In 1899 industrialist Eusebi Güell bought a farm on a hill overlooking Barcelona, which had exploded across the plain with rapid industrialization.  The farm was to become a suburban subdivision for wealthy families living in detached houses with parkland, trails, and amenities, like market stalls.  Güell hired Antoni Gaudi as the architect.  Guidi designed a home for himself and several others plus the landscaping of the park.   The development went bust in 1914.  Even though Spain was neutral in the First World War it could not escape global economic consequences. 

In 1922 the development became a municipal park incorporating Gaudi’s plazas, pedestrian viaducts, and gardens, and some of the buildings he constructed, including the market, which is a nice colonnade without actual stalls selling stuff.  Today it is a UESCO World Heritage Sita and home of the Gaudi Houe Museum.

You might think that the park, on a hill, catching the breeze off the Med would be cooler than downtown, but it is on a hillside exposed to direct sunlight from the South.  Because of all the stone and mosaic areas it retains heat so it is hotter than downtown.  We certainly felt that on our visit.  The temperatures were 90 downtown and a bit warmer up on the hill.  The “feels like” temperature approached 100 degrees F. 

The park has a lot of steps up the steep slopes but there is also an accessible path that winds, serpentine, through the park.  I was using a walker and decided on that path. The hills in the heat had me stopping frequently to rest.  According to the guide it’s not easy to see “the dragon,” a famous mosaic covered statue, from the accessible trails, but I did, at the cost of Suzi helping me drag the walker up twenty shallow steps.  I could have done it on grade but that would have meant trekking down and then up the serpentine.  It was easier to go up a few steps and get on grade from where our taxi would pick us up.

These three days in Barcelona are dedicated to looking Gaudi’s work and the work of other Art Nouveau designers.  The last time we were here, in 2025, we had two days, and while I saw some of Gaudi’s buildings, I didn’t take the dive I wanted.  Now I’m scratching that itch.