A great city needs a great park, and Madrid is no exception. Just to give you a sense of scale, at…read more300 acres, it's a shade smaller than London's Hyde Park and a little over 1/3 of the size of Central Park. However, El Retiro (as locals call it) is over 200 years older than Central Park, starting as the private royal grounds. Its centerpiece is Estanque Grande (Grand Lake), a huge 17th-century artificial lake covered in rowboats on the weekend (Photo 3). Dominating the lake is the majestic Monument to Alfonso XII built in bronze and marble with an expansive colonnade (Photo 6). Because Madrid's most famous museums stand close to the park's western edge, we walked along the Statue Walk where Spanish monarchs are memorialized (Photo 7). Jamie W and I also visited another smaller lake that features the Art Nouveau-style Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace), but unfortunately it was closed. However, we took advantage of the Kiosco Nacional Palacio de Cristal, an open-air terrace cafe that served light lunch fare and coffee drinks (Photo). We couldn't help but indulge in a couple of desserts (Photo 2). Moreover, even though the park was plenty crowded, there was still a sense of bucolic serenity here. It wasn't a challenge to find a peaceful respite amid the overall greenery, especially with the sometimes overwhelming urbania outside the park. RELATED - Exploring Madrid? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://yelp.to/AwA0OI30NX

Retiro Park is an oasis in the center of Madrid. Is a gorgeous, immaculately maintained green space…read morein the heart of the city. There are numerous entrances into the park and walking paths throughout. On a pretty day, it's hard to find a better place to spend the afternoon. The people watching is fantastic, and there are multiple things to see and do inside the park, including the crystal Palace. I love to go sit by the lake and watch the people on the boats. They are often musicians playing, kids riding their bikes, and families enjoying all that Madrid has to offer.