Retiro Park can be located slap bag in the centre of Madrid
city centre, close to the big museums and galleries such as the Reina Sofia,
the Prado, the Thyssen and the naval and archaeological museums. It is worth
stopping into this stunning plot of greenery dotted with sculptures to escape
the chaotic streets teeming with traffic and pedestrians outside. The ideal
place to take siesta in the 300 acres of breezy green bliss, you can take your
pick of the trees to sit under and rest your tired feet. The perfect place to
picnic or people watch.
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| The Stunning lake |
The majestic Retiro Park was once the private domain of
royalty, since Charles III decided to share the park with his subjects in the
late 18th Century the park has been enjoyed by locals and tourists
alike.
There are plenty of cafes, bars and refreshment stands
throughout the park so it is quite possible to spend the whole day here only
having to retire to another part of the city once the park shuts at dusk at the
end of each day. The highlight of the park, for us certainly and a big draw for
all of the tourists seemed to be El Etanque, the big lake at the centre of
Retiro, this urban expanse of water is filled with big fish and water fowl. At
midday on Saturday and Sunday the area around the lake becomes almost like a
circus with street performers, jugglers, puppeteers and a lot of local colour. The
ducks appeared to adore the attention from passers by, almost posing for photographs,
seemingly unbothered by the plethora of rowing boats slopping up and down the
length and breadth of the lake, oars slicing through the murky green depths and
rocking from side to side. We unfortunately decided not to rent our own boat
for fear we would tip over the sides and have to make the long journey back on
the Metro to Moncloa and the long bus journey back to Alpedrete dripping wet
and smelling of pond scum. Had we been staying nearby in Madrid we would have
been tempted to go out on the lake as it looked like the ideal thing to do on
another gloriously sunshine filled Spanish afternoon.
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