Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Gaudí fans enjoy the artist's magic in this colorful park, located on the outskirts of town.
While it takes a bit of effort to get here, Park Güell (Catalans pronounce it “gway”) offers
a unique look at Gaudí's style in a natural rather than urban context. Designed as an up-
scale housing development for early-20th-century urbanites, the park is home to some of
Barcelona's most famous symbols, including a whimsical staircase guarded by a dragon and
a wavy bench with a view—all of it slathered with fragments of vivid tile. It also features
a panoramic terrace supported by a forest of columns. Even without its Gaudí connection,
Park Güell is simply a fine place to enjoy a break from a busy city, where green space is
relatively rare.
Cost and Hours:
Park—free, daily 10:00-20:00, tel. 932-130-488; Gaudí House and
Museum—€5.50, €16.50 combo-ticket also includes Sagrada Família, daily April-Sept
10:00-20:00, Oct-March 10:00-18:00; La Casa del Guarda—€2, included in Barcelona His-
933-190-222.
Getting There:
To reach Park Güell—about 2.5 miles north of Plaça de Catalunya—it's
easiesttotakea
taxi
fromdowntown(around€12).Otherwise,theblueTouristBusorpublic
bus
#24goesfromPlaça deCatalunya tothepark'ssideentrance. OryoucanridetheMetro
to Joanic, exit toward Carrer de l'Escorial, and find the bus stop in front of #20, where you
can catch bus #116 to the park's main entrance.
Visiting the Park:
This tour assumes you're arriving at the front/main entrance. If you
instead arrive at the side entrance, walk straight ahead through the gate to find the terrace
with colorful mosaic benches, then walk down to the stairway and front entrance. As you
wander the park, imagine living here a century ago—if this gated community had succeeded
and was filled with Barcelona's wealthy.
Front Entrance:
Entering the park, you walk by Gaudí's wrought-iron gas lamps
(1900-1914). His dad was a blacksmith, and he always enjoyed this medium. Two gate
houses made of gingerbread flank the entrance. One houses a good bookshop; the other is
home to the Gaudí-built La Casa del Guarda (dull exhibit, totally skippable). The Gaudí
House and Museum, described later, is better.
Stairway and Columns:
Climb the grand stairway, past the famous ceramic dragon
fountain.Atthetop,dipintothe“Hallof100Columns,”designedtohouseaproducemarket
for the neighborhood's 60 mansions. The fun columns—each different, made from con-
crete and rebar, topped with colorful ceramic, and studded with broken bottles and bric-a-
brac—add to the market's vitality.
