Parque Europa de Madrid.

One of my favourite things to do, without a doubt, is travel. But the main problem of travelling is the cost, especially since many of us, especially young people do not have enough purchasing power. This power is what allows us to travel, for example, around the whole of Europe.

But this stopped being a problem some years ago, when Madrid opened the only park which can transport you to the main points of interest in very famous European cities, through their most representative monuments. Now we no longer have excuses to say that we cannot see the world without moving from our home… because of the arrival of Parque Europa. (The Europa Park).

(Photograph from the website Parque Europa)

This is the free park, which opened at the end of 2012 in Torrejón de Ardoz, after more than a year of construction. In addition to being a cultural place, it is one of the largest green spaces in the city, which has, in recent years, made it one of the main tourist attractions both of Madrid and tourists looking for something different.

The truth is that, despite its fame and interest, getting to the park is a little complicated, especially if you don’t know the transport system in Madrid. The Madrid Metro does have a stop called Parque Europa, but unfortunately, this stop does not take you to the park; I took the Metro, thinking it would take me to the Park and ended up almost the other side of the city.

Considering this, the easiest way to get to the park is by car, taking the road A2 until exit 18. Although, if this isn’t possible, you can take the bus. However, as Torrejón de Ardoz is in another area of Madrid, you will have to take the urban buses which are a little more expensive than normal. You can take the line 2 of urban buses or the 224-A intercity bus.

But, what exactly is the Europa Park?

It is a park for many different interests. To start with, ecological and scenic interest, housing more than 10, 000 species of tress and plants y 120, 000 flowers, as well as numerous green zones and gardens where you can sit and spend your day surrounded by nature.

As well as this, there is the possibility to bring your food and use the picnic areas, situated in different places around the park, since you are allowed to bring food inside the park, which means that, instead of Sundays in the countryside, you can come here instead.

Bring your own food or eat in one of the restaurants in the park; there is always an option, especially in the summer. There are also many activities to do for both children and adults. You can rent one of the boats (I don't remember how much they cost, but I think that the price is very similar to the boats in Retiro) and go sailing on the lake, seeing some of the monuments from the water, crossing the London Bridge whilst the ducks follow you wherever you go.

You can stay to see the water and light shows, which run on the weekends in the summer from 11pm, or simply walk in the park at night when the monuments are fully lit, something which is also beautiful. You can also pay a tour guide to explain the details about the park, such as the main monuments that you can see.

If you go with children, you can always let them do some of the park activities, all private, so you have to pay. They can spend an hour doing archery, on the zipline through the middle of the park from the highest to the lowest point, pony walking, or, without a doubt what they will like the most, delve into the Multi-adventure Park of challenges, ropes and height!

Also you have a clear cultural interest. And this is most representative of this place are the 17 replicas of notable monuments of different European cities, some reproduced to actual size and others are scaled down so that we can see them as a whole.

As well as all this, the park was also lucky enough to have received, as a gift from the City Hall of Berlin a small original fragment of the Berlin Wall, which is currently the only original monument in the park.

Each monument has an explanation next to it, so that you won't leave the park not knowing about the main places of interest or, at least, a brief history of the monuments. In addition to this, if you enter the park by the main entrance, walking by the replica of the famous Brandenburg gate in Berlin, you have a map of everything in the park where there are signposts directing you to all the zones of interest.

Some of the 17 monuments that you can find inside the park are the following; La Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol of Madrid, The Little Mermaid of Copenhagen (which, because of its size, I find more appealing than the original), The Eiffel Tower of Paris, Trevi Fountain of Rome (where they still throw coins even though it is a replica), The Belém Tower of Lisbon or The Atomium of Brussels.

This park is a big, new discovery for everyone who comes for the first time, and it is the same for those of us who have visited it several times over time. I am still waiting to see the park completely covered in snow, which sounds like it will be equally beautiful, but until then, I just have memories of the spring and summer scenery of my visits so far.

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