The Story of Park Guell

About 4km away from Plaça de Catalunya, located on Carmel Hill, stands Antoni Gaudi’s extraordinary attempt at landscape gardening. It’s a surreal, enchanting place where Gaudi’s obsession with natural forms truly escaped all shackles of restriction. In fact, in many instances, the artificial almost appears more natural than the natural!

Today, Park Guell is a public system of gardens and architectural elements. While most the park is free to access and explore, the area with Gaudi’s most important architectural creations only welcomes those with a ticket. However, the initial idea behind it was very different.

The History

The origin of Park Güell dates to 1900 when Count Eusebi Güell invested in a hillside covered in wild vegetation outside Barcelona (at the time). He hired the eccentric Gaudí to construct a small community of houses in the lovely landscaped grounds for the Barcelona’s rich and wealthy. However, from a business point of view, the project was a disaster. The investor abandoned the project in 1914 due to lack of interest. Although, not before Gaudí had executed three bewildering kilometers of paths, walks, steps, arches, a small plaza and two gatehouses. In 1922, the city of Barcelona bought the property and opened it as a public park. 

The main entrance facing Carrer d’Olot is characteristic for its two lovely “gingerbread” gatehouses. Entering the house feels like stepping into a fairytale. The house on the left is a former home of the park’s porter and currently houses a display of Gaudí’s building methods as well as parks history. The spired house on the right is where Gaudí spent most of the last two decades of his life. This is the only prototype of the sixty houses that were to make up the original community. Nowadays, it serves es Gaudi house museum.

Majority of the park is wooded and laced with pathways. It's a magical place to walk around, listen to talented musicians, and marvel at the panoramas. The best views of the bohemian city below are from the Turó del Calvari in the southwest corner, on a hill featuring a large cross.

Visiting Park Guell

Visiting Park Guell takes you outside the city center but the effort is worth it. The easiest way to reach it is my metro, getting off at the Lesseps stop. The signs on this 15-minute walk are obvious and easy to follow. Alternatively, bus number 24 drops you near the top entrance to the park.

Park Guell never was and probably never will be completed but even this tiny glimpse of the final project attracts millions of explorers a year! Hence, the best thing you can do is book your Park Guell ticket or guided tour in advance.