Madrid

Escape the heat and plunge into cooling waters at these fun, water-filled activities

Cool Escapes

Popular Water fun & Cool Retreats in Madrid [2025]

Water fun & Cool Retreats

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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s central lake. 



The Palacio de Velazquez is not the only Reina Sof&iacute;a gallery nearby. Venture further south and you&rsquo;ll come upon the Palacio de Cristal, a huge greenhouse built in 1887 to house flora brought over from the Philippines &mdash; then a Spanish colony. Sadly, at the time, Filipino natives were also brought over and forced to live in their &ldquo;natural habitat&rdquo; 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.

Madrid&rsquo;s Retiro Park occupies a very large area and is well worth a visit, but when people enter the park, they dress up as Disney dolls, such as Cardchao and Super Sonic Mouse, which are out of place!

The Retiro Park in Madrid is one of the must-see attractions. The Crystal Palace in the center of the park is the highlight. The fully transparent glass house is surrounded by towering trees. There are three sculptures inside, which is quite suitable for taking photos. The weather was too hot, and the roses in the rose garden were not blooming, so it was not very beautiful. It would be great to visit during the rose season. The park is very large and you can walk around slowly.

Great theme park, with attractions for all the ages and enthusiasm. I reccomend the Superman ride, the stunt fall  and the visit to the rapids. And the Stunt show is really nice!

San Martin de la Vega

This is a very suitable park for the whole family to visit. It is a bit like Disney, but of course it is less well-known. There are many classic scenes from Warner animation, which children like very much. The ticket price is cheaper than that of Disney.

I really enjoyed this theme park and the roller coasters were really great. The best one was the Superman theme and especially the Batman theme. It was great for thrill seekers. But most of all, my favorite was the &quot;Dinosaur&quot;. I went there on a very hot day and it was just what my friends and I needed to cool down. My favorite part was when we got to the end of the free fall and we got completely soaked. I highly recommend this ride in the summer. For younger kids, it&#39;s a whole cartoon village waiting for them to play.

Popular Water fun & Cool Retreats in Madrid [2025]

El Retiro Park

Parque Warner Madrid

Popular Ranking Lists in Madrid