At the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, I experience fall colours
The baroque palace fails to retain my attention. The tall trees in its garden have rivaled and even surpassed its beauty. Gold-laced, they reach for the clouds and run in thickets till they hit the mountain in the horizon. In this garden, every leaf is bright yellow. For years, I have only seen ‘autumn(fall) colours’ virtually. But this time they are real, touchable. I enjoy this natural spectacle for the first time in my life in the gardens of the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, 10 kilometres from the town of Segovia in Spain.
It is November and the sky is opening up in intervals, drenching everyone outdoors. On a clear winter day, the snow-capped Sierra de Guadarrama (a mountain range) is visible from the garden. My guide rues about the bad weather and adds how visiting the garden on a winter day is preferred for the mountain view and summer day for the colourful flowers. I sternly disagree. I have seen ample snowy valleys and colourful flowers in the Himalayas but such forests of yellow trees—never!
A walk through the past
The garden is a part of the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, built in the 18th century by King Philip V(or Felipe V), the first French Bourbon king of Spain. King Philip had spent his childhood at the Palace of Versailles, a monument erected by his grandfather Louis XIV. The spectacular garden in the Palace of Versailles in France is the inspiration behind the Royal Gardens of La Granja.
From the old times, these high slopes in the forest were used as hunting grounds by Castilian kings. In the 15th century, King Henry IV had built a hunting lodge and shrine, which was later donated to the Christian monks of Santa Maria del Parral Monastery. The monks raised a farm here.
In the 18th century, impressed by the natural beauty of this area, King Philip decided to build his retirement palace here. He bought the plot from the monks and erected a palace. He passed on the throne to his son and planned to retire here but this dream was short-lived. His son died just a few months after the coronation and Philip had to return to the throne. Overtime, the Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso became the king’s court in summer.
A walk through the present
The labyrinths of the garden present the beauty of the palace and that of the mountains from different angles. The natural slope of the hill is well incorporated in the design. I am still heady with the ‘leafy gold rush’ around me. I take long gazes at classical themed marble and bronze fountains—only the marble and bronze are facades— they are actually made of anti-corrosive lead. The royals repainted the sculptures annually for the sake of maintenance.
There are 26 sculpted fountains, all characters from Greco-Roman mythologies. The king and the queen are often personified as mythological Greek Gods and Goddesses. Fuente de Amphitrite, Fuente de Neptuno, Fuente de Apollo, Baths of Diana are some of the famous ones. The water from the mountain streams and the force of gravity are used to power the fountains. It is fascinating to know the original network of those channels and pipes from the 18th century is still in use. However, the fountains are dry at the moment.
The 26 fountains work together only on three days of a year— May 30, July 25 and August 25. From April to October groups of fountains are activated in intervals. Being November, none of the fountains are active right now. I don’t realize what I am missing until my guide drills into my brain how fantastic the La Fama fountain is that shoots up 40 metre high only on gravitational force. A cistern called El Mar or “The Sea”, perched at the highest point of the garden, feeds the water system.
Flights of stairs take visitors to an elevated vantage point in this garden, the best photography point to shoot the castle. It is not in my luck to reach that point, however. Rain lashes so hard along with gusts of wind that, even with my umbrella, I cannot protect myself. The cold cuts through my skin. I have little choice but to turn back when everyone in my group gives up on the walk and decides to call the cab for lunch.
The Palace that I miss
In the rush and the rain, I miss visiting the interiors of the actual edifice, particularly the Flemish Tapestry Museum, housed inside the castle. The intricate gigantic Spanish royal tapestry collection is vast, with the oldest tapestry dating back to the 16th century. The rooms inside the palace are enveloped in the finest marble, adorned with floor to ceiling mirrors and sparkled by scintillating chandeliers.
Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti, the same architects who worked on the Royal Palace of Madrid, looked after the second round of royal construction here. Though mostly baroque, classical influences manifest through the frescoes. Unfortunately, these are things that I only hear from the guide and do not experience.
A walk in La Granja de San Ildefonso
The decision to call the cab is dropped and we decide to walk to the restaurant. The exercise seems cathartic. I walk through broad pavements of sleepy alleys, well shaded by leafy trees. Green, golden, red— nature is bold. San Ildefonso, the town that developed around the palace to cater to the royals and their courtiers, dwells in a cocoon of tranquility.
Dining at Parador de La Granja
For lunch we arrive at Parador de La Granja, a four-star hotel with accommodation facilities and a fine restaurant. Paradores is a public hospitality chain in Spain that takes over heritage buildings and makes them sustainable by opening them up for environmentally sustainable responsible tourism. It is delightful to learn Paradores runs entirely on renewable energy sources.
Housed inside the 18th century Casa de los Infantes, a mansion built by King Carlos III for his children Gabriel and Antonio, Parador de La Granja is decked in modern, minimal décor, though keeping the charm of the 18th century alive. I hang out in the building’s small central patio, catching some rare sun under the watchful eyes of a classical themed marble sculpture. The arches of exposed brick in the corridor create a tavernesque appearance. The air in the restaurant quivers with musical notes.
The first dish is served. Is it a burger entirely made of cheese? It looks as pristine as a cheesecake, just of a different shape. Well, it is none of those. The white dollop on my plate is Burrata cheese— the outer coating of mozzarella cheese cradles scrumptious cream inside it. Originally, this is an Italian delicacy.
In the main course, Parador serves us roast codfish with cauliflower cream, almond butter and seasonal mushrooms of the region. After coming across codfish so many times, in so many forms, I am convinced that what rui, katla is to Kolkata, codfish is to Castile y Leon and Madrid!
Coming to my favourite part, the dessert—diced sautéed pineapple is served in a thick gravy of coconut and mint. Tasty and healthy, a rare combination aced by the restaurant. There is my sweet climax of my travel story to La Granja de San Ildefonso.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Ticket price of the Royal Palace of La Granja :
€9 or less (there is a host of different fees depending on visitor’s work profile/nationality/age)
Timing of the Royal Palace of La Granja :
October – March (10AM – 4PM Tuesday-Friday; 10AM – 6PM Saturday-Sunday)
April – September (10AM – 4PM Tuesday-Friday; 10AM – 7PM Saturday-Sunday)
Monday closed. Entry ceases one hour before closing time.
Timing of Restaurante Parador de La Granja:
Lunch menu: 1.30PM – 4PM
Dinner menu: 8.30PM – 11PM
Have you been to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso? Have you visited those of Versailles? Do you have any experience of dining at a Parador restaurant? Speak below!
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Disclaimer: Tania was hosted by Spain Tourism Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are of her own.
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Tania Banerjee
Tania is a freelance writer based in India who tinkers with words here and there but mostly focused on travel, food, arts and crafts. She writes for several Indian dailies and magazines.
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