In January 2024, when I revisited Barcelona, one of the places I wanted to revisit is Park Güell. The park is one of Barcelona’s great attractions so advanced ticket purchase is recommended. I was lucky to get a ticket the day before my visit and happily spent about four hours at the park.
Park Güell
Park Güell was named after entrepreneur Eusebi Güell. In 1900, Güell entrusted renowned Catalan architect and designer Antoni Gaudí to design Park Güell. The park was built from 1900 to 1914 and was officially opened as a public park in 1926. In 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site under “Works of Antoni Gaudí“.
What I love about Park Güell:
- Beautiful nature, landscape design and art in 12 acres
- Organic shapes (curves), natural materials and pretty mosaics (trencadís)
- Upper and lower levels provide a nice hike and great views of Barcelona
Here are the nine features that I love at Park Güell in no particular order.
Gaudí Museum House
The Dragon Stairway
The steps of the stairway at the park’s main entrance are symmetrically laid out around the sculpture of a salamander. It is a busy spot with visitors posing and taking pictures so I only got one picture of the salamander.
The Hypostyle Hall
The Hypostyle Hall is a covered area with eighty-six columns supporting the upper Nature Square. It is a grand space to enter from the main entrance of Park Güell.
Nature Square and The Serpentine Bench
Nature Square is a large square conceived of as a central space of the estate, in which social events could be held. Unlike the rest of the park, which tends to adapt to the relief of the terrain, this square is partly dug into the mountain and partly held up by the columns of the Hypostyle Hall.
The Serpentine Bench in the square is one of the most immediately recognizable features in the park. It is made of prefabricated pieces of cement and clad with broken tile mosaics (trencadís).
Porter’s Lodge Pavilions
Portico of the Washerwoman
The retaining wall that supports the path that traverses the entire Park Güell horizontally takes the form of a portico with the profile of a great wave held aloft by sloping columns. It is popularly known as the Pòrtic de la Bugadera (Portico of the Washerwoman) because of the sculpture on one of the columns.
Palm Tree Promenade
The Gardens
The Viaducts
Park Güell is an enchanting place. I feel fortunate to have visited this park and enjoy Antoni Gaudí’s unique designs more than once in my lifetime.
Link-Up
I’d love for you to share your week’s highlights and/ or public art from around the world in the Comments or Weekend Coffee Share link-up #156 below.
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Natalie the Explorer 
It was still winter there when you went, right? It seems so quiet. When we went in October, it was chaotic.
Here is mine: https://wanderingteresa.com/art-inside-pasteis-de-belem/
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Yes, January was winter in Spain. To avoid crowds, I arrived at Park Güell at around 9:15 am and explored the lower level first then moved to the upper levels. Most tourists stayed at the lower level. It got busy by the time I left. Thank you for your PPAC contribution. I love Portuguese azulejos tile designs and pastel de nata.
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I think we even arrived earlier than that, and there was already a long queue. Anyway, thanks for taking me back there, I loved that park as well and pastel de nata is a fave. Have a good weekend, Natalie.
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Park Güell adapts its opening times to the seasons of the year. In January it opens at 9:30 AM. When I arrived, there was no queue. I was let in right away. I’m glad you liked the park, too. Have a great weekend!
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We visited Barcelona a few years ago. I remember the ‘Park Güell’ it was amazing. I wish I still had my photographs. Barcelona is an amazing place.
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What happened to your photographs? I had some issues with my phone and lost some of my photos. Fortunately I already downloaded my photos from Spain to my computer before the phone issues happened.
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Thanks for sharing your fabulous photos, Natalie! We loved Barcelona and Park Guell so much, it’s like a return visit. 💖
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You’re welcome, Debbie. I’m pleased you liked my photos.
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What a fascinating and unique place!
-Soma
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Agreed.
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absolutely gorgeous photos! I am really loving that ceiling of the Four Seasons, just stunning!
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Thank you Natasha for your lovely comment. I’m pleased you liked my photos. I love that ceiling, too.
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What a beautiful place to visit. Thank you for sharing those photographs, Natalie.
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You’re welcome, Shari. I’m pleased you liked Park Güell via my lens.
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I too loved Park Gruell when we visited. your pictures are excellent and brought back great memories.
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Darlene, I’m pleased you think my pictures are excellent. Glad you loved the park, too.
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Thanks for the tour. I’ve only been to Barcelona once and didn’t manage to get to the park so your pictures are much appreciated!
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You’re welcome, Barbara. This park has become so popular that tickets are often sold out.
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I loved Guell, Natalie. Nice photos!
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I’m pleased you liked my photos. Thank you, Jo.
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What a fascinating place – I’m not surprised you wanted to go back. Thanks for taking us with you.
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You’re welcome, Jo. I wouldn’t mind returning to Park Güell again 🙂
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I’ve never been to Spain and hadn’t heard of this park.
Looks amazing.
Thanks for sharing
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You’re welcome, Gary.
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This park is beautiful, I’ve never been to Spain but this is very inviting.
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This park is well-loved and tickets are often sold out.
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Good info, Natalie!
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Thank you.
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We spent a lovely afternoon there, Natalie. As I mentioned, Barcelona was one of our favourite places in Spain. x
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Sue, Glad to hear you also enjoyed Park Güell. Barcelona attracts a lot of visitors every year.
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Hi, Natalie – Park Güell is beautiful. I can totally understand why you wanted to revisit there!
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Hi Donna, This park is well-loved and tickets are often sold out. I was fortunate to get a ticket at the last minute thanks to travelling in low season.
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Beautiful pics and thanks for sharing. Just by looking at the photos there seems to be a certain calmness or peace, if you will. Which makes me think I just sit with myself and be at peace.
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Thank you for your comment and welcome to my blog and weekly link-up! The park was peaceful in the morning before the crowds arrived.
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I’m not surprised that you love this park Natalie, and wanted to visit again. I think my favourite photo is the Salamander Sculpture at the Dragon Stairway. However, your photos are all beautiful and show so many features of the park.
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Jennifer, That salamander sculpture is well-liked by park visitors. There was a security guard nearby to ask people not to touch or lean on it. I’m pleased you liked my photos.
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What an amazing place! Somehow I’ve never heard of it. Thank you so much for showing us this park Natalie.
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You’re welcome, Maria. This park has become so popular since my first visit that now visitors need to book tickets in advance and they’re often sold out.
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Oh wow; that looks like such a neat place to explore.
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Yes, I enjoyed exploring Park Güell a lot and wouldn’t mind returning.
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I always enjoy your pictures & captions, they are educational to places I’ve never been.
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I’m pleased you enjoy my post. I’ve seen and learned a lot from my travels.
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I can see why it is so popular and you need tickets in advance – it is spectacular and looks like a place that is better enjoyed without thronging crowds (even if there were crowds around the dragon steps).
I hope you enjoyed the week away from the weekend coffee share. Have a great weekend and a fabulous week ahead!
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About 1.5 hours after my arrival at the park, the thronging crowds arrived. Fortunately I had 12 acres and higher levels to escape to for some peace and enjoyment of the park. I had an amazing trip while stepping away from the blog. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Enjoyed your post! You take fabulous photos. If I ever get back to Spain, this park will be on my list of places to visit!
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Thank you Rosemary for your compliment. This park is well worth a visit.
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Thanks for sharing these architecture beauties.
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You’re welcome.
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These all sound awesome! I’m so glad you managed to get your ticket to the park.
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Thank you, Astrid. I was pleased to get the ticket to the park when I booked the day before.
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The builders and designers of the park fit a lot of beauty into a fairly small space. I love all the mosaics, especially the salamander. I’m so sorry I didn’t fit in your suitcase! You got some great shots, Natalie.
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Thank you Marsha for your compliment of my photos. I travel with a carry-on so you may feel claustrophobic going with me 🙂 The salamander is a favourite with the park visitors. On my first visit years ago, it looked fresh and beautiful. On my recent visit in January, I noticed the park had a security guard to ask people not to touch the mosaics or worse, sit on the salamander. This park has thousands of visitors annually so I understand the need to preserve the original artworks.
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Yes, people don’t think the little thing that they do will affect anything. But there is artwork all over the world where tummies of statues are rubbed shiny, or knobs of stairways. When lots of people touch, it shows! 🙂
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Would you believe that according to Google, more than 12 million tourists visit Park Güell annually?
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That is beyond my imagination.
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That is such a cool place with little details all over. Love it. I love how you captured them. Very nice. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Thank you Patrick for your compliment. You’re right that this park has many beautiful little details all over.
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Natalie,
Thanks for the tour. I would hate to think what a park this lovely would cost to create today. So grateful for Senor Guell’s contribution to the world. How many visitors are admitted daily? Thanks again, and have a great week. Joe
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Joe, Good question. According to Google, more than 12 million tourists visit Park Güell annually. The park is open year round so about 33 thousand visitors are admitted daily. If you go to the park website today, it shows “tickets sold out”.
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I’d never heard of the whimsical park. How charming!
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I’m pleased to share something new to you. Glad you liked the park via my post.
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Your photographs are so beautiful. I loved watching Park Güell through your eyes ✨
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Thank you Anoushka for your visit and compliment. Park Güell is picturesque and there is beauty everywhere in the park.
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Parc Güell is so beautiful and the views over the city amazing 🙂
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Thank you Nina for your visit and comment. Yes, Park Güell is beautiful and offers fantastic panoramic views of Barcelona, including the iconic La Sagrada Familia.
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Wow Natalie that portico is impressive! I really must get to Barcelona one day. #wwwhimsy
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Hi Debbie, Lots to see in this park and in Barcelona. Thank you for stopping by.
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Hi Natalie, and wow! What beautiful architecture and gorgeous mosaics and sculptures and what an amazing view over city! I love the salamander sculpture particularly! The gardens of Park Guell look lovely too! Thanks so much for linking up with #WWWhimsy – have a great week Natalie! xo
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Hi Min, I think you’d love this park. Lots of beautiful nature and artworks in the park to experience and enjoy. Thank you for stopping by. I sent you a follow-up email regarding guest host/ guest post.
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Yikes, it’s already thursday and I’m just now commenting…where did my week go. These are great. That salamander is cool. I think the Serpentine bench is my favorite. Wow…the roofs of those buildings are very cool. Thank you for sharing all these…WOW. I’d end up spending all day here
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Kirstin, The week sped by and another Weekend Coffee Share link-up is about to start tomorrow (Mar 22). I’m pleased you enjoyed my post and photos. Thank you for stopping by.
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Wow. It looks so beautiful. I’d love to visit!
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I’m sure you’d enjoy visiting this park.
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What a beautiful place!
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Pleased you think so.
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You seem to have been lucky with the crowds. We’d gone in the evening of a very hot day, and place was crowded. But no matter, it is a wonderful place. Thanks for bringing that memory back. I’m sure I blogged about it some time, but it was great to see it again in your photos.
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I.J., I was there in low season and booked the first time slot on a weekday morning to visit the park to avoid crowds. The crowds started arriving about 1.5 hours later. By then I had visited the lower part of the park and moved uphill. I’m pleased to bring back memories of Park Güell. Thank you for stopping by.
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Your post brought back wonderful memories of my solo trip to Barcelona last year! Parc Guell was one of my favorites, and the view from the Serpentine Bench was spectacular. I went during high season, but was still able to get a couple of great shots here and there. I’ll have to go back again under hopefully less crowded circumstances. Thanks for sharing and helping me relive such a nice trip! (:
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Thank you Jenny for your visit and comment. I’m pleased my post helped you relive your nice trip to Barcelona. Park Güell and Barcelona are wonderful and well-worth another visit. Have a great week!
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