Self-guided walking tour

Madrid Walking Tour: Art Walk to the Retiro (about 2.5 hours, 7 stops)

7 stops in walking order through Madrid, from Edificio Villanueva to Palacio de Cristal: 4.6 km on foot, about 55 min of walking, 2 h 20 min in total with the story and a look around at each stop. Walking times come from the routed walking path, not a straight line. It is the route of “Art Walk to the Retiro”, a ready-made tour in the Guided Tours app.

Total: 2 h 20 min
Distance: 4.6 km
Walking: 55 min
Stops: 7

The stops, in walking order

Edificio Villanueva
The Museo del Prado’s principal building, designed by Juan de Villanueva in a neoclassical style.
7 min walk · 570 m
Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid
The Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid is a historic scientific garden beside the Prado Museum.
9 min walk · 770 m
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Reina Sofía is Spain’s national museum devoted to twentieth-century art, housed in a former general hospital shaped by Francesco Sabatini.
13 min walk · 1.1 km
Palacio de Villahermosa
A former ducal residence that now houses the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
11 min walk · 870 m
Puerta de Alcalá
A monumental gate in Madrid’s Plaza de la Independencia, designed by Francesco Sabatini for Charles III.
11 min walk · 920 m
Parque del Retiro
El Retiro is a historic public park shaped by royal gardens, court performances and later public use.
4 min walk · 360 m
Palacio de Cristal
An iron-and-glass pavilion in Madrid’s Retiro Park, created as a greenhouse for tropical plants.