Park Güell

Park Güell began as a business venture. In the early 1900s the industrialist Eusebi Güell commissioned Antoni Gaudí to lay out a garden city of private houses on a hillside above Gràcia, but only a couple of houses were built and the plots never sold. The estate became a public park instead, and it is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Gaudí's works.

The ticketed Monumental Zone, around 12 hectares, holds the scenes people know from photographs. A double stairway climbs from the main gate past the mosaic salamander to the Hypostyle Room, a forest of Doric columns that was meant to shelter a market. Above it, Plaça de la Natura is edged by the long, serpentine bench covered in broken-tile trencadís, with views over the city to the sea. The gatehouse lodges, including the Casa del Guarda, look like something from a fairy tale, and stone viaducts carry paths across the slope.

The Gaudí House Museum, where the architect lived from 1906 to 1925, has reopened after restoration and is included, with the Casa del Guarda, in the combined ticket. Beyond the Monumental Zone lie around eight hectares of woodland and paths that are free to walk, and they are a pleasant place to escape the crowds.

Tickets must be bought online in advance for a set time slot, and same-day tickets often sell out, especially in spring and summer. Early morning and late afternoon light is kinder for photographs, and the terrace is less crowded at the start of the day. Allow about an hour and a half for the Monumental Zone, more if you add the house museum or a walk in the woods. The site has many steps and uneven paths, but an adapted itinerary exists and two wheelchairs can be requested in advance by email. The park can close at short notice in bad weather, and drainage works may affect some areas.

The park sits on the edge of Gràcia, between La Salut, Vallcarca and El Coll. The nearest metro stop is Lesseps on line L3, about 20 minutes' walk away with a climb at the end, and buses 24, V19 and H6 stop closer. Afterwards, walk down into Gràcia for lunch on its squares, or continue up to the Bunkers del Carmel for a wider view.