Three times in La Granja de San Ildefonso
Three times in La Granja de San IldefonsoLocated about 10 Km far from Segovia, this historical small city retains a traditional look, and uses it promoting cultural events.
I’ve been there three times, in professional meetings linked to the local Royal Glass Factory, and also to the Baroque market.
Interesting calm days…
The Palace
Located about 80 km from Madrid and 10 km from Segovia, La Granja is a royal vacation site.
A palace built in the XVIII century following the trends of the epoch, (here and there resembling Versailles) dominates de area.
In the back, a large garden includes several romantic fountains, operated in a regular schedule, always with a crowd following from fountain to fountain.
Water games
The gardens of the Royal Palace have 26 fountains, all different and all pretty, working only by gravity effects. Each Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, they show a different set of 4 of them, and then there’s a crowd walking along the gardens moving from fountain to fountain, here and there with some wet surprises.
The show begins at 17.30, and it’s the only time you need a ticket to enter the gardens.
Website: Palace
Mercado Barroco
Each year, in June, there’s a popular fair recreating baroque traditions.
Most locals dress according to that times, and the feast is simple but pleasant, as I could testify twice.
“Nuestra Señora de los Dolores” church
Giving name to the wide frontal square, the church of Dolores is a Baroque temple designed in 1764 to house the nuns of the Brotherhood of Sorrows, replacing a former chapel.
Inside, rectangular and single nave, with side chapels.
Outside, the discrete facade has a simple portico with six pilasters.
