El Pardo Palace includes 1,500 acres of perfectly-manicured grass and luscious gardens, interrupted by statue-lined paths presumably built so the royal family wouldn’t have to suffer the indignity of stepping in grass while facing wild animals in a fight to the death.

A fountain in the middle of one path can spit water fifteen feet into the air, a sign that the palace had in later years become more useful as a vacation home than a hunting reserve. The splendor of the palace was astonishing, not only because it featured life-size mazes and immaculate architecture, but because the masses didn’t loot or destroy it as the royal family lost its iron fist.