Short answer. Park Güell began in 1900 as a business idea: a neighbourhood of 60 plots on a hill above Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí for Eusebi Güell. Only two houses were built, the work stopped in 1914, and the city took over the land after Güell’s death. It opened as a public park in 1926.
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Book tickets and tours →How did Gaudí meet Güell?
The story starts in Paris. In 1878 Eusebi Güell saw a showcase that Gaudí had designed for a glove-maker at the Paris Exhibition, and he remembered the young architect. In 1900 he gave Gaudí the commission for the park.
What was the plan?
The idea was a residential neighbourhood with 60 plots, laid out on a hill and linked by roads, with a market, a terrace and gardens. In October 1900 the work of levelling the land began.
What was built, and what never was?
Not much of the neighbourhood. Only two houses were built, and neither was by Gaudí. In 1902 the first buyer of a plot, the lawyer Martí Trias i Domènech, asked the architect Juli Batllevell to design his villa.
The public spaces were another story. By 4 January 1903 a description of the time already said that the entrance pavilions, the stairway, the viaducts and part of the big esplanade were finished. The Hypostyle Hall was meant to be a market, and the tiled bench around it was completed in 1914.
Did Gaudí live in the park?
Yes. In 1906 he moved into the model house with his father and his niece, and he lived there until 1925. In 1907 Güell made the old Casa Larrard his main home. That big house is now a school.
Why did it stop?
In 1914 the work was abandoned. Güell died in 1918, and his heirs offered the park to the city. On 26 May 1922 the city council decided to buy it, and in 1926 Park Güell opened as a municipal park.
How did it become a World Heritage Site?
In 1969 the park was declared a monument. In 1984 it entered the UNESCO World Heritage list. In October 2013 Barcelona began to regulate the entrance to the monumental zone, which is why you now book a time slot.
What to do with this story?
Take it with you. The Hypostyle Hall makes more sense when you know it was meant for a market, and the empty plots explain why the park feels like a garden more than a neighbourhood. Read what to see in the park to plan your route, check the hours and the way there, and book your slot on the tickets page. If you only have an hour, see the dragon and the terrace. If you have a morning, add the viaducts.