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 bathe.
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.
FAQ
How do I get the tour?
Download the Voicemap app from Google Play for Android or App Store for iPhone. Once you’ve set up your account, you can purchase the tour of El Retiro Park and download it to your phone.
How does the tour work?
When you arrive at the statue of Goya outside the Prado, the tour will start automatically. The app uses your GPS to trigger audio, and I’ll guide you to the next stop. If you wander off the route, it’ll even tell you, and you can look at a map on your phone to find the way again.
What’s the route like?
It’s a 2km tour around Retiro Park. While the road gently slopes at the beginning as you pass the former palace buildings on your way to the park entrance, once inside, the terrain is generally flat. The park is generally open to the public during the daytime except on days when high winds carry a danger of falling branches. The tour begins by the entrance to the Prado museum and ends inside the park by the Statue of the Fallen Angel, which is a ten-minute walk from Atocha station. The whole route takes around one hour to complete.
Can I take a break?
Absolutely! You can pause the tour at any point to grab a coffee or check out a shop. Be warned that toilets tend to be few and far between in Madrid, so it’s often advisable to ask to use the facilities in a cafe or hotel. I’ve got a whole post on where to find toilets in Madrid, if you need more info. That being said, there are a few public toilets within the park.
What can I expect from the tour?
This tour tells you about the history of Retiro Park from the times when it was a royal spiritual retreat up through to when it became public property.