Photos: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Cassowary Colorizations, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo credits
Photos: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Cassowary Colorizations, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
El Capricho, the park almost nobody visits
Your local guide
Marina Vega
View profile
Highlights
- A duchess's private pleasure garden
- A ruin built on purpose
- Landscaping most parks do not have
- One of the city's least-known spaces
- Eighteenth-century garden fashion, explained
About this tour
This session covers El Capricho, a park most visitors to Madrid never hear about, let alone visit. You see the formal gardens laid out for an eighteenth-century duchess and a deliberately built ruin folly in one corner. It is one of the more unusual green spaces in the city.
We move slowly through the formal sections, since the layout itself rewards a careful look at the planting and structure. I explain the folly and the wider fashion for artificial ruins as we reach it. Questions about the park's original owner come up more than you might expect.
This suits anyone who has already seen Madrid's bigger parks and wants something quieter and more unusual. It also works well for viewers interested in eighteenth-century garden design specifically.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 5 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Madrid before heading out.
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The formal gardens 21 min
Clipped hedges and statues fill this section, laid out by an eighteenth-century duchess who wanted her own private pleasure garden. I point out details in the landscaping that most municipal parks in the city do not have.
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The artificial ruins folly 21 min
A deliberately built fake ruin sits in one corner of the park, a fashionable garden feature of its era. I explain why aristocrats of the time enjoyed building ruins on purpose rather than only preserving real ones.
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Your questions 9 min
Time to ask anything about Madrid: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 4 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Cocido madrileño and Malasaña, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Madrid time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 7 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Madrid, showing you The formal gardens and The artificial ruins folly live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk the park live with a gardener's slow pace.
Times shown in Madrid time (CET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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From 20,00 €
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