The neighbourhood that takes its name from the great park at its heart — 350 acres of gardens, lakes, monuments, and Sunday crowds that Madrid has been using as its outdoor living room since the 17th century. The residential area surrounding the park is solidly bourgeois: wide avenues, elegant apartment buildings, and a strong concentration of embassies. The park itself is the reason to come.
Inside the Parque del Buen Retiro, the rowing lake is the social centre on weekend afternoons — dozens of small boats and hundreds of people watching them. The Crystal Palace, an 1887 iron-and-glass exhibition pavilion, is now a venue for large contemporary art installations. The Rosaleda rose garden reaches its peak in May. On Sunday mornings, the path along the eastern fence fills with book stalls and second-hand dealers. The Velázquez Palace hosts temporary shows from the Reina Sofía collection.