El Retiro Park’s Rise, Ruin and Redemption: A Tour of the Former Royal Retreat

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Madrid, Spain audio tour: El Retiro Park’s Rise, Ruin and Redemption: A Tour of the Former Royal Retreat

This is a 1.5mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Madrid, Spain

Spain

$9.99

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About the Tour

At the heart of Madrid’s picturesque Retiro neighborhood is the much-loved El Retiro Park. Long before it became a public park, it was a royal retreat. On this walking tour, you’ll explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site and hear its fascinating 500-year-long history.

Our tour starts in front of the Monument to Goya, where you’ll hear about the famous painter and the Prado museum's collection, before moving on to San Jerónimo Real church where you'll learn about how Philip II made Madrid Spain’s capital when he moved his court here in the 1500s. You’ll stroll through the Retiro neighborhood, passing the remains of the splendid pleasure palace - the El Casón del Buen Retiro and the Salon de los Reinos - built for Phillip IV as a place for him to relax away from the public eye. From there you’ll wander through the park, past the Great Pond of El Retiro and the former enclosures of the Antiguo Zoo de Madrid to the Fountain of the Fallen Angel where our tour ends. As you walk, the park’s history will sweep you up, taking you through the ages, from the decadence of this playboy king, to the destruction wrought by Napoleon’s army and into the present day, giving you an insight into modern Spain.

On this Madrid walking tour, you’ll have a chance to:

Discover how the spiritual retreat of San Jerónimo el Real church was later transformed into an enormous pleasure palace
Find out how Retiro’s oldest tree survived the ravages of Napoleon’s invasion
Hear the hair-raising history of the House of Beasts where lions and tigers fought for the entertainment of Spain’s kings
Learn about the rebellious Nobel prize-winning Ramón y Cajal by a monument to the neuroscientist
Take a peek at the peacocks strutting around a hidden walled garden at the far reaches of the park
See the lake in front of Palacio de Cristal where Pizarro the elephant used to bath

By the end of this hour-long tour, you’ll have discovered another side to Madrid’s most famous park, gaining an insight into its hidden history and often overlooked sights.

Tour Producer

Felicity Hughes

4 tours

Felicity Hughes is a British writer and tour guide based in Madrid. Back in 2017, she started a history blog called The Making of Madrid. The idea was to help readers understand the forces that have shaped Spain's capital, following its transformation from a medieval medina to a glittering metropolis. The project was a hit, and she has now become a well-known local expert, with articles published in The Guardian, Al Jazeera, the Financial Times, and Time Out. She also writes extensively for Lonely Planet and is the lead writer for their Madrid guides.
Drawing on years of research and a deep love for the city, Felicity brings Madrid's layered history to life through immersive, story-driven tours. In 2024, she launched a podcast that helps listeners get under the skin of the city, so if you want to get a preview of what you'll hear on a tour, tune into The Making of Madrid on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Preview Location

Location 5

The Old Palace

Stop here please.

You're outside one of the old palace buildings, the other palace building is the redbrick building just ahead across Calle Felipe IV.

We heard earlier how Retiro started out life in the 1500s as a spiritual retreat for Spain's kings, a quiet place to ge... Stop here please.

You're outside one of the old palace buildings, the other palace building is the redbrick building just ahead across Calle Felipe IV.

We heard earlier how Retiro started out life in the 1500s as a spiritual retreat for Spain's kings, a quiet place to get away from it all and pray for guidance. In the 1600s, however, things changed radically. This devotion to the church didn't last down through the ages. Philip II's son Philip III was nothing like his serious father: an inveterate gambler and bon vivant, he mismanaged things to the extent that the crown's reputation was in tatters by the time his son took over. It was up to Philip IV to redeem the reputation of the crown. To do this he had to appear to be a sober and sensible character. This is why Velazquez's painting of the young Philip in the Prado shows him dressed in somber black looking a little bit pouty. In truth, the weight of responsibility was a bit much for him. Like his father before him, he preferred play to work. In Philip IV's case, his predictions were for beautiful actresses. To indulge this enthusiasm for the, ahem, theatre, the Conde Duque de Olivares, the powerful valido who ruled in his stead created a huge pleasure palace for the king out in the area known as Retiro.

The generous gift was given on the condition that Phillip IV behaved himself in public. Built between 1630 to 1660 on vast grounds outside the city, this pleasure palace included more than 20 buildings. It was a much more cheerful place than the gloomy Alcazar palace in town - a rather dour building that mysteriously went up in flames after the Bourbon dynasty took over from the Hapsburgs. While the Alazar was perfect for brooding over political problems, Retiro palace was somewhere to relax and enjoy music, art and theatre.

You find yourself beside the only two remaining buildings from this huge palace. In front of you is the Cason de Retiro, a ballroom that would probably have been Philip's favourite building and to your left across the road is a redbrick building with towers on either end. This is the Salon de Los Reinos, or the Hall of Realms, a place for Philip to sit in state while receiving visiting dignitaries. On the ceiling of the Salon de los Reinos, are the coats of arms of the 24 kingdoms that Philip ruled over. These included: Portugal, Sicily, Sardinia, Gibraltar, Naples, and Milan. Not one for matters of state, Phillip IV probably hated coming here and that feeling must only have intensified when Spain lost parts of the Netherlands and Portugal under his rule, losses that he blamed the unfortunate Conde Duque de Olivares for.

Let's get going again. Facing the Cason del Buen Retiro, take the road uphill to the left of the building, keeping the Cason del Buen Retiro on your right.

Now the Salon de los Reinos is owned by the Prado but work to transform it into a gallery is slow going. Initially, it was slated to reopen as a gallery in 2019 but the pandemic slowed things down considerably. Now, the date has been changed to 2025 and whether they'll be done in time remains to be seen. If it is delayed it won't be for want of funds: a whacking 35 million euros has been allocated for the work.

The Prado also owns the Cason del Buen Retiro, which houses the museum's library. Guided visits inside can be booked at the information desk in the museum. The star attraction is a huge ceiling fresco of the Allegory of the Golden Fleece by Italian painter Luca Giordano. But the rest of Retiro Palace had many more frescos than this. The court painter during Philip IV's rule was the great Velazquez who had been given the task of decorating the walls of this huge palace. He commissioned painters like Giordano to do the work. Luca was perfect for the job as his Italian nickname was fa presto, meaning he worked incredibly fast. A skilled mimic of other's work Giordano nevertheless failed to find his own inimitable style unlike Velazquez and many art historians bemoan the loss of the frescos Velazquez painted for the palace. But why are they gone? Once you've entered the park you'll find out the answer to that question. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Antiguo Zoo de Madrid
Antigua Casa de las Fieras
Palacio de Cristal
Fuente de las Esfinges
Monument to Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Eugenio Trias Municipal Public Library
Fountain of the Fallen Angel
Great Pond of El Retiro
Ahuehuete de El Parterre
Puerta de Felipe IV
El Retiro Park
El Casón del Buen Retiro
Hall of Realms
San Jerónimo el Real
Monument to Goya
Statue of Jacinto Benavente

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
C. de Felipe IV, s/n, Retiro, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Total distance

2km
Final location
P.º de Fernán Núñez, Retiro, 28009 Madrid, Spain
Distance back to start location

943.44m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins at the statue of Goya (C. de Felipe IV,) outside the ticket office of the Museo del Prado. This is easy to spot as there's always a long queue of people waiting for tickets.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

There are plenty of places to stop off at during this tour and these include:
The Great Pond where you can hire rowing boats
The gardens of Cecilio Rodriguez where you can spend time with the peacocks
The gallery inside Palacio de Cristal
The cafe beside the statue of the fallen angel

Best time of day

The park does close during stormy weather as falling tree branches are a safety concern. Between April to September opening hours are 6.00 am to midnight. Between October to March opening hours are 6.00 am to 10.00 pm.

Precautions

If you're visiting in summer, avoid the extreme heat of the afternoons. If you do decide to brave the heat, bring a hat, sunblock, and water.

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