Parterre Garden of Aranjuez

It is the grand green forecourt of the palace: the first garden you step into and the most "postcard-perfect" in Aranjuez. Geometric, symmetrical and filled with fountains, it is the perfect starting point — or finishing touch — for your visit. Entry free.

A French garden in the heart of Aranjuez

The Parterre was created in the early eighteenth century, during the reign of Philip V, the first Bourbon king, who brought to Spain the taste for French gardens in the style of Versailles: clipped parterres, perfect symmetry and fountains as focal points of the composition. It occupies the space between the palace's east facade and the entrance to the Island Garden, and is the most carefully tended and "architectural" garden of them all.

Its fountains and sculptures

• Fountain of Hercules and Antaeus: the star attraction, at the garden entrance, with sculptures carved by Juan Adán on the orders of Ferdinand VII in 1827. It depicts the struggle of the hero against the giant.
• Fountain of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, in the central section of the Parterre.
• The two Fountains of the Nereids, beside their twin pools.
• Boxwood parterres, monumental trees and small squares with mythological motifs.

Tips for your visit

• This is the ideal spot for your first photos with the palace facade as a backdrop.
• From here you enter the Island Garden: plan to see both together.
• In spring, the flowering parterres are spectacular; see Aranjuez in spring.

Other gardens and sights