Charles V ordered a palace here after his marriage, and what went up is a serious piece of Renaissance architecture: a square block with a perfectly circular two-storey courtyard cut through the middle of it.
It is also, unmistakably, an imposition. It required demolishing part of the Nasrid palaces to make room, and it sits against them without any attempt at accommodation.
⚠️ It was left unfinished for centuries and only roofed in the 20th. The courtyard is the part worth your time, and standing in it is free.
Our tip
Walk into the circular courtyard and clap once. The acoustics are the reason concerts are held here.
Palacio de Carlos V, photographed
