Park Güell is the famous Barcelona city park with the mosaics and the salamander in the Gràcia / La salut neighbourhood and is one of the most popular attractions in Barcelona, Spain.
Park Güell was originally designed to be a high-class housing estate funded by Count Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi who commissioned Antoni Gaudí to build a housing estate inspired by the English Garden movement but it was a commercial failure.
In 1900, the site was a rocky hill with little vegetation and few trees, called Muntanya Pelada (Bare Mountain) and included a large country house called Larrard House or Muntaner de Dalt House. The site is behind a neighbourhood, La Salut, that was full of upper-class houses and the intention was to construct 60 luxury houses contained within triangular plots that would exploit the fresh air well away from smoky factories of industrial down town Barcelona.
Count Eusebi Güell added to the prestige of the development 1n 1906 by living in Larrard House. However, only two houses were built, neither designed by Gaudí. One was intended to be a show house, but on being completed in 1904 and put up for sale did not attract any buyers. Count Güell convinced Gaudí to buy it with his savings and it became the home of Gaudí his family and father from 1906 till Gaudí's death in 1926.
The Gaudí house (Now the Gaudí House Museum) was built by architect Francesc Berenguer i Mestres. Today it contains original works by Gaudí and several of his collaborators opening as a museum in 1963. In 1969 it was declared a historical artistic monument of national interest.
The second house constructed in Parc Güell is Casa Martí Trias i Domènech, built in 1905 on 2 triangles of land bought within the Güell housing estate in 1901. The house was commissioned by lawyer Martí Trias i Domènech and his wife Ana Maxenchs and built by the architect Juli Batllevell i Arús. The owner, Martí Trias died in 1914. His son, Alfonso was a Good friend of Gaudi.
In a bazar twist of fate, it was Alfonso, then a student of medicine, that identified the dead body of Antoni Gaudí in the Santa Cruz hospital after he had been brought in as an unknown patient, being hit by a tram on the corner of Gran via with Bailen street in 1926. Today Casa Martí Trias is a private residence and not open to the public.
In 1926, Parc Güell was opened as a municipal park.
In 1969, it was declared a historical artistic monument of national interest.
In 1984 Parc Güell was awarded UNESCO world Heritage status.
Click on any of the 91 images to open full screen gallery player
Today Parc Güell is a municipal park with the site being divided into two parts. The upper section is free access to the public with opening hours that are approximately equal to daylight hours.
The lower Monumental Zone is a pay entry regulated area. The tickets can be bought in advance or at the ticket machine when you arrive. However, you must enter the regulated pay area no later than 30 minutes after the stated time on your ticket or you will forfeit the entry and staff will refuse access.
NOTE: Entry to Casa Gaudí Museum (Gaudí House Museum) is not included in the Parc Güell ticket but a combined Parc Güell + Gaudí House Museum ticket can be purchased.
UPDATE: Currently the whole of Parc Güell is pay entry with free entry to the upper part only for residents from 07:00h to 09:00h and 18:00h to 22:00h. Specifically residents of the neighborhoods adjacent to Park Güell (El Coll, Vallcarca-Penitents, la Salut, el Carmel, Can Baró and Baix Guinardo) If you are Empadronado in one of the neighborhoods mentioned, you can request the card by calling 010, or through the procedures website of Barcelona City Council.
The Monumental zone includes the Entrance pavilion with the ornate columns. it also includes the iconic staircase with the tiled lizard sculpture. The gate houses, some ornate balconies and a great viewpoint from on top of the main square.
Parc Güell is about 15 minutes walk from the nearest metro or Barcelona Bus Touristic Blue Route stop, via stairs or escalators so for those with reduced mobility I recommend a bus tour package.
IMPORTANT: Parc Güell has regulated entry of 400 people every 30 minutes so to avoid long queues or disappointment, especially in high season please buy your ticket in advance.
Allow two hours to fully explore Parc Güell. If visiting in Summer take plenty of water and sun cream. Parc Güell gets very busy so the best time is to go in the morning between 9 and 11am.
The paths are uneven and in some cases a little rocky so wear comfortable shoes. You will need to do a lot of walking up and down stairs to fully visit Parc Güell.
In the Wikiloc section I have a nice walking route that you can use to get to and from the Monumental Zone as well as continuing on to Carmel Bunkers nearby.
Recently, I have been seeing in a lot of negative reports in media and online sources about how Parc Güell is the most over rated attraction to visit in Barcelona. In my opinion this is Rubbish written by Journalists that have not done their research or visited the park first-hand.
On this page I have an extensive photo gallery of what you get to see when fully exploring all of the monuments in Parc Güell so you can decide for yourself. This page also explains how it was envisioned to be a luxury housing estate for the elite of Barcelona but never gained any support and is actually a layout on a hill with streets and the three houses that were actually built plus the grand gate houses.
Parc Güell is a must-see attraction for anyone interested in art, architecture, and the beauty of nature.
For the grandest of Gaudí's works in Barcelona, visit La Sagrada Família.
My recommendation is to combine a visit to Casa batllo with Casa Milá/La Perdera because they are only 500 metres apart in Passeig de Grácia.
You will also find Gaudí's Casa Vicens in the Gràcia Neighbourhood and Torre Bellesguard in the Sant Gervasi Neighbourhood.
Each of these Gaudí wonders are visually distinct and each one its own masterpiece.
large bags and suitcases will probably not be permitted inside Park Güell so I recommend a small 10L rucksack.
If visiting Parc Güell in a wheel chair or with a push chair, I recommend using the entrance in Caraterra de Carmel or Carrer de Olot. The park consists of various terraces on different levels that are interconnected via ramps and stairs.
Bicycles are not permitted inside Parc Güell. It gets very busy and the city council are trying to preserve all the monuments.
Bicycle anchorage points outside Parc Güell in Carrer d'Olot with Carrer de Marianao.
General entry ticket that includes the upper park and monumental zone.
Guided tour of the upper park and monumental zone to learn about the history of the park and visit the best viewpoints.
Get priority access to the main attractions of Park Guell monumental zone, such as the iconic Salamander, the Hypostyle Room, and the Terrace of the Mediterranean. Allow your guide to share stories about Gaudi's inspiration and the styles that influenced his work, ranging from Roman to Gothic to Moorish. At the end of the tour, have the choice to continue exploring the park at your own pace or climb to the hilltops for even more stunning views
- Skip-the-line entry to Park Guell
- Skip-the-line entry to the Sagrada Familia
- Transportation by private bus between Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia
- Professional tour guide
Address: Avenida del Santuari de Sant Josep de la Muntanya, Barcelona. 08024
Nearest TMB METRO is Plaza Lesseps or Penitents on the Green (L3) line. Use a T-Casual or Hola-Barcelona travel card.
The Metro stations will lead you to Carrer de Larrard or Avenida del Santuari de Sant Josep de la Muntanya entrances to the park.
If you use a bus service it will drop you on the other side of the park in the Parc Güell bus parking zone in Carretera del Carmel which is on the same level as the main entrance to Parc Güell.
Click on any one of the 2 PDFs to view in full screen and download.
City walk in Barcelona from Plaza Leseps in Gracia to Parc Guell then on to Carmel bunkers and park Guinardo finishing at Alfonso X Metro.
Distance: 5.82 Km
Difficulty: Easy
Return Travel Fare: T-Casual Zone 1
Transport Network: Metro
