Parc Güell

Antonio Gaudi's failed housing development. Yes, he failed up and out of this atmosphere. See, failure is good, fail fast, learn and move on. It's better to fail than to not have tried at all. Etc., etc.

I'm sure Gaudi wasn't thinking this way (being a failure) when he was working on Parque Geull in the early 1900s. This park is so stunning and imaginative, it's incredibly hard to wrap my mind around it.

The park was funded by Gaudi's buddy Count Guell. There are a few homes in this mini community on Carmel Hill, but the homes weren't designed by Gaudi. In fact, the museum and other things like the wrought iron fence - were not designed by him.

But the stuff he did design though, is iconic and synonymous with Catalan and Barcelona. Here are my favorites:

- the salamander (got here extra early to take a pic with no one around).
- the snake.
- the serpentine bench which is over looking Barcelona and the entrance to the park.
- the columns and ceiling tiles.
- the organic rock work that mimic trees.
- the organic rock half pipe, if you've surfed through a wave.

This little subdivision will help you get your steps in and there are inclines and it can get hot, bring a parasol (UV, light weight umbrella) if you can and bottled water. Of course, get your ticket online and come on time. Ok, I'm starting to sound like your mother.

Final tip: Expect tons of people after it opens up so plan your first photo opportunity and walk directly there. That's how I got the salamander shot.

Finally, Gaudi is such an inspiration to me - because even the losers get lucky sometimes (Tom Petty).

Parc Güelle is typically said to be a "must-do" when visiting Barcelona, and though this park is beautiful with some neat architecture, I didn't find it to be the best thing we saw in Barcelona. There are other amazing places in Barcelona where you can see Gaudi's work.

Of course, I'm glad I visited but it felt like a one and done kind of place. We took a guided tour provided by Park Güell and it felt very rushed, so I do not recommend taking the tour if you do visit. My reasoning for that was you don't get enough time for photo opportunities and being that the park is so large, we didn't go back to take photos of things we missed. It's best to visit at your own pace.

The work is quite beautiful and it's amazing how the park was meant to be an area only for the wealthy but was unfinished. Fun fact: Gaudi used to walk from Parc Güelle to Sagrada Familia every day...which is a HIKE.
With that being said, prepare for a long walk up to the park, especially if you're taking a hop-on hop-off bus...if you have trouble walking, taxi is best.

This has the potential to be an amazing park, but a few things (within its control and without) prevent it from reaching pure immaculate status:

1) this is another placed with a timed entry and a strict one at that. It's 10 EUR too.
It's more attributed to the tourists and school groups that congregate at all times of the day.

2) The best way to get here is via taxi. However, it gets confusing because there are multiple entrance points.

3) I entered through the main entrance, which provided a fork in the road. What I didn't realize was that I took the wrong path off the fork. Going to your right leads you up to the hill of the 3 crosses and the Trias house. However, that's the opposite direction of the monumental park, where all the photos are taken. That's annoying. Basically I went uphill for naught. There was also no clear signage or tour guides guiding people to this.

Sure - one could easily do their homework beforehand but the maps aren't as clear in my eyes and downloading them on your phone at the spot leads you to the Spanish version which can be hard to translate too. Better signage would help.

4) once I got to the main area, I saw a sign for "group access" which I interpreted to as "group access only." It wasn't though. Probably just a confusing sign.

Just a lot of crowds and I wasn't able to get great photo opportunities because of that. It's a bit of a bummer. Perhaps better signs and guides would make this place better rather than a skippable one per the travel blogs.

A must visit but during the busy season it gets crowded! In my opinion there is no need to book the expensive tours because you can get tickets for 10 euros a person. I've seen tours cost upwards of a hundred dollars and you can save so much by doing it yourself. The taxi is not that expensive to get there from the city. But I would suggest booking in advance because it will sell out every day.

You can bring your own food inside and they have benches to take a break if needed and eat. They also have their own cafe and bathroom. I loved seeing the architecture and it has an amazing view of the whole city.

Hotel staff told us we would enjoy this public park. It was accessible through a Metro ride and a few minute walk to the street leading to the park. However what they didn't tell us was to get to the park one must be able to climb at least 300 steps uphill. The steps and hill looked foreboding as we began our ascent. Construction workers were busily putting in an escalator which would have been awesome had it been in operation. Residential homes and small shops dot the ascending streets. If you are in shape, the climb will be a breeze. However for those with walking issues or disabled, I suggest a taxi from the Metro.
Once in the park, the theme is obviously Gaudi. You feel as if it is Gaudiland with colorful mosaics and odd shaped architecture. Be prepared to walk and enjoy the sights. The scenery and view from above is spectacular. There is a fee to enter and there are many different packages one can purchase. Wear your walking shoes, sunglasses and take water.

The walk to this park from the central Barcelona area.... Woof. Make sure your calves are prepped. And the climbing doesn't stop there- this park is filled with ups and down paths everywhere.

Be prepared for the €10 entry fee which I thought was a little steep but none the less the park itself was really really neat to walk around and look at so i cant complain too much.

Would highly recommend for your first trip to Berlin, so many things to look at and appreciate.

Parc Guell is located west of most of the super touristy spots in Barcelona and unless you take a cab, requires some uphill walking to get to. Purchase your tickets in advance online. We bought 2 months ahead and the guided tours were already sold out. We didn't download the app ahead of time and there wasn't any working wifi so we just kind of wandered and enjoyed the scenery. Wifi would be helpful to offer since you have an app that I believe has an audioguide included with your ticket and since they don't give out paper maps anymore.

Wear good shoes as there is a lot of incline walking on brick, rock, gravel, and sometimes uneven surfaces. Definitely make sure you make it to the top though for some amazing views of Barcelona, clear to the beach (with a view of Sagrada Família along the way). Antoni Gaudí's incredible use of mosaic work is on display in many parts of this Parc. Plan for about 1-2 hours to walk through depending on your ability and desire to look into and photo things. I would recommend the first appointment time available if you are looking for a more people free photo experience. We went at 10am and it was already quite full. We opted to do this first and then take the downhill walk to Sagrada Família (your legs will thank you for doing it this way if walking).

每次的旅行都是用腳步去丈量世界， 用眼睛去紀錄風景，當我們透過車窗去看風景時，山川湖泊也在看你，人活著，其實就是一種心態， 只有你覺得快樂時，幸福才會無處不在～

這次西班牙行， 除了我們自己多待在巴塞隆納幾天， 跟的是Celebrity 的cruise, 坐船是善待自己的方式， 這個歲數了， 實在受不了每天早上雞還沒有叫，就要起床， 整理行李，化妝， 吃早餐， 對懶惰的我而言，那不叫休假，叫行軍, 而這大名鼎鼎的 park Quell , 是來西班牙必來的地方， 這麽美的建築， 清幽的環境， 每個小時「只准」400 名遊客進來， 絕對要來參觀的地方， 比較擁擠就是

Hmmmm at big attraction because this was a failed housing project turned into a park by Gaudy it sits at the top of a hill so be prepared for a walk if you use the train to get there. You also need to book tickets days in advance due to it's popularity.

There is a large playing field type with flowing seating designed by Gaudy. If you go down the stairs the famous Gecko sculpture is below along with two buildings also designed by Gaudy. The buildings also charge admission which is not covered by the park admission. This was my least favorite Gaudy site. I just felt it was not nearly as immersive or spectacular as some of his other projects.

Gaudi's Parc Guell is a must see! I was here in 2015 by myself then again in 2023 with my husband and baby. It's a lovely place for a stroll, to marvel at the architecture and nature plus see brilliant musicians along the way.

You can walk up and get tickets but may be waiting awhile - it's best to purchase ahead if you can to avoid the line. Very accessible with our stroller.