West Park

With an area of nearly 100 hectares, this important green space is located between the A Coruña highway, the University City, and the Moncloa district. It was Madrid's first public park, created in 1905 at the initiative of the Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Aguilera, and designed by Celedonio Rodrigáñez, an agricultural engineer and Director of Gardens and Plantations for the City Council. After the Spanish Civil War, his successor, Cecilio Rodríguez, oversaw the park's reconstruction.

Between 1956 and 1973, the park expanded and since then has featured unique landmarks such as the Cable Car, the School of Ceramics, and the Temple of Debod, near Plaza de España, an Egyptian temple from the 2nd century BC, a gift from the Egyptian government to Spain during the construction of the Aswan Dam.

The executions of the rebels in the uprising of May 2, 1808 by Napoleon's French troops took place on the site where the temple is located, a scene portrayed in Goya's famous painting The Third of May in Madrid or The Executions. Later, the Cuartel de la Montaña (Mountain Barracks) was also built here, famous for the events of 1936, when it was stormed by Madrid residents seeking weapons to defend themselves against the rebel army. In the area between Avenida de Séneca and Paseo de Ruperto Chapí, three of the twenty machine gun bunkers built there during the Civil War can still be seen (this same area features a beautiful 600-meter-long artificial stream that can be explored via a side path). At the southern end of the park is the Ramón Ortiz Rose Garden, covering 15,000 square meters, which has hosted the International New Rose Competition of the City of Madrid every year since 1956. The park has a monumental and landscaped character, with a general layout in the style of an English garden, featuring steep slopes and curving paths inspired by nature. Following its 2022 renovation, the Parque del Oeste has been seamlessly connected by a green pedestrian walkway linking the Temple of Debod, the Plaza de España, the Sabatini Gardens, and the Royal Palace. This integration has transformed the area into a wide green corridor that facilitates pedestrian traffic and offers a harmonious transition between important historical landmarks of the city.