10 things to see and do in Retiro Park in Madrid

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.

Now, it is a large park, with 118 hectares, so that a complete walk through it can last two or three hours, and that 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.

Where is it and how to get to Retiro Park

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 in Retiro Park

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, 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.

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 the 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.

Gardens of the Parterre

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.

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 Rodrigues 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 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.