Paris1972-Versailles2003

It’s time to update this older post and tell you again my other love, Madrid and it’s parks. Let’s take you on a brief tour of several parks, that I have been to, played in them, chase for my first love, and oh well many other things even introducing them to my dear late wife Martine and boys. Madrid is invigorating to the soul, active, modern, no taboos, free, open, lively, enthusiastic even in the worst economic situation, so what, its Madrid, all worth it a million times.  I will show you here the others parks in my dear Madrid. Hope you enjoy them as I.

The park closest to my old home in Madrid was the Parque El Calero, on Metro Line 5 Quintana or Carmen, it has nice promenade and an open air auditorium for concerts and cultural events. Also a petanque field and bike paths. You can easily go from the metro Quintana in Calle de Alcalà (where I lived) up avenida del Sagrado Corazon to it. My last trip the area has change ,but still a good walk into the real Madrid at day time….And no pictures for souvenirs but always remembered.

The Parque Roma is another of my memorable parks and one that have been several times, It is a large arch located on the edge of Calle 30 or the beltway M30.  A recreational area created in 1980 with an area of 11 hectares or about 112,052 m2 , It is ideal for strolling through its trails delimited by large trees. It has 4 playgrounds, a circuit for the elderly, a lake, sports facilities and a climbing wall. In it ,there is a garden for the blind and a large shield or coat of arms of Madrid made with seasonal flowers stand out as spaces. A hillside space that has views of the beltway M30. A 12-meter-high climbing wall with an integrated bouldering area completes the activities. The park main entrance is at Calle Juan Esplandiu, 4, in the barrio or neighborhood of Estrella, Retiro district, If far you can take metro lines 6 or 9 stop Saínz de Baranda or the Bus on lines 30, 56, 143,and 215, However, I always walked off Calle del Dr Esquerdo into Calle del Pez Volador, there is a street vendor kiosk and across there is an entrance to the park,yeah!!! And no webpage for it too bad!

The next park is the Parque Quinta de la Fuente del Berro. Early on it was a farm or Quinta de Miraflores ordered by king Felipe IV as a new royal site with more than 13 hectares (adding the gardens or Jardines Sancho Davila). It is on the limits of the Calle Enrique D’Almonte, Avenida de Alcalde Saenz de Baranda, and the M-30 (first beltway of Madrid) until reaching the Calle de Alcalà and the bridge or Puente de Ventas parallel to the M-30 to join up with the Jardines Sancho Davila; all total about 53K m2 of green. It is not far from the Monumental Ventas bullring (see post). The main entrance is by Calle Enrique D’Almonte with two small towers in brick; and you can see the old palace remaining of what it was before.  The park is well designed with several slopes with prairies and rustic stairs of stone. One of the things to see here is the Monument to Bécquer ,and the statue to the Russian writer Pushkin, a fountain with a stone jar next to the main entrance, a cascading waterfall, and two small lakes. You can see more on the Madrid tourist office on the Fuente del Berro: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/parque-de-la-fuente-del-berro

This is a bit off the beaten path for most but it is Madrid at it local best. Come to the Parque del Cerro del Tío Pío in the neighborhood of Numancia, district of Puente de Vallecas, and extending over neighborhoods or colonies of residences  Colonia de Fontarrón, Colonia de Santa Ana , and Colonia de los taxistas.  It is locally known as the park of the seven tits or Parque de las Siete Tetas because of its peaks or hills.  You come here to see the city sunset or sunrise and see most of the city. The park is bordered by the Calle Benjamín Palencia, Calle Camino de Valderribas, Calle Sierra de Cuerda Larga , and Calle Maruja García Romero.  It is recommended for a panoramic view of the city from this park as well as the mountains outside of Madrid.  The park has 3 entrances and on the highest there is a lookout , bar, and game zone for children as well as machines to do outdoors sport.  There is ,also, a bike trail. On the lower part of the park you find sports complexes for indoor football/soccer, basketball, and ping pong. You reach here by metro light line 1 stations Portazgo and Buenos Aires as well as buses lines 54 , 141 , and 143 .   More from the Madrid tourist office on Parque del Cerro del Tio Pio: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/cerro-tio-pio-park

Another park ,known later in life is the Parque Quinta de Torre Arias located in the neighborhood of Salvador, district of  San Blas-Canillejas; the old home of my maternal aunt !(which in those days we came by electric tramway!)  It is located between the Calle de Alcalà, Calle Rodríguez Ayuso,  Calle Eduardo Terán, Calle de Fernando Mijares , and Calle Marquesado de Sta. Marta. This was the old farm of Torre Arias with 17 hectares with very nice garden to find 51 species of trees some of more than 300 years old.  It belongs to the nobility of Madrid from 1600 until our days today.  The park is created after the passing of the last owner. In 1986, the owners signed an agreement to give it to the city as a donation that finally become owned in 2013 by the city of Madrid. You can reach here on metro line 5 Torre Arias, and buses lines 104, 77, 140, and 153. More from the Madrid tourist office on the Parque Quinta de Torre Arias: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/quinta-torre-arias

Another mythical park of Madrid for me is the Parque de la Quinta de los Molinos located in the neighborhood of Salvador, district of San Blas-Canillejas .  It is considered a historic park located in between my Calle de Alcalà , Calle Miami, Calle de Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena ,and the Avenida del Veinticinco de Septiembre.  It has 25 hectares and in the park includes great lawns and prairies of trees with lots of olives, pines eucaplyptus, and figs trees, even thus the start of the park of the almond trees that flowered every spring offering a wonderful spectacle.  You can find here at the extreme north of the park a palace from early 20C , gardens and lawns, there is ,also a lake, windmill (why the name of the park) and a building known as the watch house or Casa del Reloj.  The park has trails of dirt and pavement bordered by plantains trees from the main entrance  in my Calle de Alcalà to the palace.  During the summer, there are many activities here with concerts on the Summers of the city activity or Veranos de la Villa. Due to its location by Calle de Alcalà the access is easy from anywhere in the city; next to the main entrance there is the metro Suanzes, for line 5  (my line!) and also by Calle de Alcalà (my street !) you get the buses lines  77  and  104.  By the Calle Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena you can catch buses lines 114  and 146, where there are two entries to the park. Other access to the park are at the Calle Miami on metro line 6  O’Donnell , and buses lines  2, 56, 69, 71, 143, 15, and 28. The Madrid tourist office on the parque de la Quinta de los Molinos: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/quinta-molinos

And last ,but not least for this post I like to tell you about the Parque de la Bombilla, on 13 hectares running parallel to the Parque del Oeste (see post) by which can communicate with Passarella’s trails. The park is located between the Avenida de Valladolid, Ciudad Universitaria, and the old North Station (see post principe pio) that is bisected by train of the cercanias lines C7  and C10. Each June 13 the park is host to the festivities of Saint Anthony  as well as the circus in winter and the summer cinema showing in summer.  It has a tracing from the Royal Palace (see post) where in the old days royal carriages took the nobility by the Calle Bailén, to the forest of  El Pardo. This tree lined road was given the name of the Senda del Rey  and part of it can still be done inside the park.  At the end of the 19C it was changed into municipals garden center and the tramway cars.  In the interior of the park there are benches, prairies, stair terraces where water runs,a lake and a fountain. You can reach it on metro lines 6 and 10  Príncipe Pío ,and buses lines 41, 46, 75,  and N20; also cercanias lines  C1, C7, C10 ,and regional at Principe Pio. The Madrid tourist office on parque de la Bombilla: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/parque-bombilla

There you go folks, wonderful walks and rides into my Madrid parks/gardens.A great memory lane post, hope you enjoy this ride into the other parks of Madrid, my favorites of course , and there are others parks of Madrid. Glorious awesome not enough words; my only regret not have taken more pictures; need to be back….. Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it every day!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

I have walked and stayed over the years alone and with the family in the Letras barrio (see post), and this is one memorable square of my dear Madrid. Let me update this older post for your and me and tell you a bit more on the Plaza de las Cortes of Madrid!

The Plaza de las Cortes makes the junction between Sol and the Prado, along the Carrera de San Jerómino. The most notable building is the Congreso de los Diputados. On the main facade a staircase leads up to the neoclassical portico, with six imposing striated columns, of Corinthian order, on which rises the triangular pediment decorated with reliefs. The iconic lions flanking the entrance were cast with iron from cannons captured during the Moroccan War. The Congress of Deputies is the Spanish representative congress.

Here you see the imposing Palacio de las Cortes, the name of the building that houses the Congreso de los Diputados, that was built between the years 1843 and 1850. This is one of the two chambers of the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament. It is very close to Paseo del Prado, and is one of the emblematic buildings of the 19C, in neoclassical style.  In this spot was before the Convent of the Holy Spirit, inside which, curiously, some sessions of the Cortes were held. The favorite of the Plaza de las Cortes, the great Miguel de Cervantes statue facing the Congress of Deputies. This sculpture, from the year 1834, keeps a curious fact and that is that it was the first public tribute that a person who did not belong to the field of politics or royalty or religion received in Spain !!

Also, down the street you will see the white facade of the Groupama building carillon (see post) that, thanks to its mechanism and automatons, piles up a huge handful of tourists every few hours. These figures represent king Carlos III, the Duchess of Alba together with her poodle, Goya, the bullfighter Pedro Romero and a ‘manola’, the typical Madrid castiza native woman. The five, dressed according to Goya’s paintings, have been greeting, at least twice a day, anyone who stands at the foot of the balcony since 1993.  You can see ,and I was lucky to stayed there once, the most illustrious Westin Palace Hotel (see post). This is one of the most famous and reputable hotels in Madrid. It was built in record time, between 1911 and 1912, taking advantage of the noble plot that previously inhabited the Palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli. World-class figures such as Picasso, Pavarotti, Orson Welles and Einstein have passed through its 400 rooms. Even a spy like Mata Hari. I encourage you to come in one day and admire its magnificent dome.

Advancing along it, looking at the Neptune Fountain (see post) and the Jerónimos Towers on the horizon invites all to continue walking through this city. Showing emphasis and willingness to continue reeling off the benefits of Madrid !! The best way to get here if far is on Metro line 2 Banco de España, and bus lines 14 and 27 as the closest. You ; also, can easily drive here as I have and use the wonderful Parking Las Cortes.

The Madrid tourist office on the Congress of Deputies: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/congreso-de-los-diputados

The official Congreso de los Diputados de España : https://www.congreso.es/en/home

There you go folks another dandy spot in my dear Madrid. Wonderful area in the Barrio de las Letras , and close to wonderful monuments many told in my blog already such as the Prado museum, the Puerta del Sol, and Neptuno fountain. Hope you enjoy the Plaza de las Cortes of Madrid !!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!