Travel bucket list idea:

Park Guell

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Gaudi’s Park Guell

Last updated: 10 November, 2024

In 1902, Eusebi Guell bought two farms set on a natural balcony and commissioned Gaudi to create an exclusive walled housing estate. It flopped, but Park Guell has never failed to enchant as a city park.

Enjoy the fairytale guardian’s houses, mosaic lizard, sinuous stone viaducts, 86-columned Sala Hipostila – the base for an extraordinary, broken tile-clad serpentine bench by Gaudi’s collaborator, Jujol – and sweeping panoramic views across Barcelona.

Gaudi actually bought one of the three houses in the park and lived there from 1906 to 1925, before moving to a hut by the Sagrada Familia. It’s now a museum.

Although it may seem whimsical, Gaudi and Guell loaded the park with allegories and symbolism, some personal, some Rosicrucian, alchemical and mythological. It is much, much stranger than it looks.

Logistics

Price from: £6

Minimum age: 0

Age suitable: 4+

When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

You can take the metro to Lesseps station, but then it’s a 20-minute walk up a steep hill. A taxi may be a better bet (it’s a 10-minute ride from the centre), and it’s usually fairly easy to find one to take you home again. If you have a ticket for the hop-on-hop-off bus, it stops nearby on Travessera de Dalt. The paths in the park are accessible but some are fairly steep, and there is a steep hill from where the buses stop (including the hop on hop off bus) to the entrance.

Park Güell only allows entry to 400 people every 30 minutes, so book a ticket online well in advance or risk waiting around at the entrance (or not getting in at all). Once inside, you’re free to wander around at will – the park’s website offers an app guide and a map to download. There are some pretty cafes and souvenir shops in the streets just south of the park.

When to do it

Barcelona’s outdoor sights are mildest and most pleasant in spring and autumn – July and August get too warm for walking around in the heat of the day. Avoid the crowds by getting to the Park when it opens at 10am, or an hour before closing.

Who to go with: organised tours

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Park Guell & Sagrada Familia Tour with Skip the Line Tickets

Barcelona

Viator

SMALL GROUP TOUR (up to 19 people per tour guide). Enjoy priority access and visit two of the most relevant masterworks of Antoni Gaudí, the Sagrada Familia (1882-still under construction) and the Park Güell (1900-1914) in a small group guided tour to ensure a more intimate experience with your guide. In both places, you will learn the history of the temple and the park, the details of its architecture and about the ideas that the famous architect shaped on them. This tour will introduce you closer to the personality of Gaudi, the person he was, and what the times were like when he lived in Barcelona at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Price €119

Min age 0

Rating 4.78 / 5 [5206 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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Barcelona Premium: Gothic, Montjuic, Sagrada Familia & Park Güell

Barcelona

Viator

On this sightseeing tour, you will explore the best this city has to offer - discover the rich history that spans thousands of years, get acquainted with the Barcelona's most iconic buildings and sites and soak in the breathtaking views from atop Montjuic and Tibidabo. Your guided tour reserves skip-the-line tickets for you at La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, and includes guided visits to the Gothic Quarter, Montjuic and inside of Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. This tour will take you to the must-see attractions of the city and is a great introduction for first-time visitors. Head straight through the entrance at La Sagrada Familia, one of the city's most fascinating UNESCO World Heritage sites. Continue on to Park Guell, the famous city gardens . Enjoy personalized attention, with no more than 15 people per group, from a professional and friendly guide who will explain to you the history of the city and how Antoni Gaudi left his mark on it.

Price €275

Min age 0

Rating 4.95 / 5 [114 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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Barcelona City Tour: Gothic Pedrera, Sagrada Familia & Park Güell

Barcelona

Viator

On this sightseeing tour, you will explore the best that this city has to offer - discover the rich history that spans thousands of years, get acquainted with the most iconic buildings and UNESCO sites of the city and soak in its breathtaking views. Your guided tour includes reservation of skip-the-line access at Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and La Pedrera and visits to the Gothic Quarter and Montjuic. This tour will take you to the must-see attractions of the city and is a great introduction for first-time visitors. Head straight through the entrance at La Sagrada Familia, one of the city's most fascinating UNESCO World Heritage sites. Continue on to Park Guell, the famous city gardens and visit La Pedrera, the zenith of Gaudi’s work. Enjoy personalized attention, with no more than 15 people per group, from a professional and friendly guide who will explain to you the history of the city and how Antoni Gaudi left his mark on it.

Price €295

Min age 0

Rating 4.91 / 5 [100 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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Combo: Skip the Line Sagrada Familia & Park Guell Guided Tour

Barcelona

Viator

Explore two of largest and most impressive works of architect Antoni Gaudi — the Sagrada Família and Park Güell — in one tour. Skip the line at Sagrada Família with your expert, English-speaking guide, then discover Park Güell, and open-air work of art that also offers unbeatable views of the city skyline.

Price €73

Min age 0

Rating 4.55 / 5 [72 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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Guided Tour Sagrada Familia and Park Guell

Barcelona

Viator

We will start at 1:00 pm with the most interesting tour of the Sagrada Familia. Our meeting point is at Kurz&Gut, a cosy bar-restaurant situated just 3 minutes away from the monument. The 1-hour and 15-minute guided tour guarantees skip-the-line access to this unique attraction, along with a personal, local, and passionate expert who will take you through the history and architecture in the most detailed and enthusiastic way possible. Once this tour concludes, you will have free time to transport yourself from the Sagrada Familia to our meeting point for the Park Güell tour at Carretera del Carmel 23. At 4:00 pm, we will continue with the Park Güell. The guided tour is limited to a maximum of 20 people per group. Let's discover this magnificent park, designed by Antoni Gaudí more than 100 years ago. You will visit the area with magnificent bridges and viaducts included in the monumental zone. After finishing the tour, you will have free time to enjoy this park.

Price €89

Min age 0

Rating 4.60 / 5 [53 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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SEE ALL RECOMMENDED TOURS & TICKETS

Who to go with: tour operators

Our writer’s recommended tour operators to book with

Barcelona Event Organization

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

TourOperator

Can arrange corporate VIP services, hotels and restaurant bookings, private chauffers, helicopter transfers, tickets to Camp Nou, private shopping or personal assistants and yacht hire, etc.

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