Parc Güell

Eusebi Güell hired Gaudí in 1900 to design a luxury garden suburb of 60 mansions on a hillside above Gràcia. Only two houses were ever sold — including the one Gaudí lived in from 1906 — and the city bought the land in 1922 to turn the abandoned development into a public park. The mosaic-tiled bench, dragon stairway and undulating viaducts you see today were originally meant as common amenities for a gated residential community that never materialised.

The ticketed Monumental Zone includes the dragon staircase, the Hypostyle Hall with its 86 Doric columns, and the wave-shaped Nature Square bench by Gaudí's collaborator Josep Maria Jujol. The bench wraps the upper terrace for 110 m and offers the city's best skyline view — Sagrada Família, the Mediterranean and the Torre Glòries all line up in one frame. The rest of the park (forest paths, the Carmel Bunkers viewpoint) is free and open from sunrise.

The park sits 160 m above sea level — the climb is real. Easiest route: metro Line 3 (green) to Vallcarca, then a steep 15-minute walk including outdoor escalators. Or take bus 24 from Plaça de Catalunya straight to the main entrance. Avoid arriving by taxi between 09:00 and 11:00 — the access streets back up and walking the last 400 m is faster. Tickets are €18 in 2026, timed-entry, with a 30-minute grace window.