Retiro Park’s Crystal Palace
I’m not the only one who thinks the Crystal Palace in Madrid’s grand Parque del Retiro is the most beautiful place in the city.
This little nook in the Retiro is one of the most popular places for visitors of the park, both tourists and madrileños alike. It is perfect for a stroll or simply for sitting down and taking in all the surrounding beauty.
A pond surrounded by lush trees and a powerful water fountain lays in the center. There’s a small cave on one side, but the Crystal Palace is the main attraction. It was built by the architect Ricardo González Bosco.
It was built in 1887, as one of the pavilions for the Philippian Island Exposition, with the purpose of being a greenhouse for a variety of plants and flowers from the then Spanish colony. It was built following the architectural tendencies of the time, combining iron and glass.
