Park Güell

Parc Güell

A garden housing estate Gaudí designed for the wealthy patron Eusebi Güell, with mosaic lizards, a wave-shaped bench and a Hypostyle Hall overlooking the city. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Park Güell began as an English-style garden housing estate that the industrialist Eusebi Güell commissioned Gaudí to develop on a hillside between 1900 and 1914. Its remote location and poor house sales led to its conversion into a public park in 1926, and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. The core “Monumental Zone” requires a ticket of about €18. Book a timed entry on the official site, parkguell.barcelona. You will not be admitted more than 30 minutes after your time slot. Its highlights include the gingerbread-style gatehouses on either side of the entrance, and the mosaic-covered salamander, El Drac, on the great staircase, which is the most famous symbol of Barcelona. Above it is the Hypostyle Hall (Sala Hipòstila), supported by 86 Doric columns, with a ceiling inlaid with sun and moon mosaics. Above the hall, the Nature Square is surrounded by the world’s longest wave-shaped mosaic bench, with views across the whole city to the Mediterranean. The rest of the park, including the avenue where Gaudí’s former house museum is located and the viewpoints on the three crosses hill, is free to enter. The Turó de les Tres Creus (Hill of the Three Crosses) is a good spot to watch the sunset. From 1906 to 1925, Gaudí lived in the pink house inside the park, which is now the Casa-Museu Gaudí (separate ticket). Getting there: take metro line L3 to Lesseps or Vallcarca and walk uphill for 15–20 minutes (there are escalators on the Vallcarca side), or take bus 24 to the east gate. From Sagrada Família, bus V19 goes directly to the park. The park has many steps, so wear comfortable shoes.

Park Güell

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