Review: Park Güell

Let’s start big picture.
Park Güell is an almost make-believe landscape, home to Barcelona’s famous mosaic lizard—the image on a thousand postcards—plus spiral towers that look like fairground slides. The city’s grandest park began life as a collaboration between entrepreneur Eusebi Güell (hence the park’s name) and Antoni Gaudí. Güell’s vision was to build an estate for affluent families—Gaudí planned 60 homes, a market, and gardens inspired by British parks (which explains the English spelling of the Catalan word parc), but the scheme never took off. Work stopped in 1914, with only two houses completed, including today’s Porter’s Lodge. Success came later—the park is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Any standout features or must-sees?
The lizard stairway and city views from Nature Square, the large open area surrounded by a wavy wall of mosaics. Book a €10 ($10) General Admission ticket online, and arrive promptly for your allotted slot—there’s zero wiggle room with timing. At sunset, a walk around the exterior path presents a tranquil, candy-colored checklist of the city’s celebrities: Tibidabo, Montjuïc, La Sagrada Familia, and more. 

How is it getting around?
An app has now replaced all paper maps, but you'll soon discover a pleasantly maze-like, Gaudí-style navigation system: “Left at the blue turret by the dragon foot.” However, it’s a difficult trip for anyone with mobility restrictions. The route mapped at this link makes the best of minimizing steps and uneven walkways, but it’s still challenging.

All said and done, what—and who—is this best for?
Park Güell is so iconic, so fantastical, it’s hard to justify skipping it—though during peak months, tour buses also subscribe to this notion. An interesting add-on is Casa Museu Gaudí, the pink spired building inside the park. It’s not included in your entrance fee (so factor in an extra €5.50/$5.50 per person), but Gaudí actually lived there for 19 years, which makes it the home tour of all home tours.