TheRetiro Park (Spanish:Parque del Buen Retiro, literally "Good Retreat Park"), also known asBuen Retiro Park or simplyEl Retiro, is one of the largestcity parks inMadrid,Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish monarchy until 1868, when it became a public park following theGlorious Revolution. The park is located at the edge of the city centre, near both thePuerta de Alcalá and theMuseo del Prado, and covers 1.4 km² (350 acres). It has gardens, monuments, galleries, an artificial lake, and event-hosting venues. In 2021, Buen Retiro Park became part of a combined UNESCOWorld Heritage Site that also includesPaseo del Prado.^[1]

Retiro Park
Parque del Buen Retiro
Location	Madrid,Spain
Coordinates	40°24′54″N03°41′02″W / 40.41500°N 3.68389°W /40.41500; -3.68389
Area	142 hectares (350 acres)
Created	1680
Operated by	City Council of Madrid
Status	Public park
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iv), (vi)
Designated	2021(44thsession)
Part of	Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences
Reference no.	1618
Region	Europe and North America
Spanish Cultural Heritage
Type	Non-movable
Criteria	Historic Garden
Designated	8 February 1935
Reference no.	RI-52-0000015

In 1505, theJeronimites monastery was moved to a newIsabelline Gothic-style building at the present-day site of theChurch of Saint Jerome the Royal. The royal family had a retreat built as part of the new church.King Philip II (ruled 1556–1598) moved the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561. Philip had the Retiro enlarged under the direction of his architectJuan Bautista de Toledo, who also formally laid out tree-lined avenues.

The gardens were extended in the 1620s, whenGaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, gave the king several tracts of adjacent land for the court's recreational use. Olivares, with the king's permission, drew up plans for a royal residence far more grand than the existing villas, which had been built for Roman nobles.^{[citation needed]} Although this second royal residence was to be built in what were then outlying areas of Madrid, it would also be in an ideal location, not far from the existingalcázar. In the 1630s, the palace buildings were constructed under the supervision of the architectsGiovanni Battista Crescenzi and Alonso Carbonell. Two of the buildings remain today: theCasón del Buen Retiro, which served as a ballroom, and theHall of Realms.^[2]

The Count-Duke of Olivares commissioned the park in the 1630s. It was designed byCosimo Lotti, a landscaper and engineer who had previously worked on the layout of theBoboli Gardens. The layout of the gardens were defined by key water features, including the great pond, the great canal, the narrow channel, and the chamfered (or bellflower) pond. Buen Retiro became the center ofHabsburg court life for much of theSpanish Golden Age. During the reigns ofPhilip IV andCharles II, several plays were performed in the park for the royal family and the court.^{[citation needed]}

The gardens were initially neglected after the death of Philip IV in 1665, but have been restored and changed on many occasions.^[3]Philip V ordered the creation of aparterre, the only French-style garden in the complex. During the reign ofFerdinand VI, Buen Retiro was the setting for Italian operas.Charles III (r. 1759–1788) ordered the replacement of the old walls with wrought-iron railings. TheBuen Retiro Palace was used until the era of Charles III. Juan de Villanueva'sAstronomical Observatory was built during the reign ofCharles IV (r. 1788–1808).

Most of the palace and its gardens were destroyed during thePeninsular War (1807–1814) when the troops of the First French Empire built theCitadel of Madrid on park grounds. The park went through many changes duringQueen Isabella II's reign. More trees were planted and previously unplanted areas were landscaped. In 1868, when Queen Isabella was overthrown in theGlorious Revolution, the gardens became publicly-owned.^{[citation needed]}

In 1883, the park hosted theExposición Nacional de Minería. 14 hectares of the park served as fairgrounds of the 1887 Philippines Exposition, which included a human zoo.^[4] At the beginning of the 20th century, theMonument to Alfonso XII of Spain, designed byJosé Grases Riera, was built next to the pond. Countless statues, fountains and commemorative monuments have filled the park, converting it into an open-air sculpture museum. New gardens were created during the 1930s and 1940s, attributed to Chief Gardener Cecilio Rodriguez, who also built the rose garden.^{[citation needed]}

Close to the northern entrance of the park is theEstanque del Retiro (Retirement Pond), a large artificial pond. Nearby is the monument to KingAlfonso XII, featuring a semicircular colonnade and an equestrian statue of the monarch on top of a tall central core.

TheRosaleda (Rose Garden) is an early 20th-century feature inspired by the Bagatelle rose garden in theBois de Boulogne. Beside the roses stands theFountain of the Fallen Angel, erected in 1922, whose main sculptureEl Angel Caído is a work byRicardo Bellver (1845–1924) inspired by a passage fromJohn Milton'sParadise Lost,^[5] which representsLucifer falling from Heaven. It is claimed that this statue is the only known public monument of Satan.^{[6][better source needed]} The few remaining buildings of theBuen Retiro Palace, includingCasón del Buen Retiro and theSalon de Reinos, now house museum collections. The Casón has a collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings, including art by the Spanish painterJoaquín Sorolla.

Since assuming its role as a public park in the late 19th century, Buen Retiro Park has been used as a venue for various international exhibitions. Several themed buildings have remained as a testament to such events, including the Mining Building, popularly known as theVelázquez Palace (1884) by architectRicardo Velázquez Bosco, who designed thePalacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace), a glass pavilion inspired byThe Crystal Palace inLondon, undoubtedly the gardens' most extraordinary building. Built along with its artificial pond in 1887 for the Philippine Islands Exhibitions, the Palacio de Cristal was first used to display flower species indigenous to the archipelago. The landscape-style gardens in the formerCampo Grande are also a reminder of the international exhibitions that have taken place here in the past.

The Paseo de la Argentina, also known asPaseo de las Estatuas (Statue Walk), is decorated with some of the statues of kings from theRoyal Palace, sculpted between 1750 and 1753. There are art galleries in the Crystal Palace,Palacio de Velázquez andCasa de Vacas. Also in the Retiro Park is theForest of Remembrance (Bosque del recuerdo), a memorial monument to commemorate the 191 victims of the2004 Madrid train bombings.

Every Sunday from late May through early October,^[7] the Banda Sinfónica de Madrid gives free midday concerts from thebandstand in the park near the Calle de Alcalá.Manuel Lillo Torregrosa composedKiosko del Retiro for this bandstand.^{[citation needed]} The park features an annual Book Fair where people can drop off or sell their used books, magazines, or newspapers.^[8] Events throughout the year include concerts, firework shows, and holiday festivals, and cultural events.^[9][10]

Retiro Park has specific outdoor exercise areas for young and old people.^[11] The elderly exercise area includes stretching equipment and bicycle pedals. The youth area includes bars for triceps dips, pull-ups, and sit-ups, as well as large stones that locals have brought to use as weights.

Around the Retiro Pond lake, many puppet shows, street performers, and fortune tellers perform. Rowboats can be rented to paddle around the Estanque, and horse-drawn carriages are available. Retiro is home to multiple city-managed sports courts^[10] and several playground areas.^[10] The inside of the Palacio de Cristal has been modified to include a stone slide.^[12] Major paths and walkways in the park are used by families, runners, bikers and rollerbladers.

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  Centennialahuehuete in winter
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  Anolive planted in 2023, estimated to be 627 years old^[13]
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  Statue of Hercules and theNemean lion
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  Monument toArsenio Martínez Campos
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  Row boats in 1968
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  Monument to Alfonso XII
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  Fountain of the Fallen Angel

• Parque del Buen Retiro — a Gardens Guide history
• Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture
• The park's entry in a Walking Tour of Madrid