The hall is oriented north to south, with high, narrow windows on the eastern and western walls. The cavernous Great Hall can feast a thousand people. A long carpet stretches from the throne to the hall's great oak-and- bronze doors. The Iron Throne sits on a raised iron dais with high and narrow steps. The Great Hall contains the throne room of the king. The Red Keep is full of cats, including those kept as pets as well as strays, like a black tomcat. Sweet-smelling rushes can be spread on floors.

Doors are made of oak banded with black iron. Relics of the Targaryen dynasty, such as dusty suits of black armor, sit in some corridors. The royal sept and the Maidenvault are located above the serpentine steps as well. Also above the steps are the godswood, the river walk, the small kitchen, and the pig yard. The Great Hall with the throne room is found above the steps, and the outer yard or ward is found near the main gate. Maegor's Holdfast, the small council chambers, the Tower of the Hand, the lower bailey, a small sunken courtyard, and the black cells are located below the steps. The Red Keep has serpentine steps which can be strenuous to climb.

Behind the walls are small inner yards, vaulted halls, covered bridges, barracks of the City Watch of King's Landing, dungeons, granaries, kennels, and stables. The immense barbican has a cobbled square in front of it. The walls have great bronze gates and portcullises, with narrow postern doors nearby. Thick stone parapets, some four feet high, protect the outer edge of the wall ramparts, where the heads of traitors are traditionally placed on iron spikes between the crenels at the gatehouse. Massive curtain walls surround the castle, with nests and crenelations for archers. Much of the Red Keep is connected underground. The castle is smaller than Winterfell and is patrolled by gold cloaks. The Red Keep has seven massive drum-towers crowned with iron ramparts. The Red Keep is made of pale red stone and overlooks the mouth of the Blackwater Rush.

Pale moon kennels