Retiro Park Makes List As Spain´s Most Popular Attractions Revealed
Digital travel platform Musement which covers global destinations has listed the top visitor attractions for Spain to help travellers discover and book things to do – from museum visits to city tours and experiences, has developed a map with the most popular monument and attractions in each Spanish province.
Topping the list for the Madrid region is the Retiro Park, whose green spaces and iconic boating lake attracts visitor and locals alike around the year.
The Retiro Park ( Parque del Buen Retiro) whose orgins go back to the 16th century when the Royal Palace was situated there and the present day park the royal gardens.
The few remaining buildings of the Buen Retiro Palace, including Casón del Buen Retiro and the Salon de Reinos, now house museum collections. The Casón has a collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings, including art by the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla.
The park was established in the 19th century and features an array of attractions including the vast monument to King Alfonso XII, overlooking the boating lake. 
In addition it holds one of Madrid´s three fallen angel statues – the one in the park celebrating its centenary in 2022.
Several emblematic buildings are in the park including the Velázquez Palace and the Palacio de Cristal (“Crystal Palace“), both of which house temporary art exhibitions throughout the year.
Also featured in the listing and still within striking distance of the capital is the Roman aqueduct in Segovia, the hanging houses of Cuenca, Toledo Cathedral and the medieval walls of Avila.
To select the 52 most popular attractions (one for each province and autonomous city), more than 4,500 places of interest were considered throughout the country. The number of Google reviews were analysed and the attraction with the highest number of reviews was selected as the most popular.
The infographic highlights the enormous and varied cultural, natural and leisure offer available in Spain.
Throughout the country there are countless attractions, from architectural landmarks to castles and historic ancient ruins, not forgetting theme parks, public parks and beaches, there is something
to suit all tastes.
With so much on offer it can be difficult to decide what to choose between, but what attractions are must-dos and must-sees that you can’t miss out on?
Further afield travellers who prefer to escape the crowds and get away from it all, then national parks such as the Sil Canyon (Ourense), Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park (Huesca), or Montaña Palentina Natural Park (Palencia) are ideal options.
Among Spain’s most popular tourist attractions is the Sagrada Familia (Barcelona), which accumulates more than 155,000 reviews on Google. But this is not the only religious temple to earn its place on the map. The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (La Coruña), the Burgos Cathedral (Burgos), the Sanctuary of Covadonga (Asturias) and the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (Zaragoza) also draws many visitors.
The plazas and public parks, a meeting point for both locals and tourists alike, are in many times the most emblematic places not only of their respective locations but also of their provinces. This is the case of Plaza de Espana (Seville), the Plaza Mayor (Salamanca), the Plaza del Torico (Teruel), El Retiro Park (Madrid) or the Alameda de Cervantes (Soria).
There is no lack of architectural gems on the Musement map, such as the Hanging Houses (Cuenca) or the Hórreos de Combarro (Pontevedra), nor ancient ruins, such as the Roman theatres of Merida (Badajoz) or Cartagena (Murcia).
For thrill seekers, there’s reaching 110km/h in the famous Dragon Khan of PortAventura (Tarragona).
Culture vultures can marvel at the great works of surrealism in the Dalí Theatre and Museum (Girona).
History buffs can discover the old home of the Catholic Monarchs in the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Cordova) or travel to the past and visit the Roman Walls of Lugo (Lugo).
These are just some of the most popular attractions in Spain which can be enjoyed this summer.
