The Barrio de las Letras to the Retiro on foot: a self-guided walk from the Puerta del Sol to the Puerta de Alcalá, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Madrid. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at the Puerta del Sol, above Sol station, and finish at the Puerta de Alcalá, beside Retiro station: 4.4 km, about an hour of walking and most of a day with the visits. Walk it Tuesday to Sunday. The Lope de Vega house is free but needs a booked place and is shut on Mondays, the Cervantes tomb in the Trinitarias church opens only around Mass, and the Crystal Palace in the Retiro is closed for restoration. The Prado is €15, or free in its last two hours. Or book a tour: the Old Town and Poets District walking tourad (from €39, 3 to 3.5 hours) starts at the Lope de Vega house.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

The Barrio de las Letras is the quarter between the Plaza de Santa Ana and the Paseo del Prado that Cervantes, Quevedo and Lope de Vega frequented in the Golden Age. The route runs east through it, then down the Paseo del Prado and into the Retiro, and ends at the park’s north-west gate. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories, and the three tours below cover this quarter or the Retiro. None includes a Prado ticket. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

• Madrid: Old Town & Poets District Guided Walking Tourad, by Artista-Tours: from €39, 4.7 stars from 211 reviews, 3 to 3.5 hours, in English, Spanish or German. It starts at the Lope de Vega house, passes the Casa de Quevedo, the Teatro Español and the Plaza de Santa Ana, and goes on through the Puerta del Sol to the Plaza de Oriente; entry to monuments is not included.
• Madrid: Tapas & Wine Tasting Tour with Local Guidead, by Gourmet Madrid: from €85, 4.8 stars from 2,593 reviews, 3 hours. It visits four century-old bars in the Literary Quarter, with at least 12 tapas and a drink at each.
• Madrid: Retiro Park Deluxe with Hidden Stories Small Groupad, by MYSTICXPERIENCE: from €18, 4.8 stars from 61 reviews, 3 hours, in English or Spanish. It starts at the Puerta de Felipe IV and finishes at the Palacio de Cristal.

1. Puerta del Sol

Free · open always · Sol station, metro lines 1, 2 and 3, is under the square

The walk starts where the Madrid de los Austrias walk does, at the semicircular square of the Casa de Correos, with Kilometre 0 on the pavement outside it: stop 1 of that walk and the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol describe it. Leave by Calle de Carretas, at the square’s south-east corner, and take Calle de Cádiz and Calle de Espoz y Mina to the Plaza de Santa Ana: 460 m.

• A bite first: Casa Labra on Calle de Tetuán and Lhardy on Carrera de San Jerónimo are both within 150 m of the square.

2. Plaza de Santa Ana

Free · open always · Teatro Español box office Tuesday to Sunday 16:30 to 20:30, closed Mondays

The façade of the Teatro Español. Photo: Luis García (Zaqarbal), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The square is lined with café terraces, and the Teatro Español stands on the Calle del Príncipe side. It began in the 16th century as the Corral del Príncipe, a comedy playhouse where pieces that became classics of Spanish literature were first staged, and Juan de Villanueva rebuilt it after a fire in 1802, giving it the façade you see today. From the square, Calle de las Huertas runs downhill to the Paseo del Prado, with quotations from Spanish writers carved into its cobbles. Follow it for 450 m to the end of the street.

• Casa Alberto, at Calle de las Huertas 18, is the tavern on the way: see where to eat.
• Tickets for the theatre are on the day at the box office, or online on teatroespanol.es.

A verse by Nicolás Fernández de Moratín set in the paving of Calle de las Huertas. Photo: Gerda Arendt, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

3. The Trinitarias convent

Free · opens half an hour before Mass: 8:30 on weekdays, 19:30 on Saturdays and the eves of holidays, 12:00 on Sundays and holidays · Calle de Lope de Vega 18

The altarpieces of the Trinitarias church. Photo: Enrique Cordero, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The convent was founded in 1612, and Cervantes was buried in its first, small church in 1616. That church was demolished, and the Baroque one that stands now dates from 1668. In 2015 his remains were found, and they now lie in a monument built in his honour inside the church. A plaque on the church records the burial.

• Visiting: the church opens only around Mass, so Sunday at 11:30, before the 12:00 Mass, is the easy time. Groups visit by appointment on +34 91 429 56 71.
• Metro: Antón Martín and Estación del Arte, both on line 1, are the nearest stations.

4. The Lope de Vega house

Free · booking essential · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, a guided visit every 30 minutes, last at 17:00 · closed Mondays · Calle de Cervantes 11

A room of the Lope de Vega house-museum. Photo: Benjamín Núñez González, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Walk 300 m by Calle del León to Calle de Cervantes. The house-museum is where the playwright Lope de Vega lived, with his study, oratory, kitchen, bedrooms and garden, and you enter only on a guided visit of about 35 minutes for a group of up to 15. The visit is free, but you must reserve by phone on +34 91 429 92 16 or by email, giving the day and time you prefer. Lope de Vega is buried nearby, in the church of San Sebastián on Calle de Atocha.

• Closed: every Monday, 1 and 6 January, 1 and 15 May, and 24, 25 and 31 December.
• Tours: the Old Town and Poets District tour above starts at this door.

5. The Neptune Fountain

Free · open always · Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo

Calle de Cervantes ends at the Paseo del Prado, 330 m on, where the Fuente de Neptuno stands in the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo. Neptune rides a shell chariot pulled by two hippocamps. Ventura Rodríguez designed the fountain to face the Cibeles fountain along the Paseo, and both were moved to their present squares at the end of the 19th century. The Palace hotel and the Mandarin Oriental Ritz stand on either side of the square.

• The Congress: the Congreso de los Diputados, on Carrera de San Jerónimo, gives free guided visits that must be booked online: Fridays at 12:00, with places opening at 13:00 on the Saturday before. Its Saturday visits are suspended until further notice, there are no visits in August or on public holidays, and you show your passport or national ID at the door.

6. The Prado

€15 · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday and holidays 10:00 to 19:00 · free 18:00 to 20:00, or 17:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and holidays · closed 1 January, 1 May and 25 December

The museum is 425 m south along the Paseo del Prado. Juan de Villanueva’s building opened as a museum on 10 November 1819, and it holds Velázquez’s Las Meninas in room 12 and Goya’s Black Paintings in room 67. Two hours covers a short route. Buy from the Prado’s own shop, where the ticket is €15; resellers charge more. If you want the free last two hours, finish here instead: see the reverse route under getting there and back.

• Detail: Prado museum tickets has the rooms, the guided visit and the closed days.

Detour: the Royal Botanical Garden

€4 · free on Tuesday from 10:00 to 13:30 · open daily from 10:00 · closed 1 January and 25 December · Plaza de Murillo 2

A fountain in the Royal Botanical Garden. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The garden lies just south of the Prado, 220 m from it, and adds about 400 m to the walk. It has more than 5,500 species of plants, and visitors enter only by the Puerta de Murillo, opposite the Prado. It closes at 18:00 in January, February, November and December, 19:00 in March and October, 20:00 in April and September, and 21:00 from May to August. Ticket sales and entry stop 30 minutes before closing, and the glasshouses, café and shop empty 30 minutes before closing. Some exhibitions in the Villanueva Pavilion add €2 to €5 to any ticket. Buy at the gate or on the garden’s ticket site, entradas.rjb.csic.es.

7. The Crystal Palace

Closed for restoration, seen from the pond · the Retiro is free, open 6:00 to 22:00 from October to March and 6:00 to midnight from April to September

From the Prado walk up Calle de Alfonso XII to the Puerta de Felipe IV, enter the Retiro and follow the Paseo de Paraguay for 730 m to the glass palace on its pond. It was built for the Philippines Exhibition of 1887. The Reina Sofía, which runs it, lists it as temporarily closed for restoration work and shows an installation on its glass, so this stop is the view of the building across the water. In severe weather the council can close the park wholly or in part, and it shows a message on the screens at the entrances.

• Entry: the Retiro has 18 gates, and this route uses the Puerta de Felipe IV, where the Retiro tour on GetYourGuide also starts.
• More: Retiro Park covers the rest of the park.

8. The Palacio de Velázquez

Free · daily 10:00 to 18:00 from October to March, 10:00 to 21:00 from April to September · closed 1 and 6 January, 1 May and 25 December

The Palacio de Velázquez, 210 m to the north along the Paseo de Julio Romero de Torres, is the park’s other exhibition hall. Fernando Sánchez Castillo’s The Wayward Pearl fills it until 8 March 2027. Visitors leave the hall 10 minutes before closing, and on 24 and 31 December it closes at 17:00.

9. The Estanque Grande

Free to see · rowing boats €6 Monday to Friday, €8 at weekends and on holidays, for 45 minutes and up to four people · boats 10:00 to 14:00 and from 15:15 to closing, between 17:15 and 20:30 depending on the season · closed 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January

The lake is 320 m on, by the Paseo de Venezuela. Cristóbal de Aguilera built it between 1634 and 1636 for the garden of the Buen Retiro palace, which held mock naval battles on it. The monument to Alfonso XII on its shore was put up in 1902, designed by José Grases Riera and completed by Teodoro Anasagasti, with an equestrian statue by Mariano Benlliure. Book a boat through the council’s Madrid Móvil app or its sports website.

10. The Puerta de Alcalá

Free · open always · Retiro station, line 2, is at Calle de Alcalá 95

The Puerta de Alcalá. Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Leave the park by the Paseo de Colombia and the Paseo de México, 770 m from the lake, and cross to the Plaza de la Independencia. The Puerta de Alcalá is a granite triumphal arch of five arches, put up in 1778 to a design by Francesco Sabatini for Charles III, and it stands in the middle of the square. It was the city’s main entrance on the road to Alcalá de Henares. Retiro station is at its side; the Cibeles fountain and the Cibeles Palace are down Calle de Alcalá.

• The view: the CentroCentro viewpoint in the Cibeles Palace is €4 and closed on Mondays: see Madrid viewpoints.

Where to eat

Casa Labra

Calle de Tetuán 12 · tapas only, 11:30 to 15:30 and 18:30 to 22:30 · open every day except 1 January

A tavern open since 1860, a few steps from the Puerta del Sol. Order the cod and the cod croquettes, eaten at the bar. The restaurant is closed, and the bar serves tapas only.

Casa Alberto

Calle de las Huertas 18 · tavern Tuesday to Saturday 12:00 to 23:00, Sunday 12:00 to 16:00 · closed Monday

A tavern founded in 1827, according to the council’s plaque set in the floor of the entrance. It serves traditional Madrid cooking, and its restaurant opens Tuesday to Saturday 13:30 to 16:00 and 20:00 to 23:00. It is on the street between the Plaza de Santa Ana and the Trinitarias.

Lhardy

Carrera de San Jerónimo 8 · Monday to Saturday 13:00 to 00:00, Sunday 13:00 to 16:00

A restaurant open since 1839, a block from the Puerta del Sol. It serves a cocido in three courses, which it calls “3 vuelcos”, and the shop beside it is open Monday to Saturday 9:00 to 23:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 17:00. Where to eat in Madrid lists more taverns, with the sources.

The best day to go

The timing that works, on a Sunday: leave the Puerta del Sol at 9:30, reach Santa Ana by 10:00, be at the Trinitarias for 11:30 when the church opens before its Mass, and take a Lope de Vega visit at 12:30 booked in advance. Be at the Neptune Fountain by 13:30, and in the Retiro by 14:30, with the Palacio de Velázquez open until 18:00. Boats stop at 14:00 and start again at 15:15. On other days the Cervantes tomb needs an early start for the 8:30 weekday Mass or an evening return for the 19:30 Mass on Saturday.

What closes:

• Mondays: the Lope de Vega house and the Teatro Español box office.
• Weekdays: the Trinitarias church is open only around the 8:30 Mass.
• In bad weather: the council can close the Retiro in part or in full.
• 1 January, 1 May and 25 December: the Prado. The Botanical Garden is shut on 1 January and 25 December.

What does not close: the streets, Santa Ana, the Neptune Fountain, the Puerta de Alcalá and, outside weather alerts, the Retiro. A Monday still makes a walk: the Prado, the Botanical Garden and the Retiro are open, and only the Lope de Vega house is shut.

Getting there and back

• To the start: Sol station, on metro lines 1, 2 and 3, is under the Puerta del Sol, and Cercanías trains stop at Madrid-Sol. The ticket choices are in Madrid public transport.
• From the end: Retiro station, on line 2, is at the Puerta de Alcalá.
• In reverse: start at Retiro, walk the park in the afternoon, and arrive at the Prado for 18:00, when the free hours begin. Santa Ana, for dinner, is under a kilometre on.

What to do with the rest of the day

• Habsburg Madrid: the Madrid de los Austrias walk starts at the Puerta del Sol, where this walk begins, and ends at the Teatro Real, 500 m from it.
• The art: the Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen make up the Paseo del Arte, and the Paseo del Arte card covers the three.
• The park: Retiro Park has the Rosaleda, the Fallen Angel and the rest of what this route skips.
• Guided walks: Madrid walking tours compares the guided and tip-based walks.
• A plan for the stay: Madrid in one or two days builds the days round the bookings, and what to book before you go to Madrid has the closed days for every sight. To sleep nearby, see where to stay in Madrid.

Common questions

How long is the Barrio de las Letras walk?

4.4 km from the Puerta del Sol to the Puerta de Alcalá, measured along the streets: about an hour of walking. With the Lope de Vega house, a look at the Prado and a stroll round the Retiro it fills most of a day.

Is the Barrio de las Letras walk free?

The streets, the Lope de Vega house, the Trinitarias church, the Retiro and the Palacio de Velázquez cost nothing. The Prado is €15 and free in its last two hours, the Royal Botanical Garden detour is €4 and rowing boats on the Retiro lake are €6 on weekdays and €8 at weekends.

What do I need to book for the walk?

The Lope de Vega house, which admits only booked guided groups of up to 15 on Tuesday to Sunday. Everything else is a free church, park or square, or a ticket bought at the door or online.

Which day is best for the Barrio de las Letras walk?

Tuesday to Sunday. On Mondays the Lope de Vega house is shut. The Trinitarias church opens half an hour before Mass, which is at 8:30 on weekdays, 19:30 on Saturdays and 12:00 on Sundays, and the Royal Botanical Garden is free on Tuesday mornings.

Can I go inside the Crystal Palace in the Retiro?

No. The Reina Sofía, which runs it, lists the Palacio de Cristal as temporarily closed for restoration work. It can be seen from the pond, and the Palacio de Velázquez beside it is open and free.

Where does the walk start and finish?

It starts at the Puerta del Sol, above Sol station on metro lines 1, 2 and 3, and finishes at the Puerta de Alcalá, beside Retiro station on line 2. The Madrid de los Austrias walk also starts at the Puerta del Sol.