Themed routes

No work by Gaudí better encapsulates the complete and perfect harmony of nature and architecture than Barcelona’s Park Güell. Initially designed as an English-style garden-city – hence the name Park – it eventually became Barcelona’s most unusual public park.

Park Güell was an attempt to create a housing estate in a natural setting in the old village of Gràcia: an ambitious property development project commissioned by Gaudí’s patron, Eusebi Güell. The architect chose an uneven site covering a surface area of 15 hectares where 40 detached houses were to be built. Only two were actually completed, and Gaudí lived in one of them. It is now a museum devoted to the architect’s life and work. Gaudí prepared the site of Park Güell between 1900 and 1914, showcasing his urban-planning concerns by building paths, arcades and viaducts that were fully integrated into Barcelona’s natural surroundings.

Gaudí’s characteristic vivid imagination is revealed in the different elements that amaze visitors from around the world that visit Barcelona. The gatehouses, which were originally designed as the caretaker’s house, are now home to the Park Güell Interpretation Centre. The flight of steps, with its famous dragon covered in coloured broken-ceramic pieces, leads to the hypostyle hall, an impressive space comprising 86 columns which underpins the plaza above. The curving bench around the perimeter of the plaza was designed by Jujol, one of Gaudí’s associates in the construction of this unique park in the old village of Gràcia which has been declared a World Heritage Site.