Parks in Madrid
Madrid is very lucky to have a widespread area of gardens, parks and green meadows among all the concrete and glass structures. Compared to other European cities, it has far more than they do. Within the city limits there are more than forty parks which are spread out over thirty three million square meters. Now, let’s go ahead and read about a few important and must see parks.
Parque Del Retiro:
Directly translated to “The Retro Park”, this is the most well known park in Madrid, as well as being the largest. It is centrally located in the city and is spread over 120 hectares. It was initially a private park and was only opened to the public in 1868. This park is home to an enormous rose garden and has more than fifteen thousand trees.
Inside the park there is a huge artificial lake where there are boats that can be hired by the public. The park has some isolated nooks where people having a walk can have some time alone. Palacio de Cristal and Palacio de Velázquez are two buildings situated in the middle of the park, and they are often used for Art exhibitions. This is a must see tourist spot.
Casa de Campo:
This large park is spread out over four thousand acres. There is a large zoo, trade fair and amusement park inside this park. Casa de Campo means “Country House” and it was treated as such for previous kings when it was known as the Royal Forest. However, the City authorities took it over when it was severely damaged during the Civil war. In the middle of the park is the customary lake where you can rent a rowing boat for a trip around the lake.
Jardín Botánico:
The Botanical Gardens are right next to the Prado Museum and were inaugurated by Charles III. There are over thirty thousand types of trees here and each tree bears a label with its Latin name written on it. A variety of trees from different parts of the world can be seen in these beautiful gardens.
The landscape of this park is amazing. It has lots of open green grass areas and is an ideal play area for children. There is a huge rose garden called Rosaleda which is found at the bottom of the park.
Monte de El Pardo
This park is located just outside Madrid and houses a lot of wild animals. An interesting fact is that during the Middle Ages lots of animal thefts were reported as the grass and bushes here are really thick.
The area of this park is around fifty hectares. It consists of an auditorium, planetarium and an IMAX cinema.
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