Barcelona Photo Galleries

Antoni Gaudí's Parc Güell

The famous Park Güell (Parc Güell in Catalan) is a beautiful garden with original architectural constructions located in the upper part of Barcelona, near to Tibidabo Mountain . It was designed by the greatest exponent of Catalan modernism, the talented Antoni Gaudi. As with all his masterpieces it’s a unique and imaginative creation, with the unmistakable organic signature of the maestro. It is made up of 17 hectares (0,17 km2) of prime Barcelona real state and was constructed between 1900 and 1914.

The park was named after a rich Catalan businessman called Eusebi Güell, who asked Antoni Gaudi to realise the project. The original name is in English - Park Güell - as Gaudi took inspiration for the design from the typical English city garden. The initial idea was to build a high class walled neighbourhood with a huge garden and panoramic views of the whole of Barcelona . Due to the start of the First World War only two plots were sold and the project was finally cancelled. On one of these plots a house was constructed which is now the Gaudi Museum (Casa Museo Gaudi).

The main entrance to the park has a big double external staircase decorated with water cascades and crowned by a salamander sculpture that symbolises fire. This ‘Gaudi lizard’ has become Park Guell’s, some may say, even Barcelona ’s emblem.