Prefiero aparcar en una calle tranquila y caminar cinco minutos hasta la plaza.

Because preferir is a stem-changing verb. In the present tense, its e in the stem changes to ie in most forms:

• yo prefiero
• tú prefieres
• él/ella prefiere
• nosotros preferimos
• vosotros preferís
• ellos prefieren

So prefiero is the correct I prefer form.

After preferir, Spanish usually uses an infinitive when the same person does both actions.

• Prefiero aparcar... = I prefer to park...
• Prefiero caminar... = I prefer to walk...

This works like English prefer to + verb. Because the subject is still I, Spanish does not need another conjugated verb here.

Yes, aparcar is very common in Spain for to park a car.

In other Spanish-speaking countries, you may hear:

• estacionar
• sometimes parquear in some regions

So if you are learning Spanish from Spain, aparcar is a very natural choice.

Because calle is a feminine noun in Spanish, so the article and adjective must agree with it.

• calle = feminine singular
• article: una
• adjective: tranquila

This is called gender and number agreement.

So:

• una calle tranquila
• not un calle tranquilo

In Spanish, adjectives often come after the noun, especially when they describe a basic quality.

• una calle tranquila = a quiet street

This is the most normal order here. Putting the adjective before the noun is possible in some cases, but it often changes the tone or emphasis, and it would sound less natural in this sentence.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• prefiero already means I prefer

So Yo prefiero... is possible, but it is usually only used for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

For example:

• Yo prefiero aparcar aquí, pero él no.

In a normal sentence, just Prefiero... sounds natural.

Spanish often expresses duration directly, without needing a separate word equivalent to English for.

• caminar cinco minutos = to walk for five minutes

You can also say:

• caminar durante cinco minutos

But in everyday Spanish, leaving out durante is very common and natural.

Usually it means an approximate amount of time, just like English often does.

• caminar cinco minutos hasta la plaza usually means walk about five minutes to the square

In normal conversation, this is understood as a practical estimate, not a mathematically exact time.

Both can relate to movement toward a destination, but hasta emphasizes the endpoint or up to that place.

• hasta la plaza = as far as the square / up to the square
• a la plaza = to the square

In this sentence, hasta la plaza sounds very natural because it marks the place you reach after walking.

La plaza suggests a specific, identifiable square, probably one already known in the situation or context.

In Spanish, public places are often referred to with the definite article when the speaker has a particular one in mind:

• la plaza
• la estación
• el centro

If you said una plaza, it would sound more like any square or a square, not a specific destination.

Here, tranquila most naturally means quiet, calm, or not busy. For a street, it usually suggests:

• little traffic
• little noise
• a peaceful atmosphere

It can sometimes imply that the place feels relaxed or comfortable, but its main idea here is not specifically safe. If you wanted to stress safety, Spanish would more directly use words like segura.

Because y is the normal Spanish word for and.

Spanish changes y to e only before words that begin with an i sound:

• padre e hijo
• español e inglés

But caminar begins with a k sound, so y is correct:

• aparcar ... y caminar ...