I love gardens, so I was rather excited to choose Aranjuez Cultural Landscape as the first central Iberian World Heritage Site to visit after I arrived in Madrid for a long weekend last May. In truth, the gardens were not as impressive as others I have visited, but I did appreciate the laidback atmosphere of this suburb that began as a royal estate in the 16th century. After arriving in town, I started my tour indoors with the palace, so as to avoid a passing rain shower. The palace had many fine rooms, but since I came to Aranjuez to view the gardens, as soon as the skies brightened I was back outside. The gardens next to the palace were beautiful, however I was slightly let down by the Island Garden, which was not as well upkept as I thought it might be. I did find the water canals within the garden curious, since they reminded me of those irrigating Al Ain Oasis in UAE. It was the weir on the Tagus next to the palace that I found most fascinating, though (as noted by other reviewers). After getting a quick lunch, I strolled around the Prince's Garden, which was far more relaxing to me. I loved walking on the pathways that bordered the Tagus River, and took time to rest and read on a bench overlooking a Chinese garden further inside the park. Aranjuez made for a pleasant introduction to central Spain, and was definitely worth touring before visiting the Royal Palace of Madrid, whose residence and gardens I was more impressed with when I visited later that trip.

Logistics: Aranjuez is about an hour away from Madrid and can be reached regularly by commuter train; the rail station in Aranjuez is a few blocks from the palace and the center of town.