A Love Letter to El Retiro Park

My second trip to El Retiro revealed far more to me than the first. My first trip, remember, was on my second day here- no luggage, no experience in Madrid. Admittedly its only been a week, but I definitely got a lot more out of it this time.


Four hundred years ago this park was designed to house a king, and it is fit for the task still. Just a few steps off the street and into the park’s pathways and you’re already miles (or kilometers) away from business of the city. Almost immediately roaring of the buses and honking of commuters is replaced by evening birds’ songs and wind through the trees. There is little indication that somewhere outside lay an urban beast, pulsing and beating and constantly in motion. With all of its fury it cannot permeate this area.

Pages could be spent describing the activities and uses that the park’s visitors find for it, but in a glimpse the park is …
… a dog walk, as healthy and reinvigorating for the dog as for its aged owner.
… a peaceful retreat for young couples.
… a quiet study hall.
… a perfect setting for a wedding party’s photos.
… the setting of a tai chi class, in session in a small clearing among the trees.

… more than this still, but even with all of the activity the park is big enough to house all and still give each one his space. A walk through the pine-and-flower scented air can be as solitary as standing in your own back yard or as social as any outing with friends. Water flows in all parts with ponds and fountains that cool the air and provide a smooth soundtrack for the pace of life it surrounds. Set against the motion of the waters are unstirring giants in the form of statues and buildings. These monoliths seemingly rise out of nowhere, beautiful and alarming at once.

Walking through the park can be familiar. The feel of nature, it seems, does not need translating. You could be in Spain or in the United States or anywhere else in the world and you’d instantly recognize the feeling of age, immensity, and balance that comes with a walk in the park.

While El Retiro can be as familiar as walking through the state parks near my home, it can also be as strange as a scene from Alice in Wonderland. Parts of the park are well-manicured lawns decorated with pillars and ponds, a rich display of wealth. A king would truly spend his time here, among the fine courts and patios laid out perfectly in every detail: the black-and-white checkerboard of ground tiles, the oval-shaped orbs of vegetation that line every row, the vines that creep exactly up the pillars.

Described here is but a fraction of the park’s grounds. It would take weeks to explore its totality- not only because of its size (350 acres) but because it defies careful, exact examination. If one were to see the entire park, it would merely be coincidence. One finds oneself wandering, following the contours of the hills or searching for the base of some distant tower. In innumerable ways Madrid is similar to any other city, any other multitude of people piled on top of one another. But in its center, truly, is a unique emerald gem.