Park Güell ★

The curvy bench on the main square of Park Güell, Barcelona
The curvy bench on the main square of Park Güell. (Photo by Alain Rouiller)

A delightful hilltop park designed and decorated by Gaudí in Barcelona

The main staircase at Park Güell, Barcelona.
Park Güell. (Photo by Wolfgang Staudt)In the northern reaches of the Grácia district, north of the Eixample, rises one of architect Antoni Gaudí’s most colorful creations and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This idiosyncratic, 37-acre park was intended as an unusual little residential garden community of 40 houses commisisoned by Gaudí's patron, Eusebi Güell, but only two of the structures were ever built between 1900 and 1914.

The main staircase at Park Güell, Barcelona.
A colonnade at Park Güell. (Photo by Andrea Freepenguin)The city bought the property in 1922 and turned it into a public park filled with Gaudí’s colonnades of crooked columns (they look like tree trunks), narrow gardens, small fountains, and whimsical animals coated in multicolored mosaics.

A large, spectacular curving bench brightened by a patterned mosaic of tile and mirrors dominates the outer edge of the main plaza (this bench was actually designed by one of Gaudí's disciples, Jujol).

From this spot, you get great views of the city.

Small museums in the Park Güell

The main staircase at Park Güell, Barcelona.
The much-phtographs "El Drac," a fountain at the base of the main staircase at Park Güell. (Photo by Alex Primos)Also in the park is the Centre d’Interpretació del Park Güell, part of the Museu d'Història de Barcelona (Tel. +34-932-562-122 or +34-932-856-899; www.museuhistoria.bcn.es), installed in the Porter's Lodge, one of the mosaicked, Gaudí-designed gatehouses.

Inside are the plans, models, and photographs that went into designing and building the park, as well as displays on the park's flora and fauna. It is open Apr–Sept daily 10am–8pm, Oct–May daily 10am–6pm.

The Casa-Museu Gaudí (Tel. +34-932-193-811, www.casamuseugaudi.org), where the master lived from 1906 to 1926, was built by Ramón Berenguer. Gaudí’s models, furnishings, and drawings fill the interior. It is open Apr–Sept daily 10am–8pm, Oct–May daily 10am–6pm.

TK, Barcelona
The little houses at the entrance to Park Güell. (Photo by Bernard Gagnon)

Tips & Links

Park Güell details
★

ADDRESS

Carrer d'Olot, 1-13 (Sant-Montjuïc)
[ Grácia ]

Tel. +34-932-130-488
www.bcn.cat/parcsijardins

OPEN

Daily 10am–dusk

ADMISSION

Park: Free (though this may change in 2013)
MUHBA/Centre d’Interpretació del Park Güell: €2 (free with Barcelona Card)
Casa-Museu Gaudí: €5.50 (€1 off with Barcelona Card)

TRANSPORT

NOTE: Both nearish Metro stations are a bit of a walk; the 116 bus (which passes both stations) will drop you off right at the park entrance

Metro: Lesseps (L3), Joanic (L4)
Bus: 116, 24, 92
Hop-on/Hop-off route: East, North (blue)

TOURS

How long does Park Güell take?

Planning your day: You can wander the Park Güell in about 30 minutes, but it is a nice spot to sit and contemplate and enjoy the city views, so I'd budget at least an hour (plus another 20 minutes to get to and from the park). » Barcelona itineraries

Book ahead to guarantee entry

In October, 2013, the city imposed an outrageous €8 admission fee to enter the monumental area of the park (the bits with the Gaudí architecture; the remaining 92% of the park—the typcial paths through greenery sections—will remain free).

There is also a strict limit of 800 visitors per hour, with a max of 400 tickets issued per half-hour time window. That may sound like plenty, but dig this: in 2012 the average number of daily visitors was more than 25,000, and at peak times, 1,200 people would stream into the park every 15 minutes.

So, yeah: booking ahead at least a day in advance would be wise, since it will gurantee an entry time. You can do it in person (pointless), or online at www.parkguell.cat.

(Booking ahead also shaves €1 off that admission fee, so you pay "only" €7 to enter.)

Otherwise, you can get tickets from machines at the park itself—or at the Lesseps or Vallarca Metro stations on the L3 line.

You may only enter with the half-hour window following your assigned entry time (so if your entry time is 9am, you can enter any time up to 9:30am).

And for the record: Yes, the area residents and kids for whom this is actually a neighborhood park will still get in for free (and other locals can join an annual pass program). That is emminently fair. It should be free for them. It's their local park.

Charging the tourists €8, though, is a bit much.

(I will, however, grant them that Park Güell has become more of a tourist monument than a park: just 2.4% of visitors are actual citizens of Barcelona.)

Park Güell tours

Here are tours from our partners that visit Park Güell:

Useful links & resources

SIGHTS

Barcelona tourist info: Barcelonaturisme.com (info office), Guiadelocio.com (events mag); Catalunya.com (regional info), Spain.info

Sightseeing passes: Barcelona Card (20+ sights; transport; discounts), Museum Pass (6 sights)

Tours & activities: Viator.com, ContextTravel.com, UrbanAdventures.com, City-Discovery.com, Intrepidtravel.com, Gadventures.com

LODGING

Hotels: Booking.com, Venere.com, Priceline.comPartner, Hotels.com

B&Bs: Booking.com, Bedandbreakfast.com, Airbnb.com, Venere.com

Apartments: Rentalo.com, Vrbo.com, Booking.com, Airbnb.com, Interhomeusa.com, Homeaway.comhomeaway

Hostels & campgrounds: Hostelbookers.com, Hostelworld.com, Hostelz.com, Booking.com

TRANSPORT

Airfares:



Airports: Aena.es

Trains: Raileurope.com (throughout Europe), Renfe.com (within Spain), Bahn.de (throughout Europe), Seat61.com

Public transport: Barcelona Card (free transport; sightseeing); Search all public transit: mou-te.gencat.cat; Metro/Bus: Tmb.cat; Tram: Trambcn.com; Light rail: Fgc.cat; Taxi: Taxibarcelona.cat

Car rentals: Autoeurope.com, RentalCars.com, Momondo.com, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Kayak.com

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The main staircase at Park Güell, Barcelona.
The main staircase at Park Güell. (Photo by Matti Frisk)

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This article was by Reid Bramblett and last updated in October 2013.
All information was accurate at the time.

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Copyright © 1998–2013 by Reid Bramblett. Author: Reid Bramblett.