Palace of Zarzuela

The Palacio de la Zarzuela sits on Madrid's north-western outskirts in the wooded hills of El Pardo and has been the residence of the Spanish royal family since 1962. Construction began in 1627 under Philip IV as a small hunting lodge designed by Juan Gomez de Mora and Alonso Carbonel in early Baroque style. In the 1650s the palace hosted musical stage works which took their name - zarzuela - from the building and became the birth of the Spanish national opera. King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their daughters Leonor and Sofia live here today. The estate is closed to the public and can only be glimpsed from afar through the surrounding forests.