Park Güell – Barcelona

You know that beautiful typical Barcelona photo that you seem to see everywhere? The one overlooking the city from behind a wall of colorful mosaics? Something like this right here…

Well, that’s in Park Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudí, the same man who designed the Sagrada Família. It’s a pretty famous site in Barcelona and despite the fact that it is pretty cliché, I still wanted to see it.

As per usual, life had a different idea for me, and upon arriving we found that it was closed for reconstruction. That whole section of Park Güell was nothing more than a dusty building site with bags of cement lying around everywhere.

Fortunately, there are other aspects of Park Güell that are still beautiful and interesting. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, bees buzzed around the newly opened flowers that are planted along the pathway that snakes through the park.

The inspiration behind much of the design in the park is said to have come from The Temple of Apollo from the ancient Greek Delphi. Upon further exploring the other building which is made from unworked stone, it’s easy to see why this is believed to be such a big influence…

It certainly has the atmosphere and aesthetic of an ancient temple. It’s considered one of the finest examples of Gaudí’s signature organic architectural style and is really quite stunning…

There are also several houses dotted around the park, which were part of the original plans and intentions for the site before it was made into a public park.

Park Güell also boasts some brilliant vantage points where you can see the city of Barcelona stretched out in front of you.

The only part of Park Güell that you have to pay for is the bit with the mosaics, the rest of the park is free to enter and wander around, and makes for a pleasant afternoon stroll. There’s a park for kids, and lots of locals take their dogs for walks around there.

So if you’re visiting Barcelona on a budget, you can still explore the rest of the park for free.