Community of Madrid

El Retiro is a green zone located in the center of Madrid. It has 125 hectares and more than 15,000 trees. Among its gardens is the Jardín de Vivaces, the gardens of Cecilio Rodríguez, the gardens of the architect Herrero Palacios, the Rosaleda (rose garden) and the Parterre Francés and its ahuehuete, the oldest tree in the city with about 400 years old. In this park, declared Cultural Landscape World Heritage by UNESCO in 2021, there are several activities of culture, leisure and sport that attracts hundreds of locals and tourists of all ages and corners of the world. Thus, it is possible to take a boat ride on the famous Estanque Grande or watch the canoeists of the Municipal School of Canoeing training. Other of its most beloved elements are the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velázquez, currently exhibition halls of the Reina Sofía Museum. Among the sculptures and fountains in El Retiro Park is the monument to Alfonso XII; the Fernando VII reservoir, which includes the Casa del Pescador, the Artificial Mountain and the Casa del Contrabandista; the statue of the Fallen Angel; the water wheel; the fountain of the Galapagos; the Bosque del Recuero, a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack of March 11; the Puppet Theater and the Hermitage of San Pelayo and San Isidoro.The Retiro Park also houses the Eugenio Trias Municipal Public Library, the Casa de Vacas Cultural Center and the Meteorological Observatory.

The Puerta de Alcalá is located in the center of the Plaza de la Independencia, in Madrid, next to the Retiro Park. Regarded as one of the icons of Madrid, the Puerta de Alcalá was inaugurated in 1778 and is one of the five gates that gave access to the city and in which some of the most prominent streets of the city converge such as the streets of Alcalá, Alfonso XII and Serrano. Built by order of Carlos III, the Puerta de Alcalá is a neoclassical granite triumphal arch, the first built in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, the work of designer Francesco Sabatini. Its two facades have different decorations, a more austere one with the four virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude, and the other, the outer facade, which features the royal coat of arms with a very detailed decoration since it was the first thing visitors entering Madrid saw.