Palacio de Cristal

Parque del Retiro in Madrid is an urban oasis that blends natural beauty with cultural richness. One of the park's highlights is the stunning Palacio de Cristal, a beautiful glass and iron pavilion that looks absolutely breathtaking when sunlight pours through its transparent walls. Originally built in 1887 to exhibit exotic plants from the Philippines, today it serves as an exhibition space for contemporary art. Walking through the park, you can feel the tranquility amidst the bustling city. Locals and tourists alike come here to relax, picnic, or simply enjoy the lush surroundings. The lake nearby offers boating opportunities, and the statues and monuments scattered throughout add a touch of history and elegance. Whether you are looking for a quiet retreat or a cultural exploration, Parque del Retiro has something to offer. The combination of nature and architectural beauty makes it a must-visit in Madrid.

Such a stunning place in the middle of the park, the architecture is so beautiful and the light inside of it so intelligent built, as a interior designer I was speechless by the beauty and it was like a magical place in the beautiful retiro park! There are a lot of people so if you want to take a good photo it's not so easy though, maybe you should go really early!

Located at P. de Cuba, 4, Retiro, 28009 Madrid, Spain 🇪🇸. (In El Retiro Park) Known as the “Glass Palace”, this is the Gem of El Retiro Park in Madrid. Originally built in 1887 as a greenhouse to showcase flora and fauna as part of an exhibition on the Philippines 🇵🇭, then a Spanish colony. Today it’s owned by the Reina Sofia Museum which uses it as a venue for temporary exhibitions. It was designed by Ricardo Velazquez Bosco in the 19th century. He modelled it on Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace which had been erected in Hyde Park, London in 1851. The Palace is FREE. It’s a beautiful building and the way the glass top catches the light is amazing. It’s surrounded by a gorgeous lake and greenery where there is an abundance of wildlife like ducks 🦆, turtles 🐢, geese 🪿 and swans 🦢. The palace does not open if it’s raining ☔️ but still is so beautiful to admire from outside. The buildings glass structure creates such beautiful reflections, it’s really a sight to see. I would definitely recommend a visit. Thumbs up!!! 👍👍👍

Very beautiful structure. It has a really nice position on the lakeside and the view is excellent.

This building is the gemstone of El Retiro Park. Its architectural style is beautiful and the glass top catches the light in many ways depending on the time of the day you’re there. Ig: @colouredstories

Cute turtles there and a black swan spotted too. The park is overall really cool

I gave this place a full rating not just for the building itself, but for the entire experience — especially the beautiful park surrounding it. When we visited, it was surprisingly quiet and peaceful, with perfect weather that made the visit even more enjoyable. The calm atmosphere, the natural light pouring into the glass structure, and the overall vibe made it a truly memorable stop. Keep in mind that timing matters — my high rating takes into account how lucky we were with the weather and how empty the park was.

Amazing place sorrounded by a lake and beautiful greenery. Special for taking awesome pictures. You can feed the ducks and tortoises with the kids. Fully recommended. I visited in summer 2024, the palace was closed for renovation.

The palace is absolutely beautiful, but it's currently fully under construction. You aren't able to enter and there's a lot of scaffolding blocking the beautiful views of the large glass windows.

Located inside el Parque del Retiro, this 19th-century conservatory means more to us than the art exhibit it is currently used for. Though it was closed for renovation when we were there in April 2024, it is OUR special place where we exchanged our first set of rings with intentionality. If in Madrid, come for the nature walk and live music, the beautiful and lush ambience, and the fountain backdrop.

I walked here from the Museo Nacional del Prado on nice warm summer day. While it was a nice stroll, it was long and it got hot! So, upon arrival to this crystal palace, we were already hot and when entering, it was even hotter! To be honest, was it worth the long walk? Probably not, but if your sole activity of the day is to just explore El Retiro Park, then definitely make your way here to enjoy it's beauty.

Beautiful, peaceful and not as crowded. We were so excited to visit a location nestled in nature but sadly it was closed and there was nothing posted that it was closed so that was a bit disappointing. We did take pic of the outside and there's a cafe and lunch spot in the park pretty close to it. We ended up walking around in the park and I was happy we did !

The Palacio de Cristal is an architectural marvel, a stunning structure in the middle of Parque del Buen Retiro. Although it used to function as a greenhouse, it no longer does. I understand that it sometimes hosts art installations and different traveling exhibitions but there was nothing inside when I went. The beauty and majesty is all in the framework as it is all glass and iron. It was very cool to go inside but I enjoyed the view the most from across the lake where I took this photo. The palace is a marvel, the surrounding park is beautiful and the pond in front of it is serene and peaceful. If you are in Madrid this is one of the things you must see! Although I've seen very pretty glasshouses none as big and grand as the Palacio de Cristal.

I love this place! They always have free art exhibits and the pictures here for the gram are a total hit! The Palacio de Cristal or "Crystal Palace" is a wonderful instagramable place. From the front the back and the inside, it's an iconic place inside the Retiro park. If you don't have a picture here, did you even visited Madrid? I don't think so!

It's a magical thing to be walking through a park and encounter a glass palace. Located in the middle of Retiro (just south of the lake), this crystal palace frequently features art on the inside. However, it isn't open all the time to walk through, so make sure it's open for your visit. Even if it's not, it's still pretty from the outside. On a hot day, it's only bearable inside for about five minutes (no air ventilation and it soaks up all sun). There is a little pond outside of it with tons of turtles (my favorite part) too.

Great for some IG photo ops while visiting Retiro Park, but not worth staying around for more than 10 minutes. If you visit during summer, go early before it gets crowded (nothing worse than a random photo bomber). It's basically a glass greenhouse and temperatures can soar inside. The structure of metal and glass is a cool look externally and internally, but inside there are only three statues which isn't much to marvel at.

The place itself is overrated. As a tourist from NY, I expected it to be an amazing place to visit in Madrid. The surrounding area was nice with the pond, museum and greenery. But inside the actual Palacio de Cristal was a disappointment. There was a long line to get in. Once inside. There's a couple of sculptures that people can take pictures next to. But that's about it. It's a glass building but I expected some kind of architecture that would knock my socks off. But, alas, it's a big house that has glass for walls and that's it. The two stars that I gave is literally for the lovely pond right outside this establishment.

This place is beautiful, I've seen this building so many times in my architecture history books that when I saw it personally and in full color it was very striking. It's like a greenhouse with art sculptures inside instead of plants. It sits in parque El Buen Retiro (beautiful park with tons of people enjoying it everywhere) nearby a fountain with trees everywhere. We went during the fall so the leaves were turning color into the fall foliage. If you want to avoid the crowds come early. We were here at 10 AM on a Saturday and there weren't that many people, we came back in the afternoon around 4 PM and the line to go inside was pretty long. If you want a nice picture, walk across the pond and capture the crystal palace through the beautiful trees (notice the trunk touching the water). Definitely a place to visit when you're in Madrid.

Breathtaking!!! This crystal palace is a beautiful diamond in the midst of the green park it's in. It's a fairytale come true, reminiscent of Cinderella's carriage but formed into a beautiful building. It's a quick stop, as there isn't anything to see inside other than the sheer beauty of it, but it is a great photo opportunity. It gets very hot on the inside. Bathrooms downstairs.

This is the stunning piece of architecture. I really appreciate that there's large scale public art installed inside. The park in which is situated is playful and inspiring. This is a must see for your visiting list.

Beautiful advisory/greenhouse inn the middle of the park. No need to walk in ... It's more impressive outside. It resides inside the park but its excellent for photos and Instagram pictures!

When I traveled to Madrid, this was one of the thing that I knew I had to see. Walking through Retiro Park to get here is lovely, and then you see this sparkling glass palace off to the side in the middle of the forest. Seeing it for the first time, I was transfixed. It had just rained, so the glass and the leaves of the trees were shiny, and the building looked like something out of a Disney movie. You can walk inside and look around, and entrance is free. The place can get quite crowded with tourists, though when I went it wasn't so crowded due to it being morning, and having just rained. When there aren't art exhibits here, this place feels a bit empty. It is a place to walk inside and see, but not wander through for hours exploring. Be sure not to miss the gorgeous pond outside. It's a beautiful palace made entirely in glass in the forest - who wouldn't want to visit?

Beautiful, but sadly there were renovations going on so we could not go inside. Of course being a beautiful park, and an interesting architectural Jem, the place was crawling with people. Love the nearby water and accompanying animals. Noticed there is a little ramp for the turtles in the small lake. Tons of people taking selfies here, so beware of selfie sticks. Really unique building and I'm guessing as close as you can get to experiencing something like Queen Victoria's crystal palace, long gone. Quite a walk to get to it, at the heart of this huge park!

The Palacio de Cristal is a 19th century greenhouse nestled in the forests of Madrid's Parque de Retiro. Once used to showcase flowers from the Philippines, it is now home to rotating art exhibits and is part of the national museum system. Admission is free, although the Palace is only open during certain hours and not on Tuesdays. The Palacio de Cristal is a beautiful building in a gorgeous setting. You can stand on its front steps and look out across a tranquil pond framed with immaculate landscaping. Or, you can walk its exterior perimeter and notice the detailed ceramic tiling encircling the building. Standing inside surrounded by the glass walls and ceiling is otherworldly; I have never had an experience like it. My only critique of the Palacio de Cristal is that there isn't much to it. Even attending to the details of the architecture, it was hard to spend more than 15 minutes here. I would nonetheless recommend making this unique and beautiful structure a stop on your stroll through the Parque de Retiro.

One of the most beautiful and mesmerizing structures I have ever seen. I was given the advice to go to El Retiro Park while I was in Madrid. Most people mentioned being able to see the boats on the lake in the middle of the park. As I am a runner I always like to explore cities by running them to find cool and beautiful places (usually by accident). This was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. It is a free museum and a great way to pass time. There were two exhibits when I was there and one of them was the boat seen hanging. The views were stunning and I would say this is definitely a MUST SEE!

I felt as if I was a caged bird! I would recommend everyone to go if they are already in Parque de Retiro. If you do love defferent houses or buildings like I do then you should add it to your list to visit. I was not dissapointed at all... it was beautiful on a sunny day. There many benches outside where you can have a bite to eat or even better have a picnic on the grass in front of the water pond. As a solo traveler I was able to enjoy it more at a calm pace. I took my precious time admiring it.

This was cool to see, but I really wish the rainbow installation was still in. From the pictures of the rainbow installation it seemed super cool inside. That was what originally sparked my interest in going. Nonetheless it was still cool to see. It's about a 15 minute walk from when you enter the park to get to the room.

A must see for any tourist! The beautiful architecture is visible as you approach the building and see the fountain in front with the windows glittering behind. There's usually musicians around and people enjoying the park. The exhibit inside the museum changes, but it is usually kid friendly. If you're already going into the park to see the museum or the gardens, you might as well stop in between and see the palace!

Beautiful!! Apparently they do many art exhibitions here. I was told that at every exhibition, the artists have to specifically design for the Palacio. So it's not just ANYthing from that artist, it has to be unique to the Palacio. I visited when there was the colourful fabric tent thing happening. I didn't see the Palacio in its naked form unfortunately. But it's really cute to have such a structure in the middle of a very large and beautiful park. During the weekday, it's not that crowded. It's also free!

Crystal gem tucked in a massive park in the middle of the city. Nice getaway from the hustle and bustle. It's a beautiful palace. Admission was free. Def worth checking it out especially as the sun is setting.

another attraction inside of buen retiro park. the name literally translates to "the crystal palace" and it certainly does look like a grand structure made of crystals as you approach this museum. there is a small pond in the front, where visitors can hang out and enjoy watching the ducks and other pond creatures. inside, there are actually several rocking chairs, each of which has a book attached by a string, where visitors can sit, rock, and read a book (in spanish of course!) or maybe take a snooze break! there are also restrooms downstairs which is convenient for those who have been out all day and haven't seen the wc for a while. admission is free, so why not take a break and stop by?

Meh, doesn't offer much. Was expecting way more than what I saw. Just a building with a lot of windows...definitely worth seeing and taking a picture but u won't stay there more than 5 minutes.

Nice little palace in the middle of Parque del Retiro. When we went, there was a little gallery inside of some different colored clothes all over the place. Didn't see anything special about it. The palace itself is nice, beautiful detailing.. but I don't think it's anything you need to go out of your way to see. The pond in front of it is way prettier and more pleasant to watch. If you're already in the park, go find the palace... if not, skip it.

Located in the middle of the Parque del Retiro, it's a house or castle made of glass. It looks cool with all the light shinning in. They sometimes have galleries and in the "off" season you can sit inside on rocking chairs and just chill. Personally I would rather sit outside on a bench and get some fresh air but on a rainy day this is the best of both worlds. It's not something you need to make as a must do on your trip, however, for what it is there is some charm.

This is a must see as a tourist and citizen of Madrid! Its great location in Retiro is another drawing factor as the two are some of Madrid's greatest beauties. I came here 3 years ago and I had no problem coming back with a friend who had never been before. I love how they change out their exhibitions, although the exhibition this time was pretty creepy as it had a completely life-size and very real looking model of a woman lying down in a bed in a trailer, with puppet shows going on around the rest of the trailer. Regardless of that, this place is such a stunning beauty. Be sure to take a walk around the pond and admire the palace from afar, it may even be enjoyable to bring a small picnic!

Small crystal palace located in the middle of the Retiro Park, similar to the Grand Palais in París although much smaller. It is usually used to show temporary exhibitions, with a small lake just in front with weeping willows and ducks. However, the most beautiful sights are outside instead of inside.