On these occasions you are also advised not to visit Dehesa de la Villa and Oeste Park which have no gates and cannot be closed to the public. The latter is a beautiful glass pavilion built in to house exotic plants for an exhibition on the Philippines. It is one the finest examples of cast-iron architecture in Spain.
El Retiro is also filled with interesting sculptures and fountains such as the magnificent Monument to Alfonso XII , which watches over the lake and in spring of opened to the public an observation deck offering wonderful vistas. Since autumn , visitors to El Retiro Park can also explore the fully restored Monkey Pit , which is part of what used to be the Retiro Menagerie, the precursor to Madrid Zoo. For a century and a half, it was home to dozens of baboons, and today, it remains as a decorative display that recalls that iconic zoo.
To enjoy it up close, you can sign up to a guided tour organized by the park. A firm favourite with both locals and tourists, El Retiro is a great place to go rollerblading, for a long walk or a jog. And if you are passionate about botany, be sure to visit the ahuehuete or Montezuma cypress , perhaps one of the oldest trees in Madrid.
It is said to have stood on this spot since and it is a very exotic species that does not lose all its leaves every year, just a few of them.
Apparently, during the War of Independence against the French, it was one of the few specimens that were saved in the Park, which was taken over by the French as their headquarters. However, the oldest tree in El Retiro is currently a year-old olive tree dating from approximately , planted in one of the meadows near the Gate of the Fallen Angel. If you fancy pedaling around the park, you can rent a bicycle from one of the bike rentals in the area.
