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, within the Province of Segovia in the autonomous community of Castile and León, central Spain.
It became the summer residence of the Kings of Spain from the 1720s during the reign of Philip V. The palace is in a restrained Baroque style, surrounded by extensive gardens in the formal Jardin à la française style with sculptural fountains. It is now open to the public as a museum.
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 15th century, Henry IV of Castile built the first hunting lodge on the site, along with a small shrine dedicated to San Ildefonso (saint Ildephonsus of Toledo), which gave this place its first name.
Gardens
Extending over 6.1 km2, the gardens around the palace are one of the best examples of 18th-century European garden design in the Jardin à la française style in Spain.
Working hours
Tuesday
10AM–4PM
Wednesday
(Feast of the Immaculate Conception)
10AM–4PM
Hours might differ
Thursday
10AM–4PM
Friday
10AM–4PM
Saturday
10AM–7PM
Sunday
10AM–7PM
Monday
Closed
Address: Pl. de España, 15, 40100 Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, Segovia, Spain
GPS coordinates: 40°53′51″N 4°00′16″W
How to get to?
From Segovia 13 min (10.5 km) via CL-601
From Valladolid 1 hr 27 min (127 km) via A-601
From Madrid 1 hr 15 min (97.4 km) via A-6 (tolls)
