Royal Barges Museum

Beside the landing stage of the Prince's Garden, in a building rebuilt in 1966 to a project by Ramón Andrada, the kings' pleasure boats are kept. It is one of the most singular single-subject museums of the royal collections: gilded boats in which the court sailed the Tagus and the Ontígola sea on spring outings.

What you see

The most photographed piece is the barge of Charles IV, built in Cartagena and decorated by Salvador Maella. Beside it is the gondola known as Philip V's, although according to the tourist office it is actually from the reign of Charles II, in the seventeenth century; Patrimonio Nacional presents it as the oldest and most spectacular in the museum. The room is completed by paintings of the nineteenth-century Spanish naval squadron, a set of bronze cannons from the reign of Ferdinand VI and utensils for handling the barges.

The point of the museum becomes clear on leaving: a few steps away is the landing stage of Ferdinand VI, from which the court's river outings, with music, set out in the eighteenth century. If you want to see the gardens from the water as they did then, the boat trip on the Tagus boards on the Madrid road, beside the Canoeing Club.

Hours and admission

It is run by Patrimonio Nacional, which groups it with the Royal Palace for hours and free admission: it opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00, with last entry at 18:40, and is closed on Mondays all year. On Wednesdays and Sundays from 15:00 admission is free for the same groups as at the palace. In winter the palace closes at 18:00; confirm at the ticket desk whether the museum also closes earlier. Patrimonio Nacional does not publish a separate rate for the museum on its website: ask at the palace ticket desk whether your ticket includes it.

There is access for people with reduced mobility and manual wheelchairs available on loan. Information from the Patrimonio Nacional office in Aranjuez, on 918 91 13 44.

Getting there

You enter by the main gate of the Prince's Garden, on Calle de la Reina, or by Calle de Colmenar, crossing the footbridge over the Tagus. From the palace you can walk along Calle de la Reina, or take the Chiquitrén. Note that, according to the latest Patrimonio Nacional notice, of the Prince's Garden only the stretch between the Villanueva Gate and Calle Isabel II is open.

With children and nearby

Half an hour is enough: it is a short visit that fits well into the walk through the Prince's Garden. If you arrive on the Strawberry Train, some of its routes, such as Royal Strawberries or the English Tour, include the palace and the Royal Barges Museum.