This historic garden and public park is a tourist attraction in the city. Inside you can contemplate architectural, sculptural and landscape ensembles dating from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Of these monuments, the one dedicated to Alfonso XII, the Palacio de Cristal, the Estanque Grande, the Parterre, the Puerta de Felipe IV, the Real Observatorio Astronómico and the Alcachofa fountain are worth a visit. The accompanying guide will show you how it began to be used as an urban park in 1767, when Charles III agreed to it being used for recreational events, and in 1868 it was taken under the ownership of Madrid City Council. Much of the original layout was destroyed during the French invasion, but vestiges from the 17th and 18th centuries remain.
The Retiro Park covers a total of 118 hectares, with a perimeter of 4.5 km. It is bounded to the north by the streets of Alcalá and O’Donnell, to the south by the street of the poet Esteban Villegas, to the west by the street of Alfonso XII and to the east by the avenue of Menéndez Pelayo.
