The Retiro: the great park
The boating lake, the Crystal Palace, the rose garden, and a statue of the Devil. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Puerta de Felipe IV and the northern paths
Come in by the grand gate near the Prado end and the park opens immediately. Buy nothing yet; the kiosks are better deeper in. Walk straight for the lake — you'll hear it before you see it.

2. Estanque Grande and the Monumento a Alfonso XII
The boating lake, with the king on his bronze horse rising off a colonnade across the water. Hire a rowing boat for half an hour or just sit on the steps; on a Sunday the whole city seems to drift past on oars.

3. Palacio de Cristal
The glass-and-iron pavilion on its own little pond, built in 1887 for an exhibition of plants from the Philippines and now a free gallery for the Reina Sofía. Whatever's installed inside, the building is the thing. Go even if the queue looks long; it moves.

4. Palacio de Velázquez
A short walk north, the brick-and-tile exhibition hall by the same architect, Ricardo Velázquez Bosco. Another free Reina Sofía space, usually emptier than the Cristal. Step in for the cool and the changing show.

5. La Rosaleda
The rose garden in the park's southern half, laid out in formal beds in 1915. Best in May when it's at full tilt, but worth the detour any month for the geometry. You don't have to linger — loop it once and carry on.

6. La Fuente del Ángel Caído
The reason to end here: a fountain crowned with a bronze of Lucifer falling from heaven, said to be one of the few public monuments to the Devil. Stand below it, then leave by the Puerta del Ángel Caído and drop down to Atocha.

The Retiro: the great park