Park Güell in Barcelona Tickets and Tours

Park Güell is the living work of Gaudí, conceived as a refuge and resting place for the most important family of Catalonia in the early twentieth century, the Güells. It is a manifesto of modernist urbanism, with large green areas and incredible views of Barcelona.

Visiting Park Güell is something that anyone in Barcelona would recommend you, and in this guide I am going to give you all the tips to get your tickets at the best price and tricks to make your visit unforgettable.

This is the best value for money option to visit Park Güell, with the biggest advantage being the early access to Park Güell, which will save you from queues and crowds of tourists.

Once inside you will tour the main areas with a local guide, discovering every corner and learning about Gaudí's artistic vision at every step, with beautiful views of Barcelona framed by the iconic tile-decorated structures. At the end of the tour, you can stay in Park Güell for as long as you like to explore it at your leisure.

Recommended: If you are an early bird on your sightseeing tours and don't like crowds of tourists.

You also have the option to combine the two most interesting visits of Barcelona in one tour, combining Park Güell and Sagrada Familia in a half day tour.

You will take a tour with a similar route to the previous option, seeing the main points of interest of the park while learning about Gaudi and the importance of Park Guell for the modernist urbanism of Barcelona, and then you will head to the Sagrada Familia where you will tour its exterior facades and its interior.

Something to keep in mind is that this tour is bilingual in English and Spanish, and your guide will do the narration in both languages in succession. Although it may seem a little strange, the truth is that it is quite fluent and is not a problem.

Recommended: If you are looking for a combined experience that helps you to discover in depth the two icons of the city.

If you want to tour Barcelona in the company of a specialized guide with a visit to Park Güell and Sagrada Familia, this is the tour for you. You will see the most famous sights of the city and its main tourist attractions.

The tour starts at La Rambla and takes you to visit several points of interest of the city, stopping for a coffee at Els Quatre Gats, which used to be frequented by Picasso and is the place where the artist made his first exhibition, and tasting a tapas lunch before visiting the two jewels of Barcelona, the Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia.

Duration: 6 hoursRecommended: If you are going to be in Barcelona for a short time and can only choose one tour, this is it. It is also a good option if you like combined experiences.

What you will see

When you buy your Park Güell ticket, you will receive a confirmation email and you can either print it or take it with you on your cell phone. Either way, you must present the QR code at the access point.

Tickets have a fixed time and you are allowed to enter up to 30 minutes after the assigned time. For example, if you have a ticket for 10:00 a.m., you will be allowed to enter the park from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.. Once inside, there is no time limitation and you can stay in Park Güell as long as you want.

In any case, I recommend that you arrive at Park Güell a little before the time marked on your ticket to make sure, because once you have passed the 30 minutes of margin your ticket will be considered invalid. Tickets to Park Güell only give access to the monumental area, which is the tourist part of the park. To the north of the park is the forest area, which is reserved for Barcelona residents only.

Inside Park Güell is the Gaudí House-Museum, for which a different ticket is required as access is not included in the park tickets.

Alex's Traveller Tip

You have up to 30 minutes after the time marked on your ticket to enter Park Güell. After that time, your ticket is considered invalid.

How to get to Park Güell

To go by metro, you have two options. One is to take metro line 3 to Vallcarca station, and from there walk to the park (it is very well signposted, so it is a matter of following the arrows). There are escalators to help with the climb, as it is a bit steep. From the metro, it takes about 15 minutes to walk to the park.

The other option is to go on the same metro line 3 to Lesseps, but the bad thing is that although the way to the park is a little shorter there are no escalators to get there so in the end it is better to go to Vallcarca.

You can also avoid the walk by taking bus 24 from the Lesseps metro station to Park Güell, and it will leave you right at the door. The downside: it is usually always full.

Opening days and hours of Park Güell

The site is open every day of the year and the opening hours for visitors to Park Güell vary throughout the year, depending on the season and the season:

Duration of the visit to Park Güell

A typical visit to Park Güell takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes, as the monumental area alone will take you a long time. If you want to stop and enjoy the park and the views of Barcelona at your leisure, calculate about 2 hours for the visit.

In case you visit Park Güell at sunset, you will probably want to stay a little longer watching the sun set over Barcelona. It is one of the busiest times in the park and the crowds are quite high, but it might be worth it.

Best time to visit

The best time to visit Park Güell is as early as possible, if possible, at opening time. You will avoid the large groups of tourists that visit the park in the middle of the morning and you will be able to enjoy the walk at your leisure.

If you are especially overwhelmed by tourists, remember that with the Park Güell Tour with skip-the-line entrance you can visit the park before its official opening for visitors and experience it as if you were a local, since Barcelona residents are allowed to enter the park at special times before and after the opening and closing hours respectively.

Where to eat in Park Güell

I advise you to bring your own food and water on your visit to Park Güell, as there are not too many options for eating and the places around the park are quite expensive and not particularly good. You might be able to wait for food if you visit the park early in the morning or at sunset, but definitely packing a bottle of water in your backpack is one of the best ideas.

Gaudí, through the patronage of the Güell family, was in touch with the cream of early 20th century Catalan society, and set out to recreate the English garden cities that the Catalan bourgeoisie knew and admired.

With the creation of Park Güell, Gaudí elaborated a truly original urbanistic model. In his conception, the park was to serve as a residence for Barcelona's wealthy families, and the pedestrian and carriage paths were organically intertwined, as was the large central square, which was to be used as a market, recreational and cultural space.

In addition to its cultural interest and for allowing a glimpse into the tastes, aesthetics and social dynamics of the era in which it was created, Park Güell is an essential visit just for the artistic delight offered by the plasticism of its structures and the creativity of its architectural design.

The so-called Carmel bunkers are on a mound near Park Güell where, at the time of the Civil War, an anti-aircraft battery was located. Today it is the best viewpoint in Barcelona with stunning views of the city and a very popular place to watch the sunset. After your visit to Park Güell, especially if you go in the afternoon, you may want to stop by the Carmel bunkers to end the day.

It is about a 20 minute walk from Park Güell, and you can also go by metro (Alfons X station on line 4). Remember to wear comfortable shoes as the climb to the bunkers is a bit steep, and I recommend wearing a sweater or sweatshirt if you are going to see the sunset. If you bring something to snack and water or a couple of beers in your backpack, you will be sure to have a great time.

Along with Park Güell, a visit to the Sagrada Familia is an experience not to be missed on your trip to Barcelona. Whether you are planning to visit it on your own or on a guided tour, my guide from Barcelona Sagrada Familia Tickets and Visits will help you with the best tips to enjoy it to the fullest.

Another visit you might find interesting is the Camp Nou. In the Camp Nou Experience you will tour the stadium, access the pitch and immerse yourself in a retrospective of FC Barcelona and the club's greatest soccer achievements, read all about it here: Barcelona Camp Nou Stadium Visits.

Barcelona also has a varied selection of museums that I recommend you explore. To do so, read my guide to Barcelona Museums to find out which one to choose and how to get your tickets at the best price!

Finally, if you want to continue exploring Gaudí's architecture, I recommend visiting La Pedrera and Casa Batlló. In their respective guides, La Pedrera in Barcelona Tickets and Tours y Barcelona Casa Batlló Tickets and Visits you will find all the information and tips to get your tickets or take a guided tour.