I had always wanted to visit Aranjuez, 50 minutes south of Madrid by train. On my latest visit to the Spanish capital some months ago, I finally decided to do what I should have done long before.
The make-believe adventures of gods and mythical heroes of baroque opera were nothing compared to the real drama which unfolded in Aranjuez
The now modern railway link is a descendant of the link built and opened in 1851, the second railway in Spain.
With little more than 50,000 inhabitants, the town is important way beyond its size. It is situated in an area of great natural, cultural and historical importance. In fact, in 1983 it was declared a Historic Artistic Complex and in 2001 Unesco proclaimed it a World Heritage Site.
Aranjuez is dominated by the royal palace and gardens which assumed their present appearance in the 1770s-1780s, during the reign of King Carlos III. The latter added to what had been built by his brother Fernando VI and their father Felipe V.
However, the history of the Spanish royal connection with Aranjuez dates back much earlier.
Reyes Catolicos Isabel I of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon declared the area a royal site. It was ideal terrain for hunting and fishing in the river Tagus, close to its confluence with the Jamarra.
The first palace was built on the site for Felipe II in the late 16th century. Gradually Aranjuez became the spring residence for Spanish royals.
It takes some 15 minutes to reach the palace from the railway station up the Avenida del Palacio.
The palace and its large parade ground are an impressive sight and a meticulous visit could take two hours or more, including a visit to the apartments open to the public.
Visitors have the option of joining a guided tour. Information is available in every room, in Spanish and in English.
It all began by climbing up the magnificent staircase designed by Giacomo Bonavia under the gaze of the youthful Alfonso XIII on horseback in a painting on the top landing.
Chambers, antechambers and State rooms underwent extensive refurbishing and reorganisation in the 1850s and 1860s under Isabel II. She also reversed the functions of the northern and southern halves of the palace.
The former used to be the king’s half, with the queen having the latter, but as Isabel was the Queen Regnant she reversed the order. She was also very much the Queen Pregnant as several of her children were born there.
The furnishings are splendid but not overwhelming. Perhaps the walnut and partly gilt French grand piano in the queen’s salon is a trifle too grand.
When looking at the heavy mahogany double bed given to the Queen by the people of Barcelona on her marriage to her cousin from Cádiz in 1846, few visitors realise that this caused a crisis between France and England called The Spanish Marriages Affair.
There are some surviving elements of past contributors to the palace’s embellishment, such as the marble floor in one room made for Elisabetta Farnese, Felipe V’s domineering second wife.
It is a pity that a very fine dining room dating to Fernando VII’s time can only be seen through the open doors because the very fine stucco floor risks being damaged by visitors.
One room is completely panelled with Capodimonte porcelain, vases and statuettes as well as a chandelier from the factory near Naples founded by Carlos III when he was King of Naples.
Paintings and sculptures are spread all over the palace, including the royal chapel. Interesting items of a later age are on the ground floor, such as Isabel II’s travelling carriage and trunks belonging to Alfonso XIII with a small brass plaque simply reading H.M. the King of Spain.
Quite a different matter is the uniform worn by that king’s grandson, the present King Juan Carlos, when he swore loyalty to the Constitution in 1975, exhibited in a hall together with the dress Queen Sofia wore on the same occasion.
In another showcase are the wedding dresses of Queen Sofia, her two daughters and the present Princess of Asturias, the beautiful Doña Leticia.
A visit to Aranjuez is incomplete without walking through its beautiful gardens. The more formal garden behind the palace is different from the other garden known as the Jardín delos Infantes (Garden of the Royal Princes).
As expected, the former is very well tended, while the latter – purportedly Europe’s biggest fence garden – is less rigidly designed with long wide avenues and paths.
The sound of water from the Tagus and splashing fountains; the smell of pine and cypress trees; the delicate twittering and chirping of birds and unrefined honking of geese; even the buzz of insects are very evocative.
Joaquín Rodrigo’s famous guitar concerto Aranjuez of 1939 was inspired by all this and spread the fame of Aranjuez to the whole world.
Not to be missed in the Princes’ Garden is the museum, open since 1966, where royal barges are exhibited used for pleasure trips along this stretch of the Tagus.
They include an elaborately carved and gilt Neapolitan-made 17th-century barge, never used here. Made for Felipe IV, King Luís took it to La Granja in 1724 until it was brought here when the museum opened its doors.
There is the relatively plain mahogany barge of Alfonso XIII and the splendid but not-too-much-in-your-eye one of his grandmother Isabel II, a gift from the people of Mallorca.
Felipe V, Fernando VI and his equally music-loving Queen Barbara may not have had Handel to write Water Music for them but they had the services of the great castrato Farinelli, who used to organise floating concerts as well as performances in royal residences more solidly based on firm ground.
The make-believe adventures of gods and mythical heroes of baroque opera were nothing compared to the real drama which unfolded in Aranjuez.
France and Spain signed a treaty here in 1801. In March 1808, the royal favourite Godoy’s power and arrogance led to Crown Prince Fernando, who hated his parents, and Godoy heading a mutiny against his father’s guards and the French soldiers supporting them. This forced the abdication of Carlos IV in favour of Fernando (VII) and Godoy’s disgrace.
News of this mutiny strengthened anti-French feelings in Madrid: the first ominous indication of what was to come.
Full-scale revolt against the French broke out in Madrid on May 2, 1808, at Puerta del Sol, where my train journey to Aranjuez had started… and finished.
Getting there
Fly to Madrid direct with Ryanair.