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Park Güell | Barcelona, Spain | Attractions

Visitors and locals alike love Park Güell. The waving balcony and the colorful Guard’s House, with the imposing Barcelona skyline and sea in the background, is the city’s favorite postcard. It’s also a great summary of what the Catalan capital is like: a creative, cosmopolitan city with a Mediterranean lifestyle.

Antoni Gaudí created Park Güell, an architectural masterpiece, with tree-shaped columns and undulating forms that merge in perfect harmony. The colors of the broken tile mosaics that cover the surface of the distinct elements is an unprecedented technique of Gaudí that makes the astonishing shapes come to life. It was also built in the middle of the city atop a hill, hence it is blessed with some of the best views in Barcelona.

Park Güell is one of the outstanding examples of Catalan Modernism and an unmissable destination for anyone visiting Barcelona.

Gaudí’s vibrantly colored tiles of Park Güell © Getty Images / iStockphoto

History of Park Güell 

The 1888 World Expo showed that Barcelona had become a modern metropolis, at a time when local artists and architects started to seek new forms of art and expression that represented urban elements. That’s how Catalan Modernism began to prosper.

It was then that local businessman and count Eusebi Güell ordered Antoni Gaudí to design a residential area for wealthy families. Güell’s idea was to recreate the popular British condominiums, which is why he named it Park Güell, instead of Parc Güell, its Catalan translation. This wasn’t the first time that Gaudí and Güell had worked together – Palau Güell, Celler Güell, Pavellons Güell and Cripta de la Colonia Güell, were all pieces of Modernism built by the architect for the count.

Construction began in 1900 but was abandoned in 1914 because they never managed to sell the different plots of land. Park Güell became a big private garden instead and Güell decided to give it up for public functions. Very quickly, the park began to show up in tourist maps and, not many years later, became one of the most visited spots in the city.

By that time, only two out of sixty planned houses had been built. Today’s Gaudí House Museum is one of those two houses, which the architect bought in 1906.

Eusebi Güell died in 1918 and his heirs sold the park to the Barcelona Council. It became a public park in 1926. In 1984, Park Güell became a UNESCO World Heritage site for its historical, architectural and artistic uniqueness.

The incredible Gaudí architecture flows with the environs © Archer All Square / Shutterstock

How to visit Park Güell

Park Güell is essentially divided into two parts, the forest and the monument’s area, where most of Gaudí’s work is concentrated.

The monuments can be accessed from Carrer d’Olot (Olot Street). The majestic entrance to the park is loaded with strong symbolism, with allegories and references to industrial development, the Catalan bourgeoisie and, of course, religion. The entrance represents the access to heaven. Interesting that it was intended to be the access to one of the most exclusive residential areas in Barcelona.

Beyond the entrance, the first elements you find are two cute Modernist buildings, Casa del Guarda, where the doormen used to sleep, which is now a museum, and Pabelló de l’Aministració, which houses a souvenir shop. Both buildings demonstrate the purest Gaudí style.

Gaudí’s 2.4-meter-long dragon, or salamander © Lena Serditova / Shutterstock

Continue walking and you will bump into the magnificent stairway, which features the most famous element in Park Güell, the 2.4-meter-long dragon, or salamander, a fountain covered with Gaudí’s technique of trencadís (broken tiles mosaic). Its real meaning is uncertain but most people believe it represents the natural element of fire, while others claim it refers to the crocodile emblem from Nîmes (France), Güell’s native town.

Climb over the stairs and you will find yourself in La Plaça (The Square), which is circled by the colorful, undulating bench, from which you get the imposing city views. La Plaça is supported by the 86 columns that form Sala Hipòstila.

The rest of Park Güell is the forest area, a set of trails and pathways which all form a proper city park where the local citizens go for a jog or a stroll. El Calvari is the highest point in the park (182m). Gaudí’s initial idea was to build a chapel there but instead, he built a calvary-shaped monument with three crosses. The views from the top are also stunning.

Gaudí’s curved lines can be seen throughout the park © william87 / stock.adobe.com

Park Güell tickets 

In 2013, due to the exponential increase of foreign visitors, the Barcelona Council restricted access to the monuments in order to preserve the work of Gaudí. They limited the entrance by only allowing a certain number of people per hour and imposed a fee. The forest area, however, can be accessed for free.

– General admission: 10€ 

– Guided tour: 22€

– Private tour: 50€

Rates subject to change

If you want to avoid unnecessary queues, it is recommended to book Park Güell tickets online through the official website.

An entrance ticket allows you to visit the 12 hectares that comprise the park, including the monuments. For the Gaudí House Museum, you have to buy a separate ticket. Once inside the monument area, you can stay as long as you want but must enter no later than 30 minutes after the time specified on your ticket.

Best time to visit Park Güell 

If you want to beat the crowds, the best time to visit Park Güell is on weekdays at 9:30am, when the park opens.

How to get to Park Güell 

From Lesseps metro station (Line 3), it is a 15-minute walk to the monumental area main gate. From Vallcarca metro station (Line 3), it is also a 15-minute walk, but you access the park from the west.

For those coming by foot, Park Güell is within a 20-30-minute walk from anywhere in the districts of Gràcia and Sant Gervasi, but the Old City is not within easy walking distance.

 Park Güell has some of the best views of Barcelona © Gatsi / Getty Images

Where to eat around Park Güell 

The good news is that Gràcia is filled with inexpensive local eateries and tapa joints that are absolutely delightful. La Pubilla, for example, is considered to be one of the best restaurants in the city for traditional Catalan food. In addition, look for Bar Bodega Quimet for traditional homemade tapas. For slightly more modern and elaborate tapas, we recommend Vermuteria Puigmartí.

Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell – Smarthistory

Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 2.0)

Barcelona’s celebrated architect

If visitors know one thing about Barcelona before boarding a plane, it is the surname of the city’s most celebrated architect, Antoni Gaudí. Lists of the city’s top attractions are dominated by his otherworldly structures. Often corner-less, their round lines, sheathed in a skin of rainbow tiles, and punctured with windows that appear like melting stone, captivate tourists and locals alike. From palaces to churches, Gaudí’s buildings appear like something built from a child’s fairytale imagination. Many also come to wonder why more buildings don’t look like this: Why don’t we all have Gaudí-inspired churches and houses in our own cities and towns? Why isn’t all of Barcelona built in the same vein? Do we simply say that Gaudí was a visionary genius, whose style was irreplicable and leave it at that; or, can we also understand the buildings as products of unique circumstances, specific to Barcelona in the moment that they were created?

Plan of Park Güell with main features (underlying map © Google)

We can seek answers to these questions by examining the Parc Güell, which always ranks near the top of visitor’s itineraries. Unlike the city’s other architectural draws, Güell Park is not itself a building, nor was it originally envisioned as a park. Instead, the design was conceived as an exclusive housing development for Barcelona’s most elite residents. Since only three of the seventy houses were ever constructed, only the infrastructure that Gaudí designed and built for the residential community exists today: road networks, an elaborate entry gate, a central marketplace, and a public plaza. Each of these features boasts the same assemblage of elective materials and intricate craftsmanship that his residential and religious buildings are known for (see, for example, Sagrada Familia). At the same time, because of its urban ties, Park Güell stands as a unique testament to the relationship between Gaudí’s singular architectural style and the extraordinary city that inspired him: Barcelona.

Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Doc Searls, CC BY 2.0)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Antoni Gaudí was born to a family of coppersmiths outside of Barcelona. When he moved to the Catalan city at the age 17, he arrived at a moment of immense change, as flocks of peasants fled the countryside to seek opportunity in the city’s new steam-powered factories. During Gaudí’s lifetime, from 1850 to 1910, the population of Barcelona multiplied fourfold, and a lack of housing meant that people were forced to live in crowded, impoverished neighborhoods. The city was forced to expand: the medieval walls were torn down, and a new grid plan extended into the surrounding plains. Spacious new apartment blocks and expansive avenues were built for the middle and upper classes. Urbanism and city planning were topics on the forefront of every inhabitant’s mind.

The commission for Park Güell emerged from the same set of forces as this expansion process. Eusebi Güell was a wealthy entrepreneur who had expanded his father’s textile factory business, profiting on the city’s industrial growth. A patron of the arts, he eventually used some of his fortunes to buy a small mountain overlooking Barcelona and the sea. Aptly named Muntanya Pelada (Bare Mountain), the site was a rocky and dry place with many scrubby bushes and scarcely any trees. Güell’s intention was to build a housing estate that would offer refuge from the density and smog of the industrial city.

Walking paths, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Teresa Grau Ros, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Immersed as he was in the contemporary debate about Barcelona’s expansion, Gaudí knew that a transportation network was an essential tool to organize the space. Before any houses could be built, roads and walkways would need to be carved into the hillside. Separating vehicular and pedestrian traffic became increasingly common at this time. The vaulted roadways also doubled as covered walking paths that protect pedestrians from rain and harsh sun. Some of these porticoes have twisted columns with spiraling, spindly capitals, while others are tilted in imitation of the surrounding palm trees. Though vaguely reminiscent of classical Greek columns, the slanted lines and organic curves make the ancient architectural references seem unfamiliar. This infrastructure not only adapts to the terrain, but actually appears to grow out of the mountainous landscape.

Lizard made with trencadís, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: L’Oriol., CC BY-NC 2.0)

A city of marvels

Fusing natural forms with historic architecture was in keeping with the style of art and design that was in vogue at this time: Art Nouveau. Across Europe, different regions developed their own variations of the style in order to express their individual identities. In Barcelona, this architectural language allowed designers to express the unique aspects of Catalan culture that were distinct from Spain. Gaudí and his contemporaries incorporated local flora, the rich Gothic heritage, and the brickwork of local craftsmanship.

Main gate, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Jose Ramirez, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Ventilation shaft and checkerboard roof, Gatehouse, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Andrew Moore, CC BY-SA 2. 0)

These principles are on full display at the main gate to the Park Güell. Framed by two buildings that appear to be straight out of a fairy tale, red mushroom ventilation shafts sprout from the gatehouses’ intricately patterned roofs that are offset by ornamental crenellations.

From here, the road forks both left and right, morphing into a shining white grand stairway with a sculptural lizard at its center. The reptile’s skin is made up of trencadís and water flows from its mouth.

Like the grand boulevards of Haussmann’s Paris and the ornate stairway of Garnier’s Opera House, the elaborate entryway to Park Güell would have been a public space where wealthy inhabitants could parade the latest fashions in front of their neighbors.

Staircases, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Canaan, CC BY-SA 3.0)

A similar mentality inspired the flamboyant façades that are typical elsewhere in the city (such as the manzana de la discordia) and would have filled Park Güell, had it been completed. Remember, this housing estate was not designed for your average Barcelonian. Newly wealthy families in Barcelona desired houses that would reflect their new status and publicly display it. At the same time, the industrial activity that generated the finances to pay for Gaudí’s designs also made the city increasingly unlivable. Money-generating factories polluted the air and contributed to the city’s over-population, so the wealthy owners of those factories fled to the outskirts.

The manzana de la discordia, a row of houses on Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Spain, consisting of (left to right): Casa Lleó Morera (Lluís Domènech i Montaner, 1905) Casa Mulleras (Enric Sagnier, 1906) Casa Amatller (Josep Puig i Cadafalch, 1900) Casa Batlló (1877, remodelled by Antoni Gaudí, 1906) (photo: ChristianSchd, Xavier Badia Castellà, Amadalvarez, Balou46, CC BY-SA 3.0)

In this sense, Gaudí’s architecture is as much the product of his individual mind as it is the result of a particular moment in a particular place. He had nearly unlimited financial and creative freedom to execute his extravagant designs. Few architects experience such a lack of constraint in their careers. Yet, in Gaudí’s Barcelona, creative freedom was not an exception, but a rule.

Bench, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell (photo: PTorrodellas, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Columns, Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell, Barcelona (photo: Kate Bunker, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Beyond architecture

At the stairway’s culmination, eighty-six stocky columns are amassed in what looks more like a forest than a Doric colonnade. This covered area was meant to serve as a public marketplace. These classically inspired columns not only create an open space below, but they also support a massive public square and open-air theatre above. This would have been the heart of Gaudí’s housing estate. Unlike the stepped seating of Greek amphitheatres, at Park Güell residents were to watch from a single, glistening bench, which doubles as an undulating railing that snakes around the plaza’s irregular perimeter. Like the reptilian fountain, the bench-railing is completely encrusted with trencadís that make the sun’s rays dance.

Yet, there’s more to the design than meets the eye. This central area of Park Güell surpasses all of Gaudí’s other work as the fullest enactment of his personal architectural philosophy. The marketplace and theatre are not only cultural infrastructure, but they also double as a complex drainage and irrigation network that supplies water throughout the entire park. Imitating systems in the natural world, rain is absorbed by the flat, unpaved ground of the theater’s stage and channeled through the fluted columns. Here, it is deposited into a massive reservoir buried beneath the mountain. The heart of the would-be housing estate is also a literal water table.

As an incomplete housing development and a microcosm of the economics and design theories of late 19th-century Barcelona, Park Güell captures the spirit of a city whose identity is both modern and historical, natural and manmade. By fusing form and function, as well as culture, history, and nature, Gaudí presents his own vision for architecture’s role in society at a moment when urbanization is emerging as a discipline, and industrialization and rapid urban expansion are threatening Europe’s cities. Going beyond merely aesthetic or stylistic traits of Art Nouveau, he suggests that art and architecture are, like water, nourishing and essential for human life.

 

Additional resources:

Art Nouveau on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Caroline van Eck, Organicism in Nineteenth-Century Architecture: An Inquiry into its Theoretical and Philosophical Background (Amsterdam: Architectura & Natura Press, 1994)

Jan Molema, Gaudí: The Construction of Dreams (Rotterdam: Episode Publishers, 2009)

William Robinson, Jordi Falgaàs and Carmen Belen Lord, Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006)

Jeremy Roe, Antoni Gaudí (ProQuest Ebook Central: Parkstone International, 2006)

Rainier Zerbst, Gaudí, 1852–1926 : Antoni Gaudí i Cornet, a life devoted to architecture (Cologne: Taschen, 1988)

Cite this page as: Hannah Rose Feniak, “Antoni Gaudí, Park Güell,” in Smarthistory, March 15, 2021, accessed April 22, 2023, https://smarthistory. org/antoni-gaudi-park-guell/.

Park Güell: Gaudí’s living fairy tale

Park Güell is the most famous park in Barcelona, ​​located in the north-western part of the city. It was created by the architect Antonio Gaudi for his good friend and patron Eusebi Güell, who was engaged in the development of industry in the capital of Catalonia. The construction of Parc Güell began in 1900 and continued until 1914. According to the original concept, the project was to consist of residential areas and gardens with a total area of ​​​​about 17 hectares.

The park is now considered one of the main attractions of Barcelona. The status of the object proves the presence of a number of awards:

  • National Park;
  • Artistic monument of the city;
  • Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In order to avoid long queues at the entrance to Parc Güell, we buy tickets in advance via the Internet here .

How Eusebi Güell and Gaudí built the park that became the customer’s most failed project

Gaudí’s Living Fairy Tale

Park Güell in Barcelona got its name from the customer Eusebi Güell. The son of a textile tycoon who made his fortune in Cuba, this educated young man had excellent taste and an understanding of different cultures and architectural styles. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a wealthy industrialist was captivated by the idea of ​​​​the English architect Ebanizer Howard “garden city”. That is, a city district remote from the center, consisting of cottages isolated from each other by a vast garden area, created in maximum harmony with nature.

By that time, Gaudi, who, while still a student, distinguished himself by non-standard solutions when creating several practical works in Barcelona. He has already implemented several projects commissioned by the Güell family, including the Palau Güell on the famous Barcelona Rambla, the Crypt in Colonia Güell, a suburban working village for textile workers, the reconstruction of an industrialist’s villa in Barcelona, ​​and others.

Eusebi Güell’s ideas and their implementation by Antoni Gaudí

Güell’s idea was to create a village convenient for people to live with a place where they could meet – a market square, which Gaudi made in the form of a Greek temple. By the way, this building with columns is the only creation of the master, made using not his own, but the classical style, as the philanthropist wished.

Eusebio Güell’s initiative was also to give a religious-mythological, but also a patriotic touch to the design of the entrance to the park: a long staircase with fountains – a dragon and a snake, on both sides of which there were pavilions for service personnel and guards, crowned with crosses.

The Greek culture in Güell’s vision was the forerunner of the Catalan one, which is why he preferred classical forms. The original English concept of the garden city can now be traced only by the mosaic inscriptions “Park Guell” made on the fence of the settlement, and the principles of dividing the plots. But the 60 cottages planned by Güell were never destined to be born …

Gaudí’s fantasy and author’s style

Gaudí’s unbridled fantasy does not recognize style canons. He creates his own style, his own architecture, including landscape architecture. That is, the architect borrows the ideas of his creations from nature, thoughtfully studying the forms “that allow trees and people to grow and remain upright.” Straight line, right angle are ignored. The divine principle is a curve: a hyperbola, a parabola, a spiral…

Hence the unusual, winding lyricism of his constructions. From stone and cement, Gaudi weaves ropes, nets, lianas. With the power of his imagination, he turns stone into outlandish animals, bizarre flowers and trees, saturating the park with them. However, its main task is to organize the space . ..

From idea to project

Soon the idea took on a clearer shape – Park Güell was supposed to be a whole green area for the city’s elite.

  1. On 60 sites located on the outskirts of Barcelona, ​​it was planned to build houses, from the windows of which a stunning view of the city will open.
  2. While the idea of ​​the park belonged to the patron, its implementation lay on the shoulders of the architect.
  3. Using the mountain landscape, the master designed and recreated three aqueduct-like galleries.
  4. To create the effect of mixing nature with architecture and natural wet grottoes, for which Gaudí always had a special predilection for his work, the columns were faced with raw brown stone, and individual elements were simply laid out from it.
  5. In order to emphasize the Mediterranean character of the area, Gaudí had palm trees planted, and trees that were in the way during the work were dug up with their roots to be re-planted in their place later.

Park Güell

Gradually the uneven ground on the mountain turned into a wonderful garden city…

Gaudí’s unusual solutions and his inspiration

The great architect used to work hard on his works: behind the lightness and even carelessness of the lines, which seem so due to their naturalness, lies careful geometric calculation. Experts, looking at the work of Gaudi, immediately see the titanic work done by the author in search of the only and best of all possible solutions …

The landscape with which Gaudí worked is typical of the surroundings of Barcelona – a dehydrated hillside with sparse vegetation, scree, rock outcrops and magnificent panoramas of the city opening from its heights. Everything here aroused an indefatigable imagination, called for a phantasmagoric game with nature.

But, since the architect’s view of the world was formed by the mountainous landscapes of Montserrat with their bizarre stones, creeping vegetation, powerful trunks and knotted roots of old trees, he intuitively feels the boundaries of the possible and permissible, which in this game cannot be crossed.

  1. Before work began, Gaudí and his team needed to strengthen and improve the slopes of Barcelona’s Bald Mountain.
  2. Park Güell was supposed to be built on a rocky surface – the real problem was the lack of water supply, but the architect was able to solve this issue in a very original way.
  3. At first glance, due to the uneven terrain, this section of Barcelona was not very suitable for the construction of a park, but, having studied the natural conditions, Gaudí created multi-level platforms, tunnels and streets.
  4. The architect came up with eye-catching decorations by purchasing cheap, but very practical material.
  5. During the construction of Parc Güell in Barcelona, ​​crushed stone, broken ceramic tiles and even various industrial wastes were actively used.

Materials for the construction of the park

Stages of the construction of the Park

The construction of the Park Güell can be divided into several stages. After the preparation of the construction site, access roads were created and strengthened. The walls and entrance pavilions were the first buildings in Parc Güell.

Construction of the park

Despite the use of very simple and cheap materials, the architect achieved amazing results. The buildings of Park Güell look very solid, creating a feeling of unity of architectural thought. And this despite the many decorative elements.

Already at the very beginning of construction, Park Güell surprises the townspeople with its extraordinary nature and is popular with curious residents of the city.

Toward the final stage, a market colonnade was built in Parc Güell so that future residents of the area would have a place to walk and discuss the pressing issues of Barcelona.

In addition, on the territory of Park Güell, with the efforts of all those involved, one residential building was created as an example. At the final stage, a bizarre winding bench appeared.

What went wrong?

In the meantime, despite the construction of a demonstration house, where Gaudí himself later moved to live, only one building plot was sold.

The First World War was approaching, and the Barcelona bourgeoisie was in no hurry to invest in cottages in a park made in an unusual manner. Another reason for the failure of the project was that for those who wanted to live in Barcelona, ​​the park was too far from the center, and for those who wanted to live outside the city, it was too close.

The death of Eusebio Güell in 1914 finally stopped work on the project, which remained the unfinished song of the maestro of modernist architecture, who later devoted himself to work on the Sagrada Familia. As a result, Güell’s heirs sold the hill to the city authorities, who opened the park to the public.

Why Parc Güell was a failure

There is no clear explanation as to why Güell and Gaudí’s garden city suffered such a resounding fiasco. Some sources say that the political instability at the beginning of the twentieth century prevented the Catalans from buying property so far from the city. Others say that the reason for this was the strict rules imposed by Gaudi on the construction of houses: the house could not occupy more than 1/6 of the plot and could not exceed a certain height. This is all with the aim of preserving good views and natural light. (Very reasonable rules, by the way. But apparently they didn’t appeal to people who were used to giving orders rather than receiving them.)

If the original idea of ​​the park had been successful, it would hardly be possible to enjoy such an unusual place as Park Güell today.

Quite possibly a bit of everything. In the first decade of the twentieth century, social change in Barcelona was very fast, and the Catalan bourgeoisie had many places to buy real estate. Other areas were better connected to the city center and did not have any restrictions on the construction of houses:

  • Sarria;
  • Horta;
  • Sant Gervasi;
  • Tibidabo Avenue.

Be that as it may, if the original idea had been successful, it would hardly be possible to enjoy such an unusual place as Park Güell today.

Description of houses in Parc Güell

In total, three houses were sold in Park Güell.

Güell and Gaudí’s lawyer, who is also their good friend – M. Trias y Domenech – became the first owner of a house in Parc Güell.

There was no one among the residents of Barcelona who wanted to buy a second one. Thus, in 1906 Gaudí himself bought it. He did this because of the poor health of his father and niece. The architect lived on the territory of Park Güell until 1925. The model house also could not find an owner, and as a result, the initiator of the project bought it out, making it his own official residence.

All three houses in Parc Güell are perfectly preserved to this day. Their history is also very interesting:

  1. The Eusebi house has been converted into a public school.
  2. After the death of the architect, Gaudi’s house became a museum, which opened in Barcelona in 1963. In this part of Parc Güell, you can see the furniture that Antonio made with his own hands, as well as samples of furniture for the houses of Batllo and Mila.
  3. The lawyer’s house in the upper part of Parc Güell belongs to his heirs to this day.

Style and features of the interior areas of Parc Güell

The central entrance of Parc Güell in Barcelona makes a strong impression. Unusual colorful houses seem to plunge into the world of fairy tales. The architect assigned the left pavilion for the porter, and the pavilion with the pinnacle, standing on the right, for the administration of Parc Güell.

After entering the central gate of Parc Güell, the visitor opens the main staircase with fountains. It looks quite impressive and is very similar to the stairs from the royal palace. The lower spans are separated by a flower bed. Climbing up it, you meet the magnificent dragon of Parc Güell with scales from tiles and mosaics, made in the Art Nouveau style. The dragon is also present in other works by Gaudí in Barcelona. For example, in the project of Casa Batlló, he became the key around which the architect developed the concept.

Parc Güell Curved Bench

Mosaic Bench

It’s hard to miss the long, curved bench on the upper terrace, shaped like a sea serpent. To create this decoration of the Parc Güell, Gaudí involved his most talented student, Josep Jujol, in the work. A follower of the maestro is involved in the creation of collages from building waste, which influenced the work of the surrealists and abstract artists of Barcelona. You can notice that the profile of the Park Güell bench follows the shape of the human body. Since during the construction of Gaudi he made a cast of the worker’s back. He seated him in raw material, which made it possible to “measure” the curve of the back.

“Hall of a Hundred Columns”

Moving further, visitors to Parc Güell in Barcelona will notice a snake. Looking closely at it, you can find the flag of Catalonia. After all, a huge head consists of yellow and red stripes. After passing the dragon and the snake, the “hall of a hundred columns” of Park Güell opens before your eyes. If you count, you can see that there are 86 of them and not all of them have the same size. The fact is that such an idea allowed Gaudí to play with space, making the central part of Park Güell look like an ancient Greek city. Such a mixture of cultures can be observed today by guests of Barcelona. The architect thought over the maximum functionality of every detail, which ensured not only the beauty, but also the practicality of Park Güell.

Hall of a Hundred Columns

Alleys and bird nests

From the central part of Parc Güell in Barcelona, ​​a large number of different paths and wide roads have been laid to its borders. They gradually flow into walking alleys. For their construction, Gaudí used only local types of stones. He explained the choice by the fact that they have a rather unusual appearance. For this, the stones of Parc Güell were nicknamed “bird’s nests”. They protrude directly from the slopes of the hill and look as if they are one with it.

Alleys and bird nests in Parc Güell

When designing the roads and streets of Parc Güell, Gaudí tried not to change the natural terrain. As a result, many inclined columns appeared, two-level walking galleries that seem to grow from the ground.

Continuing to be guided by the desire to preserve nature in its original form, Gaudi makes the tunneling of Parc Güell and scenic turns. Some of them look so natural that they look like natural cave entrances in Barcelona. Despite the fact that these buildings of Parc Güell seem rather fragile, they are very durable and do not need restoration even after a century. Another proof of the fact that Gaudi did his job in good faith.

The park is located in a very sunny area of ​​Barcelona. Both the artificial caves and the “Hall of a Hundred Columns” were excellent shelter from the rays. Tired of the heat that is characteristic of Barcelona in the summer, you can always relax a bit in the shade. And choose for this a suitable part of the Park Güell. Gaudí thought about the people who would visit the site, so even in the shelters there are benches for rest.

In all the buildings of Park Güell, the architect’s handwriting and his reverent attitude to the wonders of nature are clearly visible. The unique combination of practicality and imagination of the architect from Barcelona made the park a monument to the genius of human thought. Respect for the environment is an example for other builders. The issue of nature conservation is a burning issue not only for Barcelona, ​​but also for other cities in the world. Park Güell proves that it is possible to create masterpieces without harming the ecological situation.

Where is the park

Address : rue Carrer d’Olot, next to the Lesseps metro station

You can see the best hotels nearby at the link on Booking.com.

How to get to the park

Park Güell stop

Metro : Lesseps station on the green line L3, then follow the signs for about 15 minutes.
Buses : H6, D40, V19

Tickets

To avoid queues at the entrance, tickets to Park Güell can be purchased here .

Park tickets + bus tour at link .

Opening hours

  • Winter — from 10-00 to 18-00;
  • March, November – from 10-00 to 19-00;
  • April, October – from 10-00 to 20-00;
  • May-September – from 10-00 to 21-00.

Parc Güell in the evening

Location of Parc Güell in Barcelona

  • How to avoid queues at Barcelona attractions. Tickets for Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell skip the line.
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Park Güell Barcelona UPDATED 2020 All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

4.0

76,932 reviews

10 844

Terrible

Julia K

23 publications

Barcelona’s overrated top attraction

Apr. 2023 • With friends

One of the top attractions in Barcelona, ​​which I think is overrated. Probably, in hot weather, visiting it is a pleasure. I was in early April, when it is pleasantly warm, but not hot. In the park, I also fed the parrots, which are smarter than pigeons. It was funny. There were many people in the monumental part, even now at the beginning of April. I also stood for 15-20 minutes to the house at the exit, nothing super special or interesting inside. Everyone stood and I stood. The villa in the park was closed. You could look at her from behind the fence. Beautiful.

Published April 4, 2023

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

vadimk962

Moscow, Russia7 410 publications

Barcelona Main Park

July 2022

Well, I don’t know … We had an organized tour by bus – and they brought us up and handed out tickets) We were given 1. 5 hours of free time after the guide’s story. Managed almost everything! And explore the park and buy souvenirs. In short, my wife and I enjoyed everything. Gaudi is undoubtedly a great architect! I don’t remember any nuances ….

Published February 26, 2023

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

Ekaterina

Kaliningrad, Russia82 publications

I recommend to visit!

Feb. 2023 • For two

A very beautiful park for leisurely walks) Lots of locations for good photos 📸 And what a view of the city!)

Tickets can be bought both online (but we didn’t succeed), and on the spot, entrance only 10 euros – cheaper than many places in Barcelona 👌🏻

Definitely recommend!

Published February 8, 2023

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

Anastassia S

53 publications

We did not understand the excitement about this park.

Sept. 2022 • For two

We didn’t understand the excitement about this park. Perhaps partly because it was the last day of a 10-day trip to Spain, and we were already tired of impressions.
At first we walked for a long, long time from the metro in the heat up the stairs, and when we got to the park we were already pretty tired (then on the way back we found that it was easier to go from another metro station, but who knew in advance? The guide says, only the fact that the road is either from one or another station.)
Then it turned out at the entrance that tickets can only be bought on the Internet. It’s good that we bought a local SIM card on the phone, but the Internet didn’t work well, but we could at least put a shop at the entrance, otherwise it’s inconvenient to enter a long card number 20 times while standing (and it worked only for the 20th time).
When we entered, we saw an ordinary forest with paths, where it was not clear where to go, no signs. In addition, the terrain goes up and down, and we are already tired of climbing stairs. Well, in general, we didn’t find any “beautiful and shady park where it’s nice to walk.”
Finally we came to that place with gingerbread houses and a long bench, which is drawn on all advertising cards. This is a patch of 30*30 meters, where they bring in such a huge number of people that it is impossible to see the entire object or take a photo. The long bench is littered.
There are several other houses on the territory of the park, but only one worked, the entrance fee to these houses was not included in the entrance fee to the park, and still there was a long queue. We didn’t go, we didn’t want to stand in line for this money. There are no claims to Gaudi himself, he conceived a beautiful park. But the organization of visiting this park and serving visitors by the city authorities seemed terrible.

Published January 8, 2023

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

Kuzmenko_lucia

Kyiv, Ukraine1 publication

Animals

Nov. 2022 • For two

The site says that dogs are allowed in the park. But they didn’t let me in today with a little chihuahua. Very frustrating

Published November 30, 2022

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

Olya Kozich

Krakow, Poland1,968 posts

Little Park

Sept. 2022

The park is small but very beautiful. Because the place is popular, there are a lot of people here. I advise you to take a walk, because there are many places to sit in the shade.

Published September 19, 2022

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

Larisa P

Haifa, Israel348 publications

Expected more

June 2022

A park that is just nice to walk around and has unusual objects. Part of the park is under renovation, which is very annoying sometimes – you see a path that clearly leads to a large terrace, but then it turns out that a construction shield has been installed across the path, prohibiting passage. I had to walk a lot back and forth in search of the right path. Annoying annoying water sellers that sit with bags-refrigerators on every corner. It would be better to install several kiosks or vending machines! All in all, tiring and not at all as impressive as one would expect from reading the information about the park.

Published July 4, 2022

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

Andrey K

Mariupol, Ukraine789 publications 2022

Yes – Gaudi, yes – great! Of course, it delights, but there is one “BUT” – you see, for security reasons, access to the main observation deck is limited. Therefore, if you are going to enjoy the “iconic” view of Barcelona from this park, get ready to stand in a long queue (even on a weekday in the off-peak season).

Published April 30, 2022

This review represents the subjective opinion of a member of the Tripadvisor community and is not the official position of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor checks reviews.

DmitriSV

Germany639 publications

A beautiful work of Gaudi

June 2021 • Family vacation

A wonderful park, both the Monumental Zone, i.e. the work of Gaudi, and the landscape part. Included in the mandatory TOP in Barcelona. Only now, the introduction last year of an entrance fee to the green part of the park (10 euros for an adult, 7 euros for a child) I think is wrong.