Plaza de Parejas s/n.28300 Aranjuez. Madrid.
Teléfono: +34 918910740
Located at the confluence of the rivers Jarama and Tajo, at some 50 Km South of Madrid, Aranjuez has been the home of the Kings of Spain since the XV Century. It was Felipe II who gave it the title of Royal Site the following Century and had, among other things, the channels built to irrigate the land that have turned Aranjuez into the orchard and gardens we see today.
Until the end of the XIX Century, one king has succeeded another, changing this Site as the needs and fashions of every period dictated.
As a result, Aranjuez has become a combination of all different styles and possible tastes; the gardens of La Isla, el Parterre and the Principe being the most outstanding.
Jardín de La Isla:
Located between the Tajo River and a channel, this garden is essentially an island reached by two bridges.
At the beginning its central walkway ran under an avenue of mulberry trees entwined overhead and tunneled-trellis. Also, there were numerous fountains of Islamic influence decorated with coloured stones and tile bases, as well as flower beds in the Flemish style.
Today few things of that garden remain as La Isla was transformed into another of French influence in the XVIII Century, and lost the galleries or tunneled-trellis of the central aisle.
Jardín del Parterre:
The Jardín del Rey, a walled garden of clear Italian and Mudejar influence, typical of the Hapsburg palaces, lost its quiet privacy when the Parterre garden was constructed in 1724.
At that moment the wall that closed off the Jardín del Rey was demolished, the ground was paved, the fountain was removed and the garden was filled with statues.
As with the Jardín de la Isla, few things remain of the original Parterre as the plants, trees and dividing paths that characterized its layout were modified during the XIX Century.
Jardín del Príncipe:
Unlike the other two gardens Carlos III was its creator. This is a landscaped garden that followed the British and French style of the XVIII Century but it has a particular and unique character.
Like all fine landscaped gardens it is full of different elements: The oriental Pagoda in Los Chinescos pond, the island with Hermit House, the fort with small cannons, Marina House –run by an admiral in charge of the pleasure boats along the river-, the maze –now lost-, the American and Asian Islands, representing corresponding landscapes with the plants brought over from successive botanical expeditions, and a long etcetera.
