The Crystal Palace, Madrid, Spain

Crystal Palace or Palacio de Cristal in spanish, is a glass pavilion inspired by The Crystal Palace in London and designed in 1887 by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco.

Modeled on London's Crystal Palace of the 1850s, Madrid's greatest wrought-iron and glass-domed Industrial Revolution structure was launched just 30 years later to stage an exhibition of Philippine tropical plants. It stands in the heart of the Retiro Park, reflecting charismatically in a small lake inhabited by ducks, grey lag geese, and black swans, and forms one of Madrid's most enduring bucolic images.

The Crystal Palace, which was built in 5 months, is considered one of the best examples of architecture in iron and glass in Spain. This singular building is 54 metres long, 28 metres wide and 22.6 metres high at its highest part, and stands on a brickwork base decorated with a fine ceramic frieze.

Today exhibitions of modern art are regularly held inside the Crystal Palace, entrance is free!

Visit also our photo tour of the Parque del Retiro where is located the Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace in Madrid Spain 

Address : Paseo Duque de Fernán Núñez, s/n 
City : Madrid - Spain 
Area : Retiro
Opening hours : MAY TO SEPTEMBER: Monday-Saturday: 11am to 8pm. Sundays and public holidays: 11am to 6pm. OCTOBER TO APRIL: Monday-Saturday: 10am to 6pm. Sundays and public holidays: 10am to 4pm. CLOSED: Tuesday - 1 and 6 January - 1 and 15 May - 24, 25 and 31 December.
Prices : Free
Phone : + 91 574 66 14
Metro/Bus : Metro: Ibiza (Line 9) - Bus: 2-20-26-61

Credit by : http://www.madrid.com/madrid_tourism/madrid_monuments/crystal_palace_in_madrid_spain