Highlights of the Museum of the Royal Barges include a barge belonging to Charles IV, which contains the coats of arms of the Spanish provinces as decorated by Salvador Maella, Philip V’s royal gondola, and the oldest barge in the collection, which dates to the reign of Philip IV. It’s easiest to visit the Museum of the Royal Barges on a tour of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and the Prince’s Garden.
The entrance ticket to the Royal Palace of Aranjuez includes entry to the museum.
Photos are not permitted inside the museum.
The museum offers access points for wheelchair users and those with reduced mobility.
The museum is in the Prince’s Garden in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Enter from the Prince’s Garden or the Calle de Colmenar walkway over the Tagus River. To reach Aranjuez from Madrid, take the bus (Mendez Alvaro station), train (line C-3), or drive along the A-4 to the M-305 junction. Guided tours from Madrid typically include transfers.
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm, with the last entry at 6pm. Free access is offered Wednesday and Sunday from 3pm to 7pm. The museum is small and can be explored in around 15 minutes. It takes around 20 minutes to walk from the palace.
Completed in the 1770s by Charles III, the Prince’s Garden is the largest of all the gardens at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Built in the Anglo-French landscape style, it features pavilions, fountains, a Chinese pond, the Russian Mountain, the Casa del Labrador, and the Museum of the Royal Barges.
