Free audio walk in Madrid
The Retiro
- 45 min
- 1.9 km
- 7 stops
- Free
Starts at Puerta de Alcalá
About this walk
From the gate that stood there before the city, through a king's garden, to a statue of the devil.
The stops
Walk them in order; each story plays when you reach its pin.
- 1Stop 1
Welcome to the Puerta de Alcalá
Your introduction to the Retiro, at the gate that stood here before a city grew up around it.
- 2Stop 2
The oldest tree in Madrid
The oldest tree in Madrid is a Mexican swamp cypress that has stood here for four hundred years.
Read the story - 3Stop 3
The kings in the park
The kings who were carved for the roof of the palace and ended up scattered across the city.
Read the story - 4Stop 4
El Estanque
The pond where the royal court staged mock sea battles, with the monument to Alfonso XII rising on the far side.
Read the story - 5Stop 5
Palacio de Velázquez
The brick-and-ceramic pavilion that survived, while exhibition buildings were usually torn down.
Read the story - 6Stop 6
Palacio de Cristal
A greenhouse of glass and cast iron from 1887, built for a colonial exhibition with a human zoo beside it.
Read the story - 7Stop 7
El Ángel Caído
One of the few public statues in the world depicting the devil, standing at six hundred and sixty-six metres above sea level.
Read the story
Ready when you are
Walk The Retiro with ROODS.
7 stops through Madrid, about 45 minutes. Open ROODS in your browser, walk to the first pin and the story plays.
- Stories on a map, with narrated audio
- Walk at your own pace, stop where you like
- Runs in your browser. An app is optional.
