Most of the grounds that were used for the park were formerly the gardens of the Palace San Telmo. They were donated to the city of Seville in 1893 by the Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, for use as a public park. Starting in 1911, Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier rearranged the gardens into their present shapes. In 1914 the architect Anibal Gonzalez began construction for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929, which was held partly within the park. The new buildings of the Plaza de España were used as the office of the fair.
In preparation for the exhibition, the entire southern end of the city was redeveloped into an expanse of gardens and grand boulevards. The centre of it is Parque de María Luisa, a 'Moorish paradisical style' with a half mile of tiled fountains, pavilions, walls, ponds, benches, and exhedras. There are lush plantings of palms, orange trees, Mediterranean pines, and stylized flower beds and with bowers hidden by vines.
The park serves as a botanical garden. Many plant species, native or exotic, are represented, along with educational panels to inform the visitors to the park. Many birds make their home in the park, which is known for its large population of doves (for which a part of the Plaza de América is called the Parque de las Palomas, or Dove Park). There are also many green parrots living in the center of the park and ducks and swans in the fountains and lake.
