El Capricho Park

The Parque de El Capricho in north-east Madrid is the only surviving romantic-era garden in the Spanish capital, laid out from 1787 on the orders of Maria Josefa Pimentel y Tellez-Giron, Duchess of Osuna. She was one of Spain's leading Enlightenment figures and gradually built a small artificial world here over decades: pavilions, follies, a labyrinth, a canal, an apiary and a theatre - hence the name El Capricho, the whim. The garden mixes French, Italian and English models and became a gathering point of Madrid's Enlightenment circles, from Goya to scientifically minded aristocrats. The park is open only at weekends and on holidays; admission is free, and a Civil War command bunker hidden in the grounds adds a second historical layer to the visit.