Madrid, Spain (8) – Parc de Retiro

Because the return flights from the same destination are less expensive, we arrived and departed from Madrid. I felt it fitting that the Parc de Retiro be my last post of our Spain Adventure. The park is located just behind our hotel and it was the first thing we visited when we arrived and the last thing we visited when we departed.

This huge 125 hectares park has more than 15,000 trees with the Bald Cypress, one of the oldest trees at around 400 years old. A favourite for locals to participate in sports, especially running and soccer. The park is also home to architectural beauties such as Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velazquez which are currently used for exhibitions.

Our first visit

After we had our jet lag snooze, we arrived at the Park when the sun was setting. It was a short visit but enough to keep ourselves awake to get in sync with Madrid time.

On the south edge of the park, this pedway runs width-wise from one side of the park to the other. Due to the small rise in this stretch, we found many runners making use of this challenge. Our hotel is located just to the left of the bottom of the path.