Park Güell

Park Güell on the Carmel Hill in Barcelona's Gràcia district was commissioned by Eusebi Güell in 1900 as a planned residential garden city that was never completed. Gaudí worked on the project from 1900 to 1914, and the park was opened to the public in 1926, two years after his death. The ticketed Monumental Zone contains the park's most celebrated elements: the Dragon Stairway ascending from the main gate is guarded by the famous ceramic salamander (or dragon), an icon of Barcelona reproduced on merchandise throughout the city. At the top of the stairway, the Hypostyle Room consists of 86 Doric columns, each slightly tilted, forming a sheltered space originally intended as the park's marketplace; the ceiling is decorated with ceramic mosaic medallions designed by Gaudí with significant collaboration from Josep Maria Jujol. Above the Hypostyle Room, the Main Terrace is defined by the extraordinary serpentine bench (Banc de Trencadís) that wraps around the perimeter — its mosaic surface, composed of broken ceramic fragments in vivid colors, is the work of Jujol and ranks among the most celebrated examples of trencadís decoration anywhere. The bench provides sweeping views across Barcelona to the sea. Surrounding the Monumental Zone, the free outer park contains shaded viaducts of stone, inclined columns carrying pathways above the hillside, pine and Mediterranean woodland, and the Gaudí House Museum (his former residence). The walk from Lesseps metro takes approximately 20 minutes uphill.