After my husband and I spent a very busy Sunday sightseeing in Madrid last fall, we decided to enjoy a more relaxed Monday with fewer crowds and planned a day spent outdoors at expansive Parque de El Retiro, one the world’s great urban parks. As we walked the few blocks from our apartment to the metro station, we popped in to the neighborhood mercado . . . not as hip and trendy as Mercado San Miguel, but chock full of vendors selling everything from dozens of varieties of olives

  to beautiful arrays of fruits and vegetables.   We spent a little time wandering the aisles and selecting some goodies for a picnic lunch before making our way to the park.

We were blessed with a perfect early fall day: bright sun, warm (but not too hot) temperatures and a slight breeze. Early October meant the tourist crowds had dwindled and the park’s paths were uncrowded. Entering the park at its northern edge, along the Calle O’Donnell, we strolled down one of the main pathways towards the magnificent Monumento Alfonso XII. 

Originally a royal retreat as far back as the 16th century, the park was opened to the public in the 1860s and now covers more than 300 acres of special gardens; monuments, statues and fountains; playgrounds and sports fields; stretches of open lawn; a maze of pathways; and quiet groves of trees. You can rent a bike or a row boat on the artificial lake on which the monument sits,  and there are cafés and vendors offering food and drink. We saw tourists like ourselves taking pictures, but the park truly seems to be a retreat for Madrileños, as we saw couples strolling arm in arm, joggers circling the paths and individuals stretched out on blankets reading or lounging.

We circled the lake and explored Alfonso XII’s monument further, admiring the statues      and lovely colonnade surrounding the space.

We moved on first to the Palacio de Velázquez and then the Palacio de Cristal, both of which usually host exhibitions from the Reina Sofía Museum. Unfortunately, the blessing of fewer tourists in the offseason also meant a number of spaces were being renovated . . . including these two. We could still admire the exterior tile work on the Velázquez palace, though, and take in the ironwork structure   and soaring open spaces of the 1887 Crystal Palace.

We stopped for a while to enjoy our lunch on a park bench and then meandered for a while through the nearby Real Jardín Botánico.   As a gardener, I love visiting such places, and even though this was the end of the growing season and the vegetable plots and many of the flower beds were tired and empty, there was still much to enjoy. As the shadows stretched long, we slowly strolled past the Prado (our destination for the next day) and the Iglesia de los Jerónimos on our way back to the Metro,   also passing a lovely statue and fountain along the Paseo del Prado.

After a brief siesta back at our apartment, we strolled the 10 blocks or so to Plaza Major for a late dinner. We enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere there,   finding it a relaxing way to end another lovely day in Madrid.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor