All Madrid Travel and Holiday Guide Blog

Madrid is famous in Spain not only because the city is appointed as the capital city of the country but also because of its various interesting places, monuments and structures to see. Perhaps what you can view about the city of Madrid is it crowded and always busy since it is the capital city of Spain, but Madrid is actually one of the beautiful places to visit in the country.

The Parque del Buen Retiro is one of the most famous parks to see in the city. During the weekends the park could be crowded since during this time most of the Madrilenian families are spotted strolling around here. In the streets, you could see various entertainers such like sidewalk painters, musicians, jugglers, fortune tellers, street performers and more.

Historically, the park was built by King Philips IV. It was built in 1632 as a retreat for the royal family. Before, the park could be seen outside the city wall, but today Madrid already enclosed the entire part of the Retiro Park. In 1868, the park was already opened to the public. Its partial part laid out into a French style, while the other parts of the park are more natural.

Among the original palace, there are only two buildings that survived; the rest of the buildings were already destroyed during the Napoleonic war period. The Museo del Ejército which is appointed as an army museum is one of the remaining buildings that survived. The museum houses some artifacts like armors of the past armies. The museum as well is the main place if you want to know the military history of the city. The most significant thing to see in the museum is the sword of La Tizona or El Cid.

But the museum does not only covering weaponry artifacts; there are still other interesting items to discover in the museum—such like the remarkable cross which Columbus took with him going to another world. Aside from Museo del Ejército another building that survived is the Casón del Buen Retiro—the museum houses collections from the 19th and century.