Park Güell in Barcelona: how Gaudí’s garden city became a UNESCO icon

Park Güell is one of Barcelona’s most distinctive places. Today, visitors from around the world come to see its mosaics, colonnades, and the famous sinuous bench. Yet the original idea was entirely different: it was meant to be an upscale residential district. How that plan unraveled is a story as compelling as the park itself.

How it all began

At the end of the 19th century, industrialist Eusebi Güell set out to build a fashionable “garden city” in Barcelona—a leafy, comfortable neighborhood away from downtown clamor. He bought land on a hill known as the Bare Mountain and brought in his long-time friend, architect Antoni Gaudí.

The plan was ambitious: more than 60 plots, houses, broad avenues, stairways, and drainage channels, all dressed in imaginative architecture. Gaudí got to work, designing ornate entrance pavilions, terraces, pathways, and even a market—today known as the Hall of a Hundred Columns. Every element carried his signature touch: undulating lines and vivid mosaic work.

Why the project failed

Despite the effort, sales never took off. The site sat far from the center and was hard to reach. Some also found Gaudí’s architecture too unconventional. In the end, the plots went unsold. Only two houses were built and occupied: a lawyer purchased one, and Gaudí bought the other to set a precedent. He lived there for nearly 20 years.

Even so, Güell used the grounds as a private park, hosting strolls and receptions for his circle. After his death in 1918, his heirs decided to sell the property to the city.

A park for everyone

In 1922, Barcelona’s city hall purchased the land. The residential scheme was shelved, but what had already risen was preserved. The unusual site became a public park, and in 1984 Park Güell was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In a twist, the project’s collapse turned into its greatest success. Gaudí shaped the place with a deep sensitivity to nature, crafting each detail by hand and with great care. Even unfinished, the park feels singular.

What it is today

Today Park Güell ranks among Barcelona’s most visited sights. To protect it from wear, the city split the area in two: one part remains free to enter; the other—the monumental zone—requires a ticket. That’s where visitors find the park’s icons: the mosaic salamander, the rippling bench, the colonnades.

City services carry out regular restorations, keep order, and use electronic tickets to prevent crowding.