Parque del Buen Retiro

• [Z] Prado Museum 0.3 Km
• [Y] Museo Thyssen Bornemisza 0.5 Km
• [X] Puerta de Alcalá 0.5 Km
• [W] Atocha Railway Station 0.7 Km
• [V] Museo Nacional Centro De Arte 0.9 Km
• [U] Museo Arqueológico Nacional 0.9 Km
• [T] Plaza de Colon 1.1 Km
• [S] Kilometro Cero 1.2 Km

"El Retiro" as it is simply called, is Madrid's main park with its 1.4 sq Km, not far from the Prado Museum, and it certainly can be defined the "Lungs of Madrid". The "Jardines del Buen Retiro" date back to the 1620s, when this cool and wooded area was given to king Philip IV by Count-Duke of Olivares (powerful favorite of the king) for recreational use. In the 1630s many buildings were erected, a couple of them still standing (one being the Casòn del Buen Retiro, at that period used as a ballroom), the landscape architect for the Grand Duke of Tuscany (Cosme Lotti) worked at the realization of the park in the late1630s, after the construction of the Cason. Great importance in this park is given to water: there is a large artificial pond, once used for mock naval battles and other aquatic displays, a great canal and a narrow channel. Opened to the public in 1767 and bought by the Municipality in 1868, thus becoming a public property, El Retiro stated to become the heart of Madrid with many statues, fountains, commemorative monuments. Today we can say that it is an open-air sculpture museum. Among the features of the park we have to mention the Rosaleda rose garden, with roses of all assortments, the Museo del Ejército housing the sword of El Cid, the famous Spanish warrior and the Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace): this glass pavilion, inspired by London's Crystal Palace and considered the most extraordinary building in the park, is now an art gallery. In summer (late May until early October) the "Banda Sinfonica de Madrid" proposes, every Sunday at midday, free concerts from the bandstand near Calle d'Alcala.

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