# A morning on Plaza de Oriente: behind the scenes at the Teatro Real, the Royal Palace and cocido at La Bola

The technical tour of the Teatro Real stage, the Royal Palace across Plaza de Oriente and a cocido at Taberna La Bola, all within a five-minute walk.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/community-of-madrid/madrid/itineraries/teatro-real-royal-palace-and-cocido · Revisado: 2026-11-13

## El día
- 10:00 · Technical backstage visit to the Teatro Real (technical visit · €23, reduced €18 · no rucksacks or photos) · Teatro Real, From €23 person
  - 5 min on foot
- 11:30 · Royal Palace of Madrid, with the Wednesday and Saturday changing of the guard (via the Plaza de Oriente · €18, reduced €9)
  - 8 min on foot
- 13:30 · Taberna La Bola (cocido on Calle de la Bola · booking) · Taberna La Bola, €€€

Plaza de Oriente has an opera house on one side and a palace on the other. One morning is enough to see how a stage works from the inside and how a royal court lived, and to finish with a spoon in your hand.

## From ten o'clock to the long lunch

10:00 · Teatro Real. The technical tour goes where the public never does: the backstage machinery, the stage and the equipment that changes the sets. It lasts an hour, costs €23, or €18 with a discount, and is for over-10s. Bags and loose rucksacks are not allowed in and photos are not permitted. If there is a rehearsal, the route may change.

11:30 · Royal Palace. Cross Plaza de Oriente. Basic entry costs €18 and reduced €9; under-5s go free. Allow an hour and a half for the state rooms.

13:30 · Taberna La Bola. Eight minutes on foot. It opened in 1870 and is run by the fourth generation of the family: here you order cocido, and apple fritters with ice cream for dessert.

## Better this way for teenagers

The order matters: the theatre first, while they are fresh and the machinery grabs them; the Palace afterwards, shorter than they fear if you stick to the main rooms; and lunch as the reward.

## Cómo llegar

### Without a car
Metro to Ópera and everything else on foot.

## Consejos

### Buy the Teatro Real ticket days ahead
There is a single tour a day, at 10:00.

### Leave the rucksack at the hotel
They won't let you into the theatre with it.

### Book La Bola
For the midday cocido at weekends.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### From what age?
The Teatro Real technical tour is for ages 10 and over.

### How much does it cost?
€23 for the theatre, €18 for the Palace and between €35 and €60 for lunch.

### Does it run on Sundays?
Yes: the technical tour runs daily and the Palace is open from 10:00 to 16:00.