How to visit Park Güell and which areas require a ticket

The Park Güell is not entirely paid for, and that's where most of the misunderstandings begin. The upper part, the one that smells of pine trees and where the residents of Gràcia go for a morning run, is a public park and is free. The lower part, where the salamander staircase, the hypostyle hall, the undulating bench, and the two houses at the entrance are located, is the monumental area: entry requires a ticket, with a specific time slot, and a limited number of people per time period. On this page, you'll find the 67 experiences that the three providers we work with offer regarding Park Güell, organized by the only thing that truly differentiates them: whether they include entry, whether they include a guide, and the size of the group. We tell the history of the park only once, here below. The subpages do not repeat it; each one explains how to visit it in that specific way.

It's helpful to know the history of this place, as it explains it better than any description. Eusebi Güell purchased the hillside in 1900 to build a luxury development: sixty plots of land for wealthy families who wanted to live outside the hustle and bustle of the Eixample district. Two houses were built. The project was a complete commercial failure, and that's why visitors today find themselves in a peculiar place: a monumental staircase that leads nowhere, a vast square supported by a hall of columns that was intended to be the neighborhood's market, and kilometers of viaducts built for carriages that never came. It's not a garden. It's the blueprint of a neighborhood that never existed. Those who arrive expecting a beautiful park will be somewhat disappointed; those who arrive knowing this will understand what they are seeing.