a perfect day trip. After pretending that we weren't lost in the garden's rambling maze, we ambled back into the village for a long, leisurely lunch in the sun, before heading home.
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| The palace is also an excellent jumping venue. |
