Park Güell falls within the Barcelona town planning project of the Eixample, designed by Ildefons Cerdà. Barcelona had become a great metropolis after the Universal Exposition in 1888, and was becoming increasingly attractive in the early years of tourism. At the turn of the 20th century, the city was in full flight of expansion. Great changes were being initiated in the old neighbourhoods, with the start of the construction and opening up of Via Laietana, and in the Eixample district, which was to become the new residential and commercial area. Urban development projects were also being carried out in the old manufacturing suburbs on the plain of Barcelona, which were historically more industrial and working-class.

In 1900, the businessman Eusebi Güell commissioned Antoni Gaudí to build Park Güell, a residential area for wealthy families. The architect dreamed up a new urban model by taking his inspiration from the British design style of houses surrounded by gardens. However, he took the idea much further, by breaking the aesthetic limits between nature and works of art, understood as "artifice". Work on the Park began in 1900, though it was halted in 1914 as the project turned out to be a failure, owing to the complex conditions and requirements involved for purchasing and building on the plots, among other obstacles. The private residential estate was purchased by the City Council in 1925, and became a public space in 1926. In 1984 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.