The Park of "Retiro" is located in the heart of Madrid, the biggest Spanish city. It has become an essential lung for Madrid… and its inhabitants, who want to leave their hurried lives to take a little break in that wonderful park. It is the most important park of Madrid. So this park deserves a visit if you ever go to Madrid, because it joins past and present, art, history and architecture. There are some monuments on the park that are more famous than other, but walking along the avenues you can discover new little wonders; this park always offers something new. In addition to it, I have to underline the privileged place that this park occupies. It is very closed to other important monuments of the city like Prado Museum, Alcalá Gate, Cibeles Square, Loyalty Square or Atocha Station. == History of the park == It was built thakns to the Count-Duke of Olivares, "Prime Minister" of Philip IV, who told the King to build a Palace rounded by trees, lakes, fountains, sculptures… During the reign of this king, balls and theatre representations were famous all around Europe, and lots of kings and aristocrats came to this palace to enjoy it. During the French invasion of Spain, this palace hosted the French troops… so good bye palace. Huge amounts of explosives were taken into the palace, and due to mistakes, most of them exploded inside the it . Nowadays, only two parts of the palace stay: the Museum
of the Army and the "Casón del Buen Retiro" (Big house of the good retreat), where the best balls took place. Ferdinand VII reconstructed the parts of the park that had been damaged by the French army, and he ordered to create a new pier and an enclosure for beasts. In 1868 a revolution forced the Queen Elisabeth II to leave the throne, and the park was opened to the inhabitants of Madrid.
This park is rounded by Alcalá, O´Donnell, Alfonso XII, Menéndez Pelayo and Poeta Esteban Villegas streets. There is a big amount of buses that pass near the park. If you want to go by underground, you have to go to Retiro station (line 2), Atocha-Renfe Station (line 1) or Ibiza (line 9). You can also take the train: all the train lines stop at Atocha Station, that is next to the park.
Activities
This is a wonderful park to have a walk, this is always crowded of people walking or running. This is also a great place to jog due to the pure air that we can breathe there. Also people go cycling or skating. But is there is a famous activity it is the boat hiring to sail in the pond. It costs 4 €, ₤2,5. You can also play other different sports such like football, tennis or basketball. The main avenues of the park are also full of singers, painters, fortune-tellers… To take a break and have any drink or food rounded by nature, there are some bars in the park. For the little kids, some puppet shows are played.
Time table
Summer (from April until October): from 7 a.m. to 00:00. Winter (from November to April): from 7a.m. to 10 p.m. You can get into the park from 6 a.m., because gates start to be opened. The last one is opened at 7 a.m.
Information points
There are three, and they are next to "Casita del Pescador", "Rosaleda" and Bosque del Recuerdo", and they three are opened from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The streets
Cars are not allowed to get into the park, except policemen, firemen and cleaners. Most of the streets have names of hispano-american countries, like Panamá or Argentina. There are some places that generate confusion: for example, the monument to Cuba is located in El Salvador Square. You will see cases like that in other parts of Madrid :P.
Most famous places
In the attached map you can see where are they: 1- The Pond: this is the most famous place of the Park. You will always see little boats on its surface that can be hired in the north part of the pond. You can also see two little sphinxes and a big anchor in the south side.
2 - In a shore of the Pond you will be able to see the most important monument of the park, the "Monumento a Alfonso XII" (Monument to Alfonso XII, King of Spain from 1874 to 1885). His posthumous son, Alfonso XIII ordered to the best Spanish sculptors to create this beautiful sculptural monument. More than twenty sculptors helped to make this monument, that is 30 metres high (more or less 10 feet).
3- Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace). Was designed by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco at the end of the 19th century to hold an exposition about Philippines (at that time, it was a Spanish province). It is built on crystal and iron. Nowadays, lots of exhibitions take place in that nice building. It is placed next to another pond and next to Velázquez Palace.
4- Palacio de Velásquez, Velásquez Palace: it held in 1883 an exhibition about mines, metallurgy, pottery, crystalry and spring water. Its name was given due to its architect, Ricardo Velázquez. This Palace´s façade is decorated with wonderful pieces of pottery. It is next to Crystal Palace and in front of a Pond.
5- The rosebushes: you can see lots of different roses. You should visit it on Spring, to enjoy the wonderful spring of these flowers.
6- The Fallen Angel: it is an statue o fan angel with the hand on his forehead, looking at the sky. This is the only official statue of the World dedicated to the Evil.
+++ Other wonderful places to visit +++ 7- Monument to Martínez Campos: we can see an equestrian monument to Major-General Martínez Campos. You can arrive easily there if you enter the park by Reina Mercedes Gate, next to Ibiza underground Station.
8- Casa de Vacas, "House of Cows". This building that some years ago hosted cows is nowadays a wonderful place to enjoy some exhibitions.
10- Fuente de los Galápagos, "Freshwater Tourtle Fountain".
11- Parterre: this is a great garden nest to the Pond. It has a statue dedicated to Jacinto Benavente, Nobel Price. He is not in the statue, the statue represents the Theatre, the activity that gave him all his glory. This is a wonderful garden to walk and relax. If you leave the Park by the Gate that is at the end of Parterre, you will find the "Casón del Buen Retiro", a building that nowadays holds some wonderful paintings brought from the Prado Museum, that is very near from here.
12- Monument to Ramón y Cajal. In that monument we can see to Santiago Ramón y Cajar, Nobel Price. And next to him two images: a birth and a death where we can read "Fons Vitae" and "Fons Mortis".
13- Monument to Cuba, that has some sculptures. The main sculptures are dedicated to Christopher Columbus and the Queen Elisabeth the Catholic.
14- Bosque de los Ausentes, a little forest that tries to commemorate to all those who dead in the terrorist attack to Madrid in 2004, on March the 11th. There are 192 trees, due to the 192 people dead in the attack and to the policeman that dead trying to arrest to seven terrorists.
15- Observatorio Astronómico, Astronomical Station built in the southern side of the Park over two centuries ago. It holds wonderful ancient tools and books about the Universe.
16- Jardines de Cecilio Rodríguez, Cecilio Rodríguez´s Garden, a nice garden dedicated to the best gardener of the city in the 20th century.
17- Paseo de Argentina. This is a wonderful avenue, that in both sides has white statues. This statues represent to Spanish kings from the 8th century until the 18th. You will see the rest of the statues next to the Royal Palace of Madrid and in the Royal Palace of "La Granja de San Francisco", next to Segovia.
18- San Isidoro Church. Here you can see some of the ruins of San Isidoro Church, that was built in Ávila, but in the 19th century was brought to Madrid, exactly in 1896.
Other interesting places to visit are "Casita del Pescador" or "Templete de Música (19)", or many little monuments and statues that you can see in all the park.
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As you can read in all my review, this is a wonderful park to walk and relax, a great place to enjoy nature in the centre of a big city. If you ever come to Madrid, you should visit that park that mixes nature, architecture and sculpture.
Thank you very much for reading me, and sorry for my spelling and grammar mistakes, I´m from Spain and I do not yet speak English, but I will improve thanks to you . I will attach a map and some photographs.
Pictures of Parque de El Retiro
The fountain of "Tritones"
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Another great review from you. I love parks for pleasure time.
pennywa 19.04.2008 18:17
Fabulous! xxxxxxxxx
gizmogizmo 12.04.2008 08:17
A really informative review and an interesting read. I don't know what your English skills were like before but you seem to be doing very, very well!. Nice pictures.
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very helpful by (100%):
