Morning
Palacio Real de Aranjuez. The Bourbons' spring residence — porcelain room, Farinelli's music salon, and the Tagus curling around the parterre outside.
Jardín del Príncipe. 150 hectares of riverside garden — follow the Tagus to the Casa del Labrador, the most extravagant neoclassical pavilion in Spain (book the interior).
Afternoon
Palace parterre & the Príncipe riverbank — 5 km · 2 h. Palace facade → Parterre garden → Jardín de la Isla between the river channels → the long riverside avenue of the Jardín del Príncipe to the Casa del Labrador and back by the falúas museum. Flat, shaded, birdsong throughout.
The Tren de la Fresa. The 1851-route strawberry train, pulled by vintage stock with costumed hostesses serving fruit — weekends spring and autumn, from Madrid's Railway Museum.
Evening
Chiquerón & the asparagus season. April–June the town's menus run on its own asparagus and fresones — eat them at the market bars for half the palace-square prices.
Sleeping here? The grid between the palace and the Plaza de la Constitución holds nearly everything — small hotels in 18th-century courtier houses. The Mercado de Abastos corner is best for restaurants. Nothing is more than 15 minutes' walk from anything, palace included.
Questions, answered
Where to sleep: Aranjuez
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