The best parks in Madrid quickly make you forget you are in a city. In this post you’ll learn about nice and quiet outdoor spaces to enjoy.
Best part? They are all beautiful and free!
When you think of the Spanish capital, you probably don’t think of green space, but trust us when we say that Madrid has tons of well kept parks.
Spaniards are active people, these parks are hardly ever empty.
Whether you are visiting, or Madrid is your new home, there’s something for you to enjoy on this list. Find out where to go and how to get there. Transportation details are enclosed.
Don’t let the city vibes distract you from taking a stroll, enjoying the sun, and being outside.
Parks in Madrid
If you go to the city center, you’ll probably think I am a little crazy for talking about parks. You don’t see a lot of green space by Sol and that part of the city.
However, as an expat here, I’m not glued to the city center and you shouldn’t be either! Madrid has tons to see everywhere.
In fact, Madrid is more than just a city. It’s an entire region, so if you are visiting, here’s an insider tip, try to take a day trip. You can go to pueblos and other parts of the region that are equally worth your time.
There’s also other parks outside of Retiro and Madrid Rio worth visiting. The following are the best options for parks in Madrid through a local’s perspective.
Retiro
El Parque de Buen Retiro is one of the most famous parks in Madrid. There is tons of history in the park, literally everytime you turn your head, you’ll probaby see a giant statue or monument of someone.
Outside of history, here are some ideas to enjoy the day in Retiro.
Firstly, you can go to the crystal palace, it’s a great picture spot. Sometimes the crystal palace has free exhibitions if you like art.
Next, if you are into botanics, Retiro has a botanical trail. Firstly, there is the retiro gardens which holds a weeping willow tree, then you have a rose garden with flowers.
Afer that you have the Cecilio Rodriguez gardens, there you’ll find peacocks and a lot of greenery.
Lastly, another stop is the garden of Vivaces. Feel free to visit this flowery hill in May when the acanthus have blossomed. In addition to these gardens mentioned, there are lots more.
Outside of botanics, you can rent a paddle boat on a hourly basis, get closer to the duckies and check out the man made pond.
Along your stroll you’ll probably hear some singing or instruments playing. There are sometimes street performers in the park.
Local Retiro tips
Tourists and locals alike love Retiro. You’ll find people enjoying the outdoors as well as going for a run if they live in the neighborhood.
Retiro is a perfect place to go and enjoy the Spanish sun. The park has different exits, so if you fancy, enter one way and exit through another to get a different view.
You can find the Puerta De Alcala monument and Paseo de Prado closely outside of one of the Retiro exits. These are great touristy things to do. I personally love walking by that area, it’s very pretty.
You can also shop til you drop because Retiro area is super central. Don’t miss Spanish brands when you are visiting Spain!
To get to Retiro you can take the purple line 9 and get off at stop Ibiza, or the pink line 2 Retiro.
Parque de las Siete Tetas
Parque de las Siete Tetas is the park for you if you enjoy a good sunset. It’s translation in English is park of the 7 boobs. The quirky name comes from all the hills and grooves in the park.
The technical name of what locals don’t really call it is Parque Cerro del Tio Pio. Something to note incase your navigation changes the name and you get confused. They are the same thing.
Sunsets really do live up to the hype here. Locals love this park for its beautiful panaromic views, it’s known as one the best places in the city to catch a great sunset.
You get a view of Telefonica, Almuneda Cathedral, and Basilica of San Francisco el Grande. These monuments are some of the biggest in Madrid. If you are not into sunsets, feel free to go for a walk exploring the hills, it’s a big park.
The park is located in Puente de Vallecas. Pro tip: Have a camera ready, you’ll definitely want to take pictures if you go here. To get to Parque de las Siete Tetas, you can take light blue line 1 and get off at buenos aires or portazgo.
Parks in Madrid: Casa de Campo
This is one of the largest parks in Madrid. To give you an idea of how huge the park is, it is roughly about five times the size of NYC’s central park.
The parks name translates to cottage in English. It is an awesome place for a city break within the city, especially if you don’t have a car.
You can go for a nice walk for hours and enjoy a nice route while the scenery changes.
It is an easy walk through out the park, it is relatively flat, there are small hills if any. You’ll probably see families and couples walking around enjoying the day or people cycling around too.
Sometimes I’ve seen farmers with their sheeps walking around. It’s super random but the sighting is definitely a possibility.
More details
Casa de Campo is a common place for outdoor fun, picnics, boat rentals, laying in the grass, etc.
The park also has a parque de attraciones, it’s an amusement Warner Brothers park. If you have kids, this could be a great option to entertain them for the day. Rollercoasters and all that jazz.
At Casa de Campo, you can ride a cable car to get a better view of Madrid. This is a fun way to get to your next destination.
The fare for the cable car is 6 euros for a round trip adult, for one way adult its 4.5 euros. Kids 4-12, and adults over 65 years old is 5 euros for round trip and 4 euros one way.
If you do have a car, Casa De Campo has parking and it is free. For public transportation you can take the dark blue line 10 and get off at Casa de campo. You can also take the green line 5 to casa de campo stop.
Parque Enrique Tierno Galvan
Parque Enrique Tierno Galván was built in 1986 and was built during mayor’s Enrique Tierno Galván term. The park was then dedicated to Enrique after his passing.
It is one of the largest parks in madrid (over 100 acres) and is located near Legazpi. The area it’s in, is known as “Cerro de la plata.” You’ll quickly notice it’s right next to Madrid’s planeterium too.
Inside the park, you’ll find 3 large ponds, meadows, and diversity with plants and trees. There is also space for children to play, there are 2 children areas. If you are into biking there are bike circuits, view points, and sport facilities.
Photographed above is the open air auditorium that used to be used as an old IMAX cinema. Unfortunately they closed that in September 2014.
As this is a large space, there have previously been festivals inside the parks, specifically the popular tomavistas which will return 2022.
To get to Parque Enrique Tierno Galván you can take the gray line 6 and get off at Mendez Alvaro or Arganzuela- Planetario.
Madrid Rio
Madrid Rio is a relatively new park on this list. It’s name stands for Madrid river in English. The park is parallel to Manzanares river. The project was created to recover biodiversity along Manzanares.
Prior to the park, the space was part of M-30 highway. It’s a really beautiful park that is 10km long and near it you’ll find some culture.
Last summer (2020) they were offering wifi somehow. Not sure how they pulled that off but locals loved it.
Right near Madrid rio is Matadero. It used to be a slaughterhouse and now holds majority of Madrid’s culture events. In Matadero, there is a relatively new eatery, Cafe Naves.
In Madrid Rio you can go for a stroll, go cycling, or enjoy a picnic on a nice sunny day. You can also check out the infamous Arganzuela bridge that looks like a spiral.
What to do near Madrid Rio
Near the park is a fair amount of things to check out. You can go to Plaza Rio if you want to shop in a mall or you can shop locally with historic shops near by.
If you’re hungry, make a stop at Madrid Río Café Playa located right next to the bridge.
For another option, feel free to go to Café del Río for some epic views of the park. Great place to have a beverage and soak in some sun.
If you are traveling to Rio with kids, there are over 17 play areas to select, all varying by ages and interests.
To get to Madrid Rio, you can take metro grey line 6 to Puerta De Angel, Legazpi, and Principe Pio.
Quinta de Los Molinos
Quinta de Los Molinos park isn’t that well known to tourists but it is a local gem. The park used to be a private estate and since then it’s been transformed into a quiet park.
Famous for it’s almond trees, you can catch the blossom during February and March. There are also different kind of trees such as olive trees, pine trees, and eucalyptus trees.
You’ll notice the park has different types of areas, in the south is the agricultural area and in the north has more of a pretty landscape.
It is located near the new Atlético de Madrid’s stadium. The park has 4 different entrances which lead to Calle De Alcala, Calle Miami, Avenida 25 de Septiembre, and Calle Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena.
To get to Quina de Los Molinos, you can take the green line 5 to Suanzes.
Parque Oeste/Templo De Debod
Parque Oeste, also known as park of the West is another gigantic park in the city. It is approximately 247 acres!
This one’s a perfect stop if you want to choose one park and see many different things in one place.
It is located in Moncloa and is home to some of the most famous monuments in Madrid. Here you’ll find cable car grounds, an egyptian temple, and incredible views.
There are tons of hiking, biking, and walking trails for anyone who wants to explore. To get to Parque Oeste you can take the grey metro line 6 to Principe Pio, or the blue line 10 to Principe Pio.
Templo De Debod
This temple is one of the oldest monuments in Madrid. It is located inside Parque Oeste.
Temple of Debod is a temple from Egypt that was built in the 2nd century BC. Mama mia, thats old!
The temple was donated by the Egyptian Government to Spain. The purpose of the donation was to save Spain from floods that followed from the Aswan Dam construction.
You can go inside on Tuesday – Sundays from 10am – 8pm. It’s closed on Mondays and public holidays. From June 15 – September 15, it closes at 7pm.
El Capricho
El Capricho was built a long time ago, it’s history started in 1784. The park was originally built by the Dukes and Duchess of Osuna.
After the Duchess passed, the park became sort of forgotten until 1974. The city council of Madrid made it a priority to bring it back to life. The final repairs were done in 1999 and was then open again to the public.
Capricho is located in the outskirts of Madrid so as expected, this park is not super popular to everyone. A bit of a trip to get here if you are going in metro.
There are gardens that are sectioned off into 3 parts. There’s the French garden, English landscape garden, and Italian garden.
Something else to see here is the bunker. It is from the Spanish civil war and it used to be headquarters of the Republican Army.
To get to El Capricho park, take the green metro line 5 to El Capricho.
Parque Dehesa de la Villa
Dehesa of the villa park is a very large space. It is located near the popular Ciudad Universitaria.
It’s known for its variety in bird life and has over 70 species in the park. Dehesa is still a woodland area, and that’s part of what makes it special.
Alot of locals enjoy Dehesa as a place to enjoy nature in the city. In addition to birds, you’ll find almond trees, acacia trees, poplar, ash, and elm trees.
This is a park where you can walk for hours or bring your kids and/or pets and take them around for the day.
To get to Parque Dehesa de la Villa, you can take orange metro line 7 and get off at Valdezarza or Francos Rodriguez.
Jardines de Sabatini
The Sabatini gardens was made in the 1930s with classical style. It is located right in front of the Royal Palace and is a must see in Madrid.
You can go at anytime to check these gardens out, but during sunset is a real treat. There’s a small garden pool, beautiful fountains, with an up close view of the palace.
Please note Jardines de Sabatini is currently under construction until further notice. There is not an exact date on when they will reopen. Check with the tourism board before leaving to see accessibility.
To get to Jardines de Sabatini, you can take pink line 2 and get off at Opera.
Campo Del Moro
Located on the western side of the royal gardens is Campo Del Moro. It is a 10 minute walk from Jardines Sabatini. If you get to the Jardines, make a stop here too. It is insanely pretty, locals love it.
This part of Spanish royalty is home to the Palace of the Shells, Fountain of the Tritons, and a bunch of tree and walk paths to enjoy the view. The garden is English-style and was inspired through Queen Maria Cristina.
Campo del Moro means the fields of the moor in English. It has an interesting back story and refers to the 12th century try of the Moorish recapturing Madrid.
During this time to defeat the Royal Alcazar, the Moorish leader slept a night in this park. That’s how the park got its name “fields of the moor.”
To get to Campo Del Moro you can take pink line 2 and get off at Opera.
Parks in Madrid conclusion
Today you have learned about the best parks in Madrid. As mentioned before, don’t let the city landscape fool you, there are plenty of beautiful green corners all over the city. Feel free to go there for some peace and quiet.
Here you have 10 park options to choose from. You’ve learned about what you can do in the parks and how to get there.
To learn even more information about visitng Madrid, visit the official tourism page.
Where will you be heading to first? Have you ever heard of any of these parks?
