2 Best Sights in Madrid, Spain

The manicured gardens to the north of the Palacio Real, located where the royal stables once were, are a pleasant place to rest or watch the sun set. Renovated in 2022 as part of the Plaza de España overhaul, they are named for the prolific 18th-century architect who designed the Puerta de Alcalá, Royal Botanical Garden, and San Francisco el Grande convent, among other key sights.  

You don’t have to be a horticulturalist to appreciate the breadth of the exotic plant collection here. Opened in 1781 and emblematic of the Age of Enlightenment, this lush Eden of bonsais, orchids, cacti, and more houses more than 5,000 species of living plants and trees in just 20 acres. Its dried specimens number over a million, and many were brought back from exploratory voyages to the Americas.