Founded in 1790 and engaged in continuous scientific activity ever since, the Royal Observatory of Madrid remains a working institution. It is the seat of the Spanish National Observatory and of an active geophysics research group, both part of the National Geographic Institute.
The observatory stands on a small hill beside the Buen Retiro Park, in a building designed by the architect Juan de Villanueva and valued for its architecture. It is protected in Spain as a bien de interés cultural, a national heritage designation. In 2021 it became part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed together with surrounding areas as the Paisaje de la Luz, or Landscape of Light.
Alongside the building itself, the observatory holds an important collection of historical scientific instruments, as well as bibliographic and documentary collections built up over its long working life.
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