Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain

Park Güell is a park designed by Antoni Gaudí on Carmel Hill above the Gràcia district of Barcelona. Eusebi Güell commissioned it in 1900 as a garden city for wealthy families, but only two houses were sold and building stopped in 1914; the city bought the estate and opened it as a public park in 1926. Since 1984 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.

The ticketed Monumental Zone holds the most famous sights: the two gingerbread-like pavilions at the entrance, the double staircase with the mosaic dragon (or salamander) fountain, the Hypostyle Room with 86 Doric columns and, above it, the large terrace edged by a winding bench covered in trencadís mosaic, with views over the city to the sea. The pink house where Gaudí lived from 1906 to 1925 is now the Gaudí House Museum, with a separate ticket. The rest of the park, with its stone viaducts and paths, is free.

Key points:

• Built: 1900–1914; a public park since 1926.
• Tickets (2026): Monumental Zone €18 (children 7–12 and over-65s €13.50, under 7 free); timed entry, best booked online.
• Hours: Monumental Zone daily from 9:30 to 17:30 in winter, 18:00 in late winter and 19:30 from late March to October; last entry one hour before closing.
• Getting there: bus V19, H6 or 24, or metro L3 to Lesseps or Vallcarca and a 15–20-minute uphill walk.