El Park Güell

Carrer d'Olot, 7

Park Güell is Antoni Gaudí. It is one of the most iconic of the architect’s works, the dream of a genius that has become a symbol of the city. There is no souvenir, postcard or photograph that does not include the ceramic dragon or the undulating benches of the viewpoint. Park Güell, symbol of Modernista Barcelona, invites you to enter a fantastical world where gardens and architecture blend into a unique landscape. Gaudí is Barcelona.

A dreamlike landscape

As soon as you walk through the main gate, flanked by two buildings that look as if they have been lifted straight out of a fairy tale, you enter a different world, an original, enchanting universe where architecture and gardens merge to create a dreamlike landscape. The dragon, covered in ceramic mosaic, keeps an eye on the visitors who are on the look out for every last detail: snails, mushrooms, flowers, and leaves. Every nook and cranny of the park leads to a discovery.

At the start of the 20th century, Eusebi Güell, a leading figure in the city, wanted to create a place where the wealthy could have a home, a city garden in the English style, which explains why it is called Park Güell. Paths, staircases, a square, a service pavilion and even a demonstration home were all built but the project flopped. So, in 1922, six years after Eusebi Güell died, Barcelona City Council bought the land and turned the site into a public park, the most unusual in the city.

Antoni Gaudí‘s boundless imagination is present in every corner of the park, which holds surprising features for the visitors who come from all over the world. The ceramic dragon at the entrance gives way to a hypostyle hall, an open space with 86 Doric columns that was supposed to have held the garden-city market. The square above it, which grows out of the mountain and symbolises the union of nature and architecture, is bordered by an undulating bench covered by a ceramic mosaic, which was designed by a disciple of Gaudí, Josep Maria Juju. The bench, softened by its wavy features, offers one of the best views of the city.

It is not just the bench that snakes its way round, the paths, porticoes and viaducts do too. Avoiding straight lines, Gaudí imagined a style of architecture in harmony with plant life and nature, forming a symbiosis between stone and green.

Faced with the failure of the project and realising that not even one house would be sold, Gaudí himself lived in the demonstration home until 1926. Today it houses the Museu Gaudí, where you can see his drawings, as well as models and furniture he designed.

When Antoni Gaudí qualified as an architect, the university chancellor, Elies Rogent, said: “We have given this qualification to a genius or a madman, only time will tell”. Well, Time has given its verdict: since 1984, Park Güell, Gaudí’s work of genius, has been recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO

Cultural heritage

  • Gràcia

    la Salut
Address:
Carrer d'Olot, 7
Districte:
Gràcia
Neighborhood:
la Salut
City:
Barcelona

Timetable

Observations

Venda d’entrades exclusivament en línia


Les reserves són per franja horària natural i es pot entrar al Park fins a 30 minuts després de l'hora d'inici de la franja assignada. No es permetrà l'accés un cop superada la franja horària i no es tindrà dret a la devolució de l'import de l´entrada.

Les persones que s'inscriguin a Gaudir+BCN poden tenir una entrada diaria per visitar el Park Güell. Aquesta inscripció és gratuïta i es pot demanar presencialment, amb cita prèvia, a les Oficines d’Atenció Ciutadanes, trucant al 010 o a través de l’Oficina Virtual de Tràmits

Per arribar de la manera més còmoda i pràctica al Park Güell es recomanen diferents accessos: el de Carretera del Carmel, 23 (on també hi ha l'aparcament per a autocars), el del carrer de Larrard (entrada per lateral carrer Olot) i els de l'Avinguda del Santuari de Sant Josep de la Muntanya i Baixada de la Glòria, als quals s'hi accedeix per escales mecàniques. No es recomana arribar al Park Güell amb vehicle privat, la major part de l'estacionament al voltant del parc és àrea verda exclusiva per residents. Els visitants que arribin en vehicle privat tenen a la seva disposició l’aparcament BSM Travessera de Dalt – Park Güell.  Es recomana reserva prèvia.

Esdeveniments

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