(English) Ciutadella Park, Barcelona’s number one park

Barcelona is home to plenty of green space and fantastic parks where you can just get away from the hustle and bustle of city life to relax surrounded by nature and enjoy tranquillity at its best. One of the most appealing spots for a little rest and relaxation has to be Ciutadella Park, a place where – besides being a sheltered, centuries-old natural environment – you can also uncover some fantastic architectural gems and truly make the most of this relaxing part of town.

Ciutadella Park has the honour of holding the title of being Barcelona’s first public park, and for a very long time was in fact the only park in the city. It was designed so that a tour of the more than 17 hectares of space would be entirely unique and a pleasant experience for every visitor, with something to cater for each and every taste.

Built in the latter half of the 19^th century for the Universal Exhibition of 1880, the park was commissioned by the mayor at the time to Josep Fontserè, who was tasked with creating a spectacular image of Barcelona for the opening of the event. The design was inspired by some of the most famous parks of other European cities at the time and stands out for its significant natural value and being home to a range of amazing architectural treasures, some even by famed artists such as Antonio Gaudí.

Ciutadella Park: A place for enjoying the great outdoors

Ciutadella sets itself apart by being an excellent place for recreation and leisure in the neighbourhood of Ciutat Vella. As a benchmark of great outdoor leisure options in the city, it has it all – from open green spaces where you can enjoy a walk, run or cycle surrounded by green trees of enormous variety, many of them hundreds of years old, to landscaped garden areas where you can enjoy a picnic or a lie down as you enjoy the pleasant Barcelona temperatures, as well as plenty of benches for a spot of reading in the afternoon sun. Not forgetting the lake where you can enjoy a boat ride to take full advantage of this truly special location, which is also home to Barcelona Zoo.

As a climax to this enormously picturesque space, you’ll find plenty of monuments and sculptures throughout the park, all designed by hugely note-worthy architects, including Gaudí’s Monumental Waterfall, the Mamut by Miquel Dalamu, The Birth of Venus by Venancio Vallmitjana, as well as The Castle of the Three Dragons by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

Without doubt, Ciutadella Park occupies a prominent places amongst the best parks in Barcelona. It’s an idyllic space where you can enjoy some leisure time whether as a family, couple or on your own, along with all the amazing monuments and sculptures to explore, which helped the park be declared a site of historical and artistic significance back in 1951.

Categories: barcelona