 the palacio real de madrid (literally: royal palace of madrid) is the official residence of the spanish royal family at the city of madrid, but is only used for state ceremonies. king felipe vi and the royal family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the more modest palacio de la zarzuela on the outskirts of madrid. the palace is owned by the spanish state and administered by the patrimonio nacional, a public agency of the ministry of the presidency. the palace is located on calle de bailÃ©n (bailÃ©n street), in the western part of downtown madrid, east of the manzanares river, and is accessible from the Ãpera metro station. several rooms in the palace are regularly open to the public except during state functions. an admission fee of â¬11 is required except for residents of the iberian peninsula. in spanish, it is sometimes incorrectly called "palacio de oriente" by confusion with the "plaza de oriente", the square which lies to the east (oriental) side of the palace. the palace is on the site of a 9th-century fortress, called mayrit, constructed as an outpost by muhammad i of cÃ³rdoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent moorish taifa of toledo. after madrid fell to alfonso vi of castile in 1083, the edifice was only rarely used by the kings of castile. in 1329, king alfonso xi of castile convened the cortes of madrid for the first time. philip ii moved his court to madrid in 1561. the old alcÃ¡zar ("castle") was built on the location in the 16th century. it burned 24 december 1734 and king philip v ordered a new palace built on the same site. construction spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and followed a berniniesque design by filippo juvarra and giovanni battista sacchetti in cooperation with ventura rodrÃ­guez, [[francesc
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