Parks, Madrid

This is the park of my youth, as a teenager used to live a few blocks from here, and it was the park I came to play with schoolmates and friends from the neighborhood.

Over the years it became the hangout area of any youth, and girl chasing. Then once left the city as life will dictate, every opportunity in Madrid I past by it like a pilgrimage.

Its a beautiful smallish park, in a residential area, just an area for rest, have a light lunch, and move on perhaps to the Monumental bullfight arena nearby, and it has children playgrounds.

It is in the district of Ciudad Lineal, neightborhood of Quintana bordering on Salamanca. It has now an auditorium open air where cultural activities are held. you can get here on metro quintana or carmen on line 5 and buses 21 , 48 , 146 .
The city gives you a nice map with public transport and entries to park in pdf file here
http://www.madrid.es/UnidadWeb/UGBBDD/EntidadesYOrganismos/MedioAmbiente/Parques/Calero/Imagenes/PARQUE%20DE%20EL%20CALERO.pdf

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The Botanical Gardens in Madrid (the Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid) are often missed but really are worth visiting.

They lie between the Prado and Renfe Atocha, accessed by an entrance at the back of the Prado building.

I visited in February, which is really not the best time to go to any botanical garden. But I could see how lovely they would be in Spring especially, with a huge variety of mature trees and shrubs. Lots of lovely green and shady places to walk.

The gardens began as the botanical collection of King Fernando V, in the very late 1700s. There are three terraces, one added in the 1800s, each divided into squares with paths leading between each quarter square. There are one or two pools and pavilions, rather a lot of statues and each 'square' has a central fountain.

Most specimens are labelled in Spanish and English (and with their Latin names, of course) which is good.

The small hothouses have a good variety of tropical plants, a few of which were blooming even in February.

The entrance charge (3 euro in 2012) is small but it enables the gardens to remain well-maintained and excludes those who might make a visit less pleasant.

Well worth a visit, and certainly a lovely (and shady) spot for a Spring, Summer or Autumn picnic lunch....or just to sit and read a book.

Open daily from 10am, access from Paseo del Prado.

Recently, I have dropped to the Botanical garden in Madrid. It seems a small park from outside and it is not as big as the Retiro park (the main park inside the city) but keeps beautiful paths and floral sides.

Besides, the exterior gardens has also a lovely collection of bonsais, cactus and I think also, some orchids too.

It is one of my favourite´s places in Madrid as you know I like to photo botanical patterns.

At this time, there are colourful flowers blowing up and nice smeelings too.

I have taken lots of pictures last time but need to be devloped so I guess, you should wait for a bit.

In the mean time will give you the web address so you can check it, if interested.

The Botanical Gardens in Madrid (Real Jardin Botánico) are not as huge and impressive as other European gardens of this type, but they are one of my favourite places in Madrid. Located between Museo del Prado and Atocha Station, you can get here easily by Metro (Atocha). Look for the entrance at the small square located close to El Prado. It is the perfect place to chill out, is not so crowded as Retiro or other public parks (probably due to the entrance fee). For instance, when I was living in Madrid, I loved to go there on sunny Sundays mornings to read the newspapers.

The place has a nice old-fashioned atmosphere, no wonder, as its foundation was ordered by King Fernando VI in 1755 and later, during the reign of Carlos III, the Garden was installed in its present location. The architects Francesco Sabatini and Juan de Villanueva took part in the design of the Garden’s new frame. It was declared Artistic Garden in 1942.

Some of the most important buildings in the Garden are the Villanueva Pavilion (there are temporary exhibitions), the Graells Greenhouse and the Exhibition Greenhouse, which was inaugurated in 1993. Recently it was opened to public a impressive collection of Bonsais that belonged to Felipe Gonzalez, former president of Spain. Please see my following tips for details.

The Gardens do opens to public every day of the year except for Christmas Day and New Year's Day, from 10 a.m. until the sunset (6 p.m. in winter, 9 p.m. in summer).

Price of the tickets
- Ordinary ticket: 2€
- Student card: 1€
- Groups of more than ten people: 0,50 €.

Free entrance for seniors (+ 65), children (- 10) and groups of students.

From the official webpage: "The Exhibition Greenhouse reflects faithfully the essence and spirit of this institution. In this greenhouse, more than a thousand of species are cultivated in three different modules: tropical, desert and warm-weather species. The Exhibition Greenhouse was built with modern materials and uses the latest clean energy technologies".

I can only add that it's a small but really nice and interesting place, where you learn about different habitats, from extreme dry to extreme humid. You can walk along the ground level of the greenhouse and return from the high walkway to see the top of the plants.

There is small area dedicated to "carnivore" plants in the humid habitat extreme, kids (and many adults) usually like these amazing plants.

Maybe not so impressive, but there are many interesting and strange plants at the desert habitats area. I did like so much the lithops, tiny ones that resemble pebbles… I bough a few at the site's shop, and now they seem to be happyly living at my balcony as they have doubled their size since then :-)

This is the newest addition to the gardens. Felipe Gonzalez, former president of the Spanish government, seems to be fascinated by the art of growing bonsais. During his years at La Moncloa (official residence of the Spanish President), he build a huge collection of these. When he left its charge in 1996, he donated more than 100 bonsais to the Botanical Garden and finally the collection was opened to public in 2004. You can agree or disagree with Gonzalez's politics, but this man really has a great taste as gardener!!

Some were acquired or donated from several countries. But most of them are miniaturized autochthonous trees from different parts of Spain: pine trees, yew trees, oaks... Currently, some the most resistant bonsais are placed outside, in the Terraza de los Laureles (a nice promenade) and they are changed according seasons of the year. The most delicate are kept in a greenhouse (not public).

We go there with our children but we would like to go there alone. This park is not only for children. The adults have so or more fun than the kids.
The park is divided in: Hollywood Boulevard, Warner Bros. Studios, DC Super Heroes World, Old West Territory and Cartoon Village.
The park has many atractions, for adults and for children. Have fun!

Madrid has officially been labelled the world’s second greenest city (after Guayaquil, apparently) because of the 1200 hectares of semi-wild woodland that is Casa del Campo. Best accessed from the city by cable car it also accommodates a funfair and a (rather sad and badly run) zoo.
City centre is also full of wonderful parks and gardens: Parque del Buen Retiro, once the private grounds of Spanish kings, has remained an oasis right in the centre of the city; Plaza del Oriente with views past the palace and across the sculpted Jardines de Sabatini; Plaza de España with its huge statues of Don Quijote and Sancho Panza; the picture-perfect picnic grounds of Campo del Moro; and Parque del Oeste, with its genuine Egyptian temple that seems to testify to the fact that in Madrid you really never know what you’ll come across next.

Casa de Campo is a wild, open park where you can walk for hours and enjoy nature. There are various birds and rabbits. Beautiful walks. One way to reach it is to take subway to "Lago" station. There at the lake is the info center of the park; or just start walking around with no destination. By the lake there are many restaurants (nice but not cheap). This area is the most crowded of the park, where you also will see prostitutes even at day time, and soccer matches. You can reach the park also by cable car leaving Madrid at "Paseo Pintor Rosales" street (subway: Arguelles or Plaza Espana, and walk a bit) and the cable car will drop you off at the heart of the park (not close to the lake). Don't miss this beautiful park with gorgeous sceneries! There is also a zoo/aquarium and an amusement park in Casa de Campo.

In the west corner of the city there is the "Parque del Oeste" (West Park). It's green year-round, very well kept with flowers, an artificial creek and pond, and many people relaxing, exercising, walking dogs, in love, drinking or playing music, etc. It is never crowded (like the Parque del Retiro tends to be).
Get off the subway at Moncloa station and take the exit "Intercambiador", cross the street and you're there. Once you hit the park walk left. It's big so don't just see the first part (which is the most crowded).