This is what a walk through Retiro Park in Madrid looks like: 12 places to see

Spring and autumn are ideal times to walk through Retiro Park, but in any case, in a trip to Madrid this great urban park must be a essential visit during which you can enjoy beautiful and pleasant corners.

El Retirement park It is an ideal place to walk on a Sunday morning, where at any time of the year you will find a great atmosphere.

Or also to spend a summer afternoon and take the opportunity to sit on a terrace to cool off, or to row for a while in the pond.

Behind the Paseo del Prado, where the most important are concentrated museums of Madrid, and next to the Puerta de Alcalá, Retiro It is not only a large urban park, but also a artistic gardens with a long history behind it.

Prior to your highly recommended walk through Retiro Park, it will be interesting for you to know some historical data and curiosities thereof.

Curiosities about the history of Retiro Park

The  origins of Retiro Park are those of some royal gardens.

Its history dates back to the creation of the Buen Retiro gardens, at the time of Philip IV, In XVII century.

These artistic gardens to enjoy court They spread out next to the Monastery of los jeronimos, of which now only its Jerónimos church.

From the time of the reign of Ferdinand VII They are enclosures, like the Menagerie or  Royal Embarcaderoas well as a Artificial Mountain which was part of the so-called Garden of Whims.

During the time of the War of independence, He then Good retirement park It became a fortress and garrison for French troops, which caused significant destruction and deterioration.

Retiro Park, Royal Gardens

El Retiro Park went from being royal gardens to a municipal heritage park 1868 the year.

From then on, the park was opened to the visit of Madrid residents.

Crystal Palace and International Exhibition

A corner as prominent as the Crystal Palace, and the nearby Velázquez Palace, were built on the occasion of the celebration at the Retiro de international exhibitions, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

At that time, the gardens of the Rosaleda by Cecilio Rodríguez and the Monument to Alfonso XII adjacent to Estanque.

A final addition to the Retiro Park grounds was the Forest of Remembrance, monument erected in memory of the victims of the terrorist attack of March 11, 2004.

And more recently, the new artificial mountain, popularly known as the Cat Mountain in Retiro Park.

Where is it and how to get to Retiro Park

It is a large park, with 118 hectares, so a complete walk through it can last two or three hours, and that's without stopping for too long in any of its corners.

If this is your first time visiting, it will be interesting for you to know where is Retiro Park In the centre of Madrid, how to get there by metro, and which are they places of greatest interest to discover during your walk.

Given its large dimensions, for get to Retiro Park You have different places to go.

The perimeter that makes up the park is made up of Puerta de Alcalá and Alcala street for the North; the Menéndez Pelayo Avenue, by the East; the area of ​​the Atocha station , to the south; and the Alfonso XII street, by the West.

You have several doors to enter it, but the main one is the Independence Gate, located in the aforementioned Puerta de Alcalá, where you can get there from the Retiro metro station (line 2).

You can also access the southern area of ​​the park from the Atocha-Renfe metro station (line 1), and if you want to arrive from the east, you have the Queen Mercedes Gate, next to the exit of the Ibiza metro station (line 9).

What to see and do on a walk through Retiro Park, our experience

Next I am going to advise you route to see Retiro Park in which in some two hours You will discover its most attractive and pleasant corners.

Independence Gate

I advise you to start the route by entering through the Independence Square, where the famous Puerta de Alcalá.

From there you will take a walk that is usually full of flowers, which will lead you to the pond.

Before reaching it, on the right you will leave the Puppet Theater where every Sunday morning it is common for puppet shows to be held, very suitable for children.

Right in the corner of the pond you will find one of the most famous fountains of Retiro, the Galapagos Fountain, which was built in 1832 and had its first location in the Gran Vía.

Concert at the Music Temple

On the north side of the pond you can see the Music Temple where in spring and autumn every Sunday morning a pleasant concert of the Municipal Symphonic Band. which many Madrid residents and visitors enjoy.

Sail by boat through Retiro Pond

It is perhaps the central axis of this great Madrid park and, without a doubt, the place that concentrates the largest number of visitors, some of whom go to sail a boat on the pond.

El Pond of the Retreat It is part of the gardens of the then good retreat since its beginnings, since the 17th century, and is known as the big pond.

Next to it is the Monument to Alfonso XII, undoubtedly the most important monument that you find in these gardens, which was inaugurated in 1922.

It is the work of the Catalan architect Jose Grases Riera, of whom in Madrid we have a sample of modern architecture, how is he longoria palace.

Currently it is possible to climb to the top of the monument with visits carried out with a history specialist, although on very limited dates and times, which is why it is essential. sign up well in advance.

Cat Mountain

If you enter the Retiro Park through the door located in the northeast corner, between the O'Donnell Street and Menéndez Pelayo Avenue, you find the artificial mountain known as Cat Mountain.

Reopened to the public in summer 2023, it was built in the XNUMXth century and now hosts temporary exhibitions.

Inside you can see a vaulted space, with a circular floor plan, open at the top.

You can climb to the viewpoint located at the top along different paths that run between the three waterfalls that are arranged on this artificial mountain.

Among the free-entry exhibitions, the nativity scenes displayed during the Christmas season stand out.

Walk of the Statues

On the west bank of the pond, from just in front of the aforementioned monument, begins the Walk of the Statues, another path that leads towards the so-called Gate of Spain, In Alfonso XII street.

This walk is so called because there are numerous statues of Spanish kings that in their day were sculpted to be placed on the ceiling of the Royal Palace, but which were finally not placed due to the danger of them falling.

You can also see a good part of these statues on the paths of the gardens of the same Plaza de Oriente.

Artichoke Fountain

Right in the roundabout that limits the pond on the southwest side is another of the most notable fountains of the Retiro, the Artichoke Fountain.

With this curious name, the monument was designed in 1781 by Ventura Rodríguez, incorporating sculptures by various artists, although it was not moved to its current location until 1880.

The fountain is configured with two bodies, with the artichoke sculpture sculpted in granite.

Galapagos Fountain

In the northwest corner of the aforementioned Pond you find the Galapagos Fountain.

It is an artistic work carried out in 1832, whose first location was in the San Luis Networkneighbourhood, in the heart of Madrid's Gran Via.

Initially it did not have an ornamental or decorative character, since its main function was to supply water through nine pipes.

You will be able to see that it has two bodies, the upper one with a conch-shaped spout, and the lower one, with four sculptural spouts that represent two frogs and two turtles.

Gardens of the Parterre

If you continue on the walk that descends towards the aforementioned Alfonso XII street you will reach the Parterre gardens, located in front of the building Buen Retiro House, already outside the park enclosure.

It is the only French-style garden in Retiro Park, and was created by commission of Philip V.

The best panorama of the Gardens of the Parterre You have them from the platform with viewpoints in the upper area, from where you can see well the characteristic alignment of the elements in this type of garden, with the aforementioned building of the Buen Retiro House the background.

Crystal Palace

If instead you go down towards the south, almost next to the pond is the building of the Velázquez palace and a little further on, the corner that, from my point of view, has the most charm in Retiro Park, the crystal Palace.

In the middle of the grove you will find a small pond, in which a large cypress stands out, and on its shore, the crystal Palace built at the end of the 19th century, and one of the best examples of metal architecture in Spain.

Both at crystal Palace such as Velázquez palace Currently they are headquarters of the Reina Sofia Museum, so when you visit them you will find contemporary art exhibitions.

Source of the Fallen Angel

On your walk south you will reach the next roundabout, where the Source of the Fallen Angel.

It can be said that it is the most emblematic of the Retiro fountains, or at least the one that arouses the most curiosity among park visitors since it is dedicated to Lucifer, Demon.

Its current location is relatively modern since it was in 1995 when it was decided to install it in what is one of the main roundabouts in the Madrid park.

Rose Garden by Cecilio Rodríguez

Near the fountain you can also see the monument to Benito Pérez Galdós, but, above all, there you find another corner of great beauty in the park, the Rose Garden of the Retreat, which is dedicated to Cecilio Rodriguez, Whoever it was Senior Gardener from the park.

It was designed in 1915, following the fashion of large European gardens of having a rose garden in them.

Inspired by the French gardens of Paris, the Rose Garden of the Retreat en Madrid It has an elliptical shape.

After Civil War More than 4.000 rose bushes were planted and today it is a truly lush corner of vegetation and roses.

By not being designed as an exhibition of roses, following botanical criteria, in Madrid It was built in 1956 West Park Rose Garden, where the traditional Rose Contest.

In preparation for your visit, I remind you that roses generally bloom in spring and autumn.

Cecilio Rodriguez Gardens

In this way you will have completed the route along the Retiro promenade, seeing the essential places.

If you have more time, from the Rose Garden You can approach the east side of the park, where you will find the gardens that now occupy the space of the old Retiro Menagerie.

They were designed by the aforementioned Cecilio Rodriguez with cypresses, trimmed boxwood and pergolas, as an extension of what was the old Madrid Zoo.

If not, you can go west along the Gate of the Fallen Angel and get to the Atocha roundabout and the Paseo del Prado through Slope of Moyano.

To help you plan your visit, here is a plan of Retiro park that will be useful to you.

Finally, for your visit to the capital, here you have information about tours and activities in Madrid. as well as for your accommodation, here you can find hotels en booking.com.