{"id":20126,"date":"2010-03-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clubvillamar.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/aranjuez-spanish-tourist-resort\/"},"modified":"2018-02-15T20:32:44","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T20:32:44","slug":"aranjuez-spanish-tourist-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clubvillamar.com\/blog\/spain\/aranjuez-spanish-tourist-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"Aranjuez \u2013 Spanish Tourist Resort!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Aranjuez<\/strong><\/a> is 48 kilometers South of Spain’s capital, Madrid. Where Spain’s two great rivers Jarama and Tagus meet, you come upon Aranjuez! It is a vibrant town with plenty of fun cultural and historical sites to visit and exciting things to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Royal Palace<\/strong>: The Royal Palace was commissioned to be built by Phillip II in 1561. The Architect, who won the commission to build the Palace, Juan de Herrera, quite clearly stamped his own inimitable style on the palace which soon became known throughout Spain as “the Herrerian style”. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Prince’s Garden<\/strong><\/a>: is an enormous garden laid out informally along the banks of the River Tagus. The garden is beautiful, luscious and green and surrounds the palace. It was laid out to give the royals some relief from the dryness of the Spanish plains. The gardens on the western side are different to the formal French-style gardens on the eastern side. They are called “Jardin de la Isla” and “Jardin del Parterre”. In the Prince’s Garden you will also find other attractions like The Boat Museum. This still has boats that the royals actually used to sail down the river Tagus!<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Island Garden<\/strong>: Is very attractively situated on an island surrounded by the Royal Palace Gardens. On the Island Garden there are many works of sculpture and water fountains with unique names. A number of rare species of trees, plants and birds can also be found in and around the Island Garden.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Peasant\u2019s House<\/strong><\/a>: or, “Casa Del Labrador”, (House of the Laborer), is actually a small palace at the Eastern tip of the garden and was originally built in the style of an English Hunting Lodge. It has a Billiards Room, The Grand Staircase, The Great Saloon, and many other typically charming rooms found in a palace. The Billiards Room is a reminder of where the royal family could gather to have some fun time together.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Main Square<\/strong>: This “square” is really rectangular and surrounded by abundant gardens as well as buildings with picturesque arcades on both sides of the square. They contribute to the overall beauty of the square as does St Anthony’s Church over on the south side.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Strawberry Train<\/strong>:\u00a0 Strawberry season runs from May to October. Enjoy a ride in the vintage \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0steam engine train. The staff dress in appropriate period costumes and serve passengers free strawberries!<\/span><\/p>\n