The official residence of the Spanish royal family, this impressive building is now used mostly for state activities, while the family resides just outside Madrid in Zarzuela. The baroque art of the vast palace interiors includes an impressive assortment of gilded mirrors, fleur-de-lis insignia embroidered in the carpets, opulent tapestries, paintings and thrones, porcelains, furniture and the only complete Stradivarius string quintet in the world.

Plazas near the palace		Almudena cathedral

	A peacock preens himself for display..	... as does Dipanwita

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