Attractions and leisure

This large park with lots of open space is also known as the Parc l’Escorxador (so named because it stands on the site of the old municipal slaughterhouse: escorxador in Catalan) and is used by visitors and locals from Barcelona’s Eixample Esquerra to relax. This great urban “lung”, full of possibilities, is located at the south-west end of the neighbourhood and is the perfect appetiser before you begin exploring the monumental Plaça Espanya.

In 1979, Barcelona began dismantling its old municipal slaughterhouse. The result was the first large urban park of the post-Franco Barcelona: a city which sought to renew itself and instinctively knew that it was necessary to undertake planning projects that would address new social needs and bring about the renovation of obsolete sites for new uses. In this case, a group of young architects, headed by Beth Galí, designed a park that occupies four blocks of the Eixample, which Ildefons Cerdà – the architect behind the Eixample district – had originally envisaged for this part of Barcelona. The park, which is known locally as the Parc de l’Escorxador, is a jigsaw puzzle of different elements set out around a cement plaza designed to host all kinds of events and activities. Around the plaza, there are platforms on different levels, pathways, pergolas and landscaped areas with pines and evergreen oaks, which are the ideal place to take a stroll and enjoy your free time.

An artificial water channel runs parallel to Carrer Tarragona, lending coolness to this side of the Parc de Joan Miró. This is the site of Joan Miró’s 22-metre-high monumental sculpture Dona i Ocell (Woman and Bird). Like the park, it was dedicated in 1983, shortly before the artist’s death. There is a public library on the other side of the park, which is named after Joan Miró.