Barcelona, Spain

Park Guell: Gaudi’s Surrealist Park

The famous park initially began as a development park. A well-known Catalan industrialist, Eusebi Guell wanted to turn his 42 acres of land into a residential garden village based on English models and commissioned his friend, Antoni Gaudi for the project.

When you enter the gates of the enchanting place, you can view Gaudi’s staircase and pavilions. They appear to be taken out straight from Hansel and Gretel complete with curved roofs bearing colored tiles and ornamented spires. The staircase located at the entrance of the park is also designed by Gaudi with a dragon-like lizard at the center with trancadis-ceramics which is the main highlight of the park. You can also see there the Serpentine Bench which connects a flight of stairs leading to the Gran Placa Circular, another famous attraction. It is considered as the world’s longest bench and was originally intended as a market place for the residents.

The Gaudi Museum of Casa Museu Gaudi was designed by Francesc Berenguer and serves as a museum and showcases some of Gaudi’s furnitures and drawings. Owing to its unique design, Park Guell was acknowledged as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1984.

Visiting Time and Tickets

Park Guell is open all year round. Lowest season is from January 1st– March 28 from 8:30 to 18:15. Highest season is from May 4 to September 6 from 8:00 to 21:30. Mid season is from March 29 to May 3rd from 8:00 to 20:00 ad from September 7 to October 24 from 8:00 to 20:00.

It is highly recommended to buy tickets in advance. General tickets online is 7 euros. Children ages 0-6 yrs. old are free while ages 7-12 is at 4.90 euros, as well as for over 65 yrs. old and disabled people.

Transportation Going Around Park Guell

You can get to Park Guell with the underground line L3 then go to Lesseps station. From there, it’s 10-15 minutes by foot. Go from the station from the main road Travessera de Dalt up to the left side of a road named Avigunda del Santuari de Sant Josep de la Muntuya.

Tips While Visiting Park Guell

About 95% of the park area are accessible free of charge, only the entry to the monumental zone isn’t. It is recommended to visit the park early for there are fewer people distracting your photographs with Gaudi’s famous dragon fountain. It is not comfortable to wander around in the afternoon sun in July and August because of the high temperature and long lines.

Bring food and water for there are a few restaurants and cafes inside the park with expensive prices. You can also buy fruits from La Boqueria Market.

Don’t wear high heels for you will be doing a lot of walking on this hilly place. Better wear sneakers of shoes that are more comfortable.

Bring also some sunscreen and a hat with you. Be prepared to trek under the bright Mediterrenean sunshine.

Safeguard your camera and wallet. Thieves and pickpockets could be lurking behind the bushes from some of the trails to the back of the park so keep an eye on your belongings and valuables.