Barcelona Park Güell

Barcelona Park Güell: Gaudí's brief was to emulate the English garden cities so admired by his patron Eusebi Güell (which is the reason for the unusual spelling of 'park'): to lay out a self-contained suburb for the wealthy, but also to design the public areas.


The original plan for Barcelona Park Güell was for the plots to be sold off and the properties themselves subsequently designed by other architects. The idea never took off - perhaps because it was too far from the city, perhaps because it was too radical - and the Güell family donated the park to the city in 1922.

Barcelona's Park Güell is a real fairy-tale place; the fantastical exuberance of Gaudí's imagination is breathtaking. The visitor was previously welcomed by two life-sized mechanical gazelles - a typically bizarre religious reference by Gaudí to medieval Hebrew love poetry - although these were unfortunately destroyed in the Civil War.

The two gatehouses of Barcelona Park Güell that do still remain were based on designs the architect made earlier for the opera Hänsel and Gretel, one of them featuring a red and white mushroom for a roof. From here, walk up a splendid staircase flanked by multicoloured battlements, past the iconic mosaic lizard sculpture, to what would have been the main marketplace. Here, 100 palm-shaped pillars hold up a roof, reminiscent of the hypostyle hall at Luxor.

On top of this structure in Barcelona Park Güell is the esplanade, a circular concourse surrounded by undulating benches in the form of a sea-serpent decorated with shattered tiles - a technique called 'trencadís', which was actually perfected by Gaudí's overshadowed but talented assistant Josep Maria Jujol.

The Barcelona's Park Güell itself, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is magical, with twisted stone columns supporting curving colonnades or merging with the natural structure of the hillside. The park's peak is marked by a large cross and offers an amazing panorama of Barcelona and the sea beyond. Gaudí lived for a time in one of the two houses built on the site (which was, in fact, designed by his student Berenguer). It has since become the Casa-Museu Gaudí; guided tours, of which some are in English, are available.

Barcelona Park Güell Address
C/Olot
Area Gràcia
Transport Metro Lesseps/bus 24, 25 .
Telephone 93 219 38 11
Open Park 10am-sunset daily. Museum Apr-Sept 10am-7.45pm daily. Oct-Mar 10am-5.45pm daily.
Admission Park free. Museum €4; €3 reductions; free under-9s.

Barcelona Parc Joan Miró (Parc de l'Escorxador)

Barcelona Parc Joan Miró (Parc de l'Escorxador): Covering an area the size of four city blocks, the old slaughterhouse (escorxador) was demolished in 1979 toprovide much-needed parkland, although there's little greenery. The rows of palms and pines in the Barcelona Parc Joan Miró (Parc de l'Escorxador) are dwarfed by Miró's sculpture Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird) getting its feet wet in a rather grim cement lake; there's a good playground for small children.

Barcelona Parc Joan Miró (Parc de l'Escorxador) Address

C/Tarragona
Area Eixample
Transport Metro Espanya .
Open 10am-sunset daily.

Barcelona Parc del Laberint

Barcelona Parc del Laberint: In 1791, the Desvalls family, owners of this marvellously leafy estate, hired Italian architect Domenico Bagutti to design scenic gardens set around a cypress maze, with a romantic stream and a waterfall.

The mansion from Barcelona Parc del Laberint may be gone (replaced with a 19th-century Arabic-influenced building), but the gardens are remarkably intact, shaded in the summer by oaks, laurels and an ancient sequoia. Best of all, the maze of the Barcelona Parc del Laberint, an ingenious puzzle that intrigues those brave enough to try it, is also still in use. Nearby in the Barcelona Parc del Laberint stone tables provide a handy picnic site. On paying days, last entry is one hour before sunset.

Address

C/Germans Desvalls,
Passeig Vall d'Hebron
Area Beyond the Centre
Transport Metro Mundet .
Open 10am-sunset daily.
Admission €2.05; €1.30 reductions; free under-5s, over-65s. Free Wed, Sun.

Barcelona Parc de l'Espanya Industrial

Barcelona Parc de l'Espanya Industrial: In the 1970s, the owners of the old textile factory announced their intention to use the land to build blocks of apartments. The neighbourhood's residents, though, put their collective foot down and insisted on a park, which was eventually laid out in 1985.

The result is Barcelona Parc de l'Espanya Industrial, a puzzling space, designed by Basque Luis Peña Ganchegui, with ten watchtowers overlooking a boating lake with a statue of Neptune in the middle, flanked by a stretch of mud used mainly by dog walkers, but little in the way of greenery. By the entrance children can climb over Andrés Nagel's Drac, a massive and sinister black dragon sculpture.

Barcelona Parc de l'Espanya Industrial Address
Passeig de Antoni
Area Beyond the Centre
Transport Metro Sants-Estació .
Open 10am-sunset daily.
Admission free

Barcelona Parc de la Creueta del Coll

Barcelona Parc de la Creueta del Coll Created from a quarry in 1987 by Josep Martorell and David Mackay, the team that went on to design the Vila Olímpica, this park boasts a sizeable swimming pool complete with a 'desert island' and a sculpture by Eduardo Chillida: a 50-ton lump of curly granite suspended on cables, called In Praise of Water.

Barcelona Parc de la Creueta del Coll Address

C/Mare de Déu del Coll
Area Gràcia
Transport Metro Penitents .
Telephone (no phone)
Open 10am-sunset daily.
Admission free.

Barcelona Jardins Mossèn Costa i Llobera

Barcelona Jardins Mossèn Costa i Llobera
The port side of Montjuïc is protected from the cold north wind, creating a microclimate two degrees centigrade warmer than the rest of the city, which is perfect for 800 species of the world's cacti. This extraordinary collection has been closed to the public for some time while funding for essential maintenance is sought.

Barcelona Jardins Mossèn Costa i Llobera Address
Ctra de Miramar 1
Area Montjuic & Poble Sec
Transport Metro Paral·lel, then funicular .
Open 10am-sunset daily.
Admission free.

Barcelona Jardins de Joan Brossa

Barcelona Jardins de Joan Brossa
Set in 5.2 hectares of the former fairground, Montjuïc's latest park is part-forest, with 40 species of tree, and part-urban playground. As well as a climbing frame, in Barcelona Jardins de Joan Brossaare there are various wooden creations designed for children, allowing them to play tunes and pump water.

Barcelona Jardins de Joan Brossa Address
Plaça Dante
Area Montjuic & Poble Sec
Transport Metro Paral·lel, then funicular .
Telephone 93 205 99 12
Jardins de Joan Brossa website
Open Dec-Feb 10am-6pm daily; Mar, Nov 10am-7pm daily; Apr, Oct 10am-8pm daily; May-Sept 10am-9pm daily.
Admission free.

Barcelona Jardí Botànic

Barcelona Jardí Botànic:
After the original 1930s botanical garden was disturbed by the construction for the Olympics, the only solution was to build an entirely new replacement. This opened in 1999, housing plants from seven global regions with a climate similar to that of the Western Mediterranean.


Everything about the futuristic design of the Barcelona Jardí Botànic, from the angular concrete pathways to the raw sheet steel banking (and even the design of the bins), is the complete antithesis of the more naturalistic, Gertrude Jekyll-inspired gardens of England. Barcelona Jardí Botànic is meticulously kept, with all plants being tagged in Latin, Catalan, Spanish and English along with their date of planting, and has the added advantage of wonderful views across the city. There is a small space housing occasional temporary exhibitions and useful, free audio guides to lead visitors through the gardens.

Barcelona Jardí Botànic Address
C/Doctor Font i Quer
Area Montjuic & Poble Sec
Transport Metro Espanya /bus 50, 55, 61.
Telephone 93 426 49 35
Open Jan, Nov-Dec 10am-5pm daily. Feb-Mar, Oct 10am-6pm daily. Apr-May , Sept 10am-7pm daily. June-Aug 10am-8pm daily.
Admission €3.50; €1.70 reductions; free under-16s. Free last Sun of mth.