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Water fun & Cool Retreats
Popular Water fun & Cool Retreats in Madrid [2025]
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El Retiro Park
4.6
/5
268 reviews
6.3
Based on 57,141 reviews
1.7 km from downtown
Phone +34914008740
Address: Retiro, 28009 Madrid, Spain
Recommended sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
Featured in 2025 Global 50 – Spring Outings
Saved by 342 users28% positive reviews
Verified user reviews
The park is large and shaded by trees. It feels quite nice to walk around and stop whenever you have time. The Crystal Palace and the small lake in front are pleasant, and there are swans, ducks and pigeons playing around, creating a peaceful atmosphere. There are also free art exhibitions to see, which is worth mentioning.
Originally the spiritual retreat of Spain’s ultimate power couple, Isabella and Ferdinand, Retiro evolved into a pleasure palace when the rather less devout Felipe IV wore the crown.
Built by his valido (the equivalent of Prime Minister), the Conde Duque de Olivares, more than 20 buildings went up between 1630 and 1660 to please the playboy king who enjoyed balls, theater and reenactments of naval battles performed on the park’s central lake.
The Palacio de Velazquez is not the only Reina Sofía gallery nearby. Venture further south and you’ll come upon the Palacio de Cristal, a huge greenhouse built in 1887 to house flora brought over from the Philippines — then a Spanish colony. Sadly, at the time, Filipino natives were also brought over and forced to live in their “natural habitat” by the side of the ornamental pond outside. The dark history of this human zoo was rightly exposed and condemned in a 2021 exhibition by Filipino artist, Kidlat Tahimik, held in the space.
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