El Capricho de la Alameda de Osuna

In Alameda de Osuna in the district of Barajas, you'll find El Capricho (literally, 'The Whim'), a garden that is a jewel of Romanticism and a monument to 18th-century taste. Within its 14 hectares lie an artificial river, lakes, woods, gardens, simulations of temples and other surprising nooks. Building work was begun in 1780 on order of the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, the most cultivated couple among the aristocracy of their time, supporters of the ideas of the enlightenment and patrons to many artists. Jean-Baptiste Mulot, a French gardener who had worked for Marie Antoinette, was the head architect, though most of El Capricho is in the English style.