Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid

El Retiro is a 1.4-square-kilometre public park at the edge of central Madrid, close to the Alcalá Gate and the Museo del Prado. Once a royal retreat, it now contains gardens, monuments, galleries, an artificial lake, and event venues. The Estanque del Retiro is a large artificial pond near the park's northern entrance. Rowing boats can be rented on the water, and the Monument to Alfonso XII rises beside it with a semicircular colonnade and an equestrian statue. The Crystal Palace, built with its own artificial pond for the 1887 Philippines Exposition, is a glass pavilion inspired by London's Crystal Palace and now used for art exhibitions. Ricardo Velázquez Bosco also designed the nearby Velázquez Palace. Elsewhere, visitors find the Rosaleda rose garden, the Fountain of the Fallen Angel with Ricardo Bellver's sculpture inspired by Paradise Lost, the Paseo de la Argentina lined with royal statues, and the Forest of Remembrance honoring 191 victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings. The park's palace remains and exhibition buildings stand alongside fountains, sculpture, sports areas, and other public facilities. Since 2021 it has formed part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Paseo del Prado.

Don't miss

• The Retiro Pond and the Monument to Alfonso XII with its semicircular colonnade
• The Crystal Palace, a glass pavilion beside its artificial pond
• The Rosaleda rose garden and nearby Fountain of the Fallen Angel
• The Paseo de la Argentina lined with eighteenth-century statues of Spanish kings
• The surviving Casón del Buen Retiro and Hall of Realms from the former palace
• The Forest of Remembrance for victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Parque del Buen Retiro, Madrid

Cheapest way inMadrid Walking Tour from Puerta del Sol to Retiro Park5★ · 2,695 travelers~2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$3 per personSee dates →Most bookedMadrid: Royal Palace Guided Tour with Skip the Line Ticket4.7★ · 2,628 travelers~2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$41 per personSee dates →Private & flexibleMadrid Segway Private Tour in Retiro Park4.9★ · 350 travelers1-2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$41 per personSee dates →

Know before you go

• Rowing boats can be rented on the Estanque del Retiro.
• The Crystal Palace, Velázquez Palace, and Casa de Vacas are used as art-gallery spaces.
• The Madrid symphonic band gives free Sunday midday concerts near Calle de Alcalá from late May through early October.
• The main paths are used by families, runners, cyclists, and rollerbladers, and the park includes exercise areas, courts, and playgrounds.

A bit of history

The site's royal history began near the Jeronimite monastery, which moved to the area in 1505. Philip II transferred the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561 and had the retreat enlarged with tree-lined avenues designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo. In the 1620s and 1630s, the Count-Duke of Olivares assembled land and commissioned a much larger palace and gardens for Philip IV. Architects Giovanni Battista Crescenzi and Alonso Carbonell supervised palace construction, while Cosimo Lotti shaped gardens organized around major ponds and canals. Buen Retiro became a center of Habsburg court life, including theatrical performances. Two palace structures survive: the Casón del Buen Retiro and Hall of Realms. Later monarchs introduced a French-style parterre, opera performances, iron railings, and the astronomical observatory. Much of the palace and gardens was destroyed during the Peninsular War when French forces built a citadel on the grounds. Queen Isabella II's reign brought new planting and landscaping. After her overthrow in the 1868 Glorious Revolution, the gardens became public property. International exhibitions in 1883 and 1887 left enduring buildings, especially the Crystal Palace and Velázquez Palace. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Monument to Alfonso XII was built; new gardens and the rose garden followed during the 1930s and 1940s.