All You Need To Know About Park Guell, Barcelona
Are You Visiting Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain? We’ve Got You Covered!
“All You Need To Know About Park Guell, Barcelona” was updated in 2024.
Today we’re going to talk about Park Guell a.k.a. the park with the gingerbread houses, located in the north part of Barcelona.
Park Guell is also the place where you will find the Gaudi House Museum which is where the architect genius Antoni Gaudi used to live.
Keep reading to find out all that you need to know about Park Guell, Barcelona.
Everything You Need To Know About Park Guell
Let’s take a look at some of the frequently asked questions when it comes to visiting Park Guell.
What is Park Guell?
The construction of Park Guell started in 1900.
Eusebi Guell was planning to create an estate for wealthy families in the area that is now the park.
He commissioned Gaudi (they were good friends) to design and oversee the project.
However, due to many reasons, the project’s completion was unviable and construction was halted in 1914.
In 1922 the park was acquired by the city and soon after was turned into a public park.
Since then Park Guell has become a bucket list destination for visitors from all over the world.
In 1984 the park was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Do you need a ticket for Park Guell, Barcelona?
The main thing you need to know is that the park has two sections.
The first one is the Monumental Zone which is the area that has all of Gaudi’s creations.
It is a small portion of the park and to enter it you need to have a paid timed ticket.
The second is the rest of the park which is free and it features mostly gardens and paths.
They do sell tickets at the door, however, you might have to wait in a long queue to get them.
Also, the times you prefer might not be available or the tickets for the whole day might be sold out.
Can you get into Park Guell for free?
You can totally enter the free portion of the park and walk around.
However, if you want to see the gingerbread houses (more on this later) and the rest of the famous sights then you need to purchase a ticket for the Monumental Zone.
If it’s your first time, I highly suggest doing the Monumental Zone.
Is it worth paying for Park Guell, Barcelona?
In my opinion, it is worth paying to see the Monumental Zone especially if you are a fan of Gaudi.
The houses and the innovative architecture make it an attraction that you will enjoy and remember.
How to get to Park Guell, Barcelona?
Getting to Park Guell can be a little tricky because it is on a hill and it will be pretty hard to walk up to it from one of the metro stations in the vicinity.
How to get to Park Guell by bus?
We purchased a combo ticket online to enter Casa Vicens and Park Guell which also included a bus transfer from the metro station Alfons X (L4 yellow line).
Casa Vicens is a different attraction that is located about 20 mins away from Park Guell.
Once you get off of Alfons X metro station you go outside and then you will see the sign for the Park Guell transfer bus.
It was super easy to figure out (the bus is blue). The bus ride was no more than 10 to 15 minutes.
It will drop you off right in front of the entrance to the park (the east entrance).
Once you’re done with your visit, you can hop back on the bus at the exact same place and it will take you back to Alfons X.
In our case, we wanted to visit Casa Vicens after our visit to the park.
However, going back to Alfons X wouldn’t have made sense because Casa Vicens is located in the opposite direction.
You can do Casa Vicens on a different day, we simply chose to do them together.
So we took a taxi from Park Guell to Casa Vicens because we were exhausted from walking around the park the whole morning.
🦄 If you want to learn more about Casa Vicens, check out this blog post: Barcelona: Casa Batllo, Casa Mila & Casa Vicens
How to get to Park Guell with an organized tour?
Another option is to book a tour that includes transportation to the park as like I said it is quite difficult to get to it without some uphill walking.
Most tours include a guided tour or skip-the-line tickets (most offer both).
👉 If you want an entry ticket to the Monumental Zone only, check out this link: Barcelona: Park Güell Admission Ticket
👉 If you prefer to do a guided tour and are short on time, this would be an excellent option: Barcelona: Park Guell Guided Tour with Skip-the-Line Access
Some people go for a Park Guell and Sagrada Familia combo ticket that includes the two attractions in one day.
👉 If you prefer to do that, check out this link: Barcelona: Skip-the-Line Sagrada Familia & Park Güell Tour. Keep in mind that you do not get access to Gaudi’s Museum in Park Guell or the towers in Sagrada Familia.
If you want to do the two attractions on your own in one day, keep in mind that it is about a 30-minute walk or a 7-minute car ride.
Sagrada Familia is about 2.5-3km away from Park Guell.
🦄 To learn more about Sagrada Familia, check out this blog post: Tips For Visiting Sagrada Familia For The First Time
Also, remember that the ticket to the Monumental Zone is timed and they are pretty strict about it.
We tried to enter a little bit earlier and they told us that we had to wait for the time on the ticket.
So make sure you find one of the entrances to the Monumental Zone (the paid section) and be ready to enter at the exact time.
What is the best time to visit Park Guell?
The best time to visit Park Guell, Barcelona is early in the morning – before 11 am.
If you visit in the middle of the day, it will be extremely hot and hard to walk for too long.
In terms of which months, I recommend going in the low season – January to March or October to December. We visited in October and it was perfect.
If you visit in the summer get ready for large crowds and high temperatures.
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What to see in the Park Guell Monumental Zone (paid section)
Let’s start with probably the most famous part of the entire park – the gingerbread houses and the dragon statue.
When you reach the main entrance, you will see two interesting buildings that will make you feel like you are in a Dr. Seuss book.
When we were there it was not open, we entered the park through a side entrance where the bus stop is.
The Porter’s Lodge
The building with the narrow tall roof is the Porter’s Lodge which is now a gift shop.
Its original purpose was to be a place where the visitors of the estate could wait until they could be received by the person they were visiting.
Casa Del Guardia
Casa del Guardia or the House of the Guard is the other building’s official name.
This house is empty and you can go in and browse around it.
There was a bit of a lineup to get into the House of the Guard.
That is due to the fact that the building is extremely narrow (especially the staircases) and cannot handle too many people inside at the same time.
We didn’t wait more than 10 to 15 minutes to get in.
So other than observing the architecture and the colors (dark blue), there is not that much to do inside.
Both buildings are free to enter with your paid ticket.
However, keep your ticket with you just in case they ask to see it again at any point in time.
The Central Stairs/The Lizard Statue
The central stairs connect the lower area where the two houses are with Nature Square.
Nature Square is the area where you will most likely enter through to get to the Monumental Zone.
The famous lizard or dragon which is known as El Drac is in the center of the stairs.
There is water coming out of his mouth.
You will see a huge crowd of people taking pictures with him so there is no way you will miss him.
People believe that if you rub the lizard you will have good luck.
At the top of those stairs, there is a bench, and if you’re lucky you can sit on it and take some nice pictures of the two houses below.
The Columns Room (Hypostyle Room)
Unfortunately, when we were visiting a big part of the Columns Room was under renovation so we weren’t able to enjoy the whole thing.
This area was going to be used as a market for the people who were going to live in the estate.
The ceiling is interestingly designed and there is this sense of movement to it.
Travel Addicted Unicorn tip: During the hot months the Columns Room is a great place to catch a break from the sun.
That is because the Monumental Zone doesn’t provide a lot of shade.
Nature Square in Park Guell
The Nature Square is on top of the Columns Room. This is where we entered the Monumental Zone.
It is essentially a large piece of empty land and on the edges of it is the famous bench.
From there you can take pictures with the gingerbread houses and the rest of Barcelona in the background.
The bench is quite long, however, a large part of it was under renovation so we were able to see only a small part of it.
In that small section, there were millions of people sitting on it so I was not able to get a good pic.
The original purpose of Nature Square was to hold different shows and a variety of sporting and social events.
🦄 If you want to learn more about Mallorca, check out this blog post:
A Day Trip Around Mallorca
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Portico of the Washerwoman and Casa Larrard
Portico of the Washerwoman is this big stone wave with slanted pillars.
Its name comes from a statue of a washerwoman located at one end.
She is holding a laundry basket on her head. It is hard to describe but she is part of one of the columns so it can be easy to miss her.
After the Portico there is a ramp that leads to Casa Larrard which was to be the residence of the Guell family.
Once the city acquired the park, the building was turned into a municipal school.
We saw a restaurant/cafeteria at the end of the ramp. However, we did not go inside.
At this point, you will be pretty much back to where the gingerbread houses are.
I would probably eat outside of the park as usually, food places inside attractions are pretty expensive and not authentic.
I wanted to let you know that there was food available. However, it is in the paid area.
How much time do you need to see Park Guell?
For the Monumental Zone, you would need not more than two hours.
Once you exit the Monumental Zone the rest of the park is mostly gardens with Mediterranean vegetation and pathways.
It is quite large so you can spend a lot of time walking around. Therefore, it is up to you how long you want to spend in the park.
Keep in mind that all over the free portion of the park, there are tons of vendors selling souvenirs, hats, purses, and all sorts of stuff.
They usually have a blanket or a sheet on the ground and most of them are selling similar products.
Personally, I do not buy anything from street vendors as I have heard of people who’ve had a bad experience with them (in a different country).
However, I saw a lot of people buying from them and they weren’t over-persuasive or salesy.
The only thing we ended up buying was cold water.
🦄 Related Spain Posts:
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What else to do in Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain?
Below are some of the attractions that are located outside the Monumental Zone that you should check out.
Turó de les Tres Creus (The Hill With The Three Crosses)
Turó de les Tres Creus is the highest point in the park and there is a bit of uphill walking but it wasn’t too difficult. You need to walk west to get to it.
In the center, there is a stone hill and on top of it, there are three crosses.
From here you can take some pretty pictures as you can see the entire city in all directions.
Also, there are nice benches here where you can sit down and enjoy the views.
La Casa Trias
This house was supposed to be a sample of how the houses would look like in the estate.
It’s a bit out of the way and you need to follow the signs to get to it.
It is a pretty house and it’s worth checking out if you have time.
However, we were only able to see it from the outside.
Gaudi Museum House
I enjoyed the Gaudi Museum House, it is pink with a green roof and window shutters.
It is located on the east side of Park Guell (as far away from the 3 crosses as possible).
However, it is close to the bus stop – you will enter the park through the east entrance.
Gaudi used to live in this home for almost 20 years until he moved to Sagrada Familia (yup the church) where he lived for the rest of his life.
Gaudi did not design the house but he lived in it.
You need to buy a separate ticket if you want to enter.
We bought the tickets on the spot and there wasn’t a big lineup so pre-booking is not necessary.
The inside of the house features a museum that shows an insight into the genius’s personal life.
One thing you will realize is that he was an extremely religious man, especially toward the end of his life.
There is even a room in the house that has a small altar in it.
You can also take a glance at some of his personal possessions and the rooms that he lived in.
Also, there are different furniture pieces that were designed by Gaudi.
Two of my favorites are these door handles that are supposed to fit your hand better as well as these interesting-looking chairs (below).
There is also a lovely garden outside of the house.
If you have the time, are interested in the place where he lived, and don’t mind the extra admission fee I highly recommend checking it out.
Conclusion: All You Need To Know About Park Guell, Barcelona
In conclusion, Park Güell in Barcelona stands as a testament to the creative genius of Antoni Gaudà and the vibrant spirit of Catalan modernism.
This enchanting public park, adorned with colorful mosaics, whimsical sculptures, and imaginative architectural elements, offers visitors a unique and immersive experience.
From the iconic lizard at the entrance to the undulating benches of the main terrace, every corner of Park Güell is a celebration of nature and artistry.
The panoramic views of the city from the park’s elevated vantage points add to its allure, providing a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life.
