A plan with no clock and no rush: the park that was once a palace garden and is today the city's largest green space. Among its gardens and ponds live ducks, pigeons and squirrels that keep the children company from square to square. The walk links Plaza de América, with its brick and tile pavilions and its flock of pigeons, and ends at Plaza de España, where the little ones row boats surrounded by towers, bridges and tiles. It can be done on foot or by renting a four-seat cycle for the whole family.
Getting there & around
On foot from the apartment (25-30 min), or bus C1/C2 and taxi to the Prado de San Sebastián, the park's southern gate. Inside the park, four-seat cycles are rented next to Plaza de España. The whole route is flat and pram-friendly.
The route
Apartamento Esencia Sevilla
Starting point. The park's southern gate is a 20-25 minute walk, or take bus C1/C2 and a taxi to Prado de San Sebastián.
Tip: With a pram, the Prado de San Sebastián entrance avoids stairs and offers shade from early on.
Parque de María Luisa
The former Montpensier gardens opened to the public in 1914: squares, fountains and ponds with ducks and turtles that children roam from end to end today.
Tip: Squirrels love unsalted nuts. Ducks should not be given bread: sweetcorn or small fruit pieces are better.
Plaza de América
Three brick-and-tile pavilions crowned by pigeons: the Mudéjar, Renaissance and Gothic palaces, built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition.
Tip: Pigeons come for any crumb. The classic photo is on the steps of the Mudéjar pavilion, today the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs.
Glorieta de Bécquer
A fairy-tale corner devoted to the poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: a monument surrounded by cypresses and willows where love and poetry go hand in hand.
Tip: For grown-ups: Bécquer's most famous rhymes were written in this legendary mood. For the little ones: find the three little marble angels embracing the monument.
Plaza de España
The grand finale: a semicircular square with a canal, bridges and tiles from every province. The canal's rowing boats are the star activity for children.
History: The square was built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, and its canal was designed for the boats of the era. In 2002 its stairways and galleries became the city of Naboo in one of the Star Wars films.
Tip: Rowing boats on the canal (about 15 minutes). Boats are rented in the centre of the square. Small children can watch the fish in the canal from the bridges.
