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Archive for the ‘Parks and attractions’ Category
Tibidabo is one of the mountains overlooking Barcelona and at 512 meters it is the tallest mountain in the Serra de Collserola. Rising sharply to the north-west, it affords spectacular views over Barcelona and the surrounding coastline. Tibidabo is an emblematic location in the city of Barcelona since it is the highest point of the city and because it exists in everyone’s memory as a leisure reference.
Tibidabo is considered a Barcelona’s number one family amusement park, not just because family visits have been and continue to be traditional, but also because all people, whatever their age, will find attractions to suit them. The fact that the Tibidabo amusement park (Barcelona’s oldest) has existed for over one hundred years means that almost everybody is aware of it. As an amusement park, Tibidabo has an offer that combines virtually all the different types of key attractions within the sector, some of which are far from being state of the art models, while others far exceed what is on offer in other parks within our sector in terms of quality, age and originality.
Enjoy from rides such as the Pndol, a free fall contraption that reaches up to 4Gs in force, or hit up Catalunya’s first 4 dimensional cinema, the DiDiDaDo. This fun park will surely satisfy you, giving you full control over sensations in surroundings that combine nature, entertainment, spectacle, services, expertise and the values of peaceful co-existence.
Hours
Open every day from Monday to Friday 12am – 4 pm.
Weekends and holidays open from 11am to 5 pm.
Tibidabo Amusement Park
Pl. del Tibidabo, 3-4
08035 Barcelona
Tel: 93 211 79 42
Barcelona Zoo is set in a magnificent garden over 100 years old, covering 13 hectares of Ciutadella Park and containing a collection of some 7,500 individual animals belonging to more than 400 species from all over the world. Up until 2003 the zoo included trully unique creatures such as Snowflake. He was the only albino gorilla known to exist, and was found in 1966 in what was then Spanish Guinea.
Barcelona Zoo is based within the gorgeous Parc de la Ciutadella. The best way to find the zoo is to go to Ciutadella park and to follow the signs to the Zoo. The Zoo also has a restaurant, picnic area, a shop, electric cars, ponies and a mini-train.
Zoo prices
Adults 15.40€
Children (3-12 years) 9.30€
Groups of adults (twenty or more) 12€
Groups of school, Day Camp or youth club children (up to 18 years of age) 6.50€
Groups of nursery or nursery-school children (under 3 years of age) 2.70€
Hours
January, February, and 1-15 March from 10:00-17:00
16-31 March, April and May from 10:00-18:00
June, July, August and September from 10:00-19:00
October, November and December from 10:00-17:00
December 25th – open until noon
Zoological park of Barcelona
Parc de la Ciutadella s/n 08003 Barcelona
Phone: 93 225 67 80 · FAX: 93 221 38 53
This Barcelona attraction is a small re-created Spanish village with different quarters that replicate the style of houses and architecture from different parts of Spain. At the entranceway, for example, stands a facsimile of the gateway to the walled city of Ávila. The centre of the village has an outdoor café where you can sit and have drinks. Numerous shops sell crafts and souvenir items from Barcelona and all of the provinces, and in some of them you can see artists at work, printing fabric and blowing glass. Poble Espanyol is also home to a whole host of specialist craft shops and workshops where you can see some traditionally made Spanish goods.
Since it was conceived in 1929, El Poble Espanyol has been considered as a different, unique space in Barcelona. Its urban layout – a real village with streets and squares, without wheeled traffic and in the natural surroundings of the hill at Montjuïc – has helped to create a special microcosm, offering an invitation to escape the city’s daily routine. Many families delight in the re-created Spanish atmosphere.
Marqués de Comillas
Metro: Espanya
High above the city of Barcelona sits the oddly inspired Park Guell, Antoni Gaudi’s strangely psychedelic park. Laid out on a hill above Barcelona’s Gracia district, it provides a relaxing escape from the bustle of Barcelona below. Park Guell is the perfect setting to enjoy a cold drink, play a game of Frisbee, or simply take in the fabulous views of the city and harbor.
Although it sounds unlikely, the place is skillfully designed and composed to bring the peace and calm that one would expect from a park. The buildings flanking the entrance, though very original and remarkable with fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles, fit in well with the use of the park as pleasure gardens and seem relatively inconspicuous in the landscape when one considers the flamboyance of other buildings designed by Barcelona’s beloved Gaudí.
The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. To design the curvature of the bench surface Gaudí used the shape of buttocks left by a naked workman sitting in wet clay. Set with mosaic tiles, the serpentine bench at Guell Park provides a resting place around the main ground where pick up soccer games and impromptu yoga sessions are held. But the serpentine bench at Guell Park is among the milder features in an array of hallucinatory fixtures that includes gingerbread gatehouses topped with red and white wild mushrooms, pavilions of contorted stone, a vast hall of columns, and the coup de grace, a giant decorative lizard.
The large cross at the park’s high-point offers the most complete view of Barcelona and the bay. It is possible to view the main city in panorama, with the Sagrada Família and the Montjuïc area visible at a distance.
Plan on taking a half day to visit this Barcelona attraction, and remember if you take the metro to Park Guell, be ready to make the 20-minute hill climb to the entrance. (If you don’t feel like huffing and puffing you can catch a cab to the summit.) Busses for this and other Barcelona attractions can be found at the tourist information office at Plaza Catalunya.
While entrance to the Park is free, Gaudí’s house, “la Torre Rosa,” can be only visited for an entrance fee. There is a reduced rate for those wishing to see both Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia.
Carrer d’Olot, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, 08024
Hours – All year, Daily, Open 10am to dusk
Parc del Laberint
Nature and humanity
This park offers a way to understand human influence over nature. The Italian Dominico Bagutti created it in the 18th century, on the grounds surrounding the mansion. The most significant feature is the labyrinth that gives the park its name. Lose yourself in the sculptures that represent love and inhale the aromas of the garden and its wide variety of plants and flowers. In June and July the town council organizes fantasy and classical music concerts here.
Neighborhood: Horta, Guinardó & Alfons X
Address: Germans Desvalls, Barcelona, 08035
Nearest train: Montbau
Open hours: 10 a.m. – nightfall daily
Parc de la Ciutadella
Home of the Universal Exhibition of 1888
Barcelona’s city park is a great place for a stroll away from all the traffic, it’s one of the city’s most popular parks, located where Felipe V’s ciutadella (military citadel) was and where Catalan nationalism was repressed during his reign. In 1870 the citadel was made into a park to house the 1888 World Fair. As you explore you will find a small lake in the center and, beside it, the Cascada, a fountain built by Josep Fontserè and Antoni Gaudí. You can also visit Barcelona’s zoo and the Catalan parliament building within the park.
Neighborhood: Barceloneta, The Born & La Ribera
Address: Passeig de Pujades, Barcelona, 08005
Nearest train: Arc de Triomf / Barceloneta
Open hours: 10 a.m. – nightfall daily
Parc de l’Oreneta
Fun for children and adults This park was constructed in 1978 where two old factories once stood. It’s a lovely, quiet place that reaches back into the forest, allowing you to take nature walks in the woods. There are also some attractions for children like swings, mazes, games, pony rides and a little train through the park that cross tunnels, bridges and other sites. The train is only open on Sundays and holidays.
Neighborhood: Pedralbes
Address: Montevideo, 45, Barcelona ES, 08034
Nearest train: FGC Reina Elisenda
Open hours: 10 a.m. – nightfall (daily)
Muntanya de Montjuïc
A hill with a history
One of Barcelona’s major hills standing 173m high, Montjuic was not inhabited until after the Middle Ages, despite the fact that the Jewish quarter had extended to the nearby Miramar area. In 1607, the first path to the summit was opened and, in 1640, during the war of the Segadors, a fortress was built to resist Felipe IV’s incursions. This later became Castell de Montjuïc (Montjuïc Castle). For the last three hundred years it has been a popular park for locals.
Neighborhood: Montjuïc
Address: Montjuïc, Barcelona ES, 08004
Nearest train: Espanya
Parc de Collserola
Huge natural park
The Collserola Park is situated on Collserola Mountain just behind Barcelona. It spans 8000 hectares including large areas of white pine and oaks with a variety of wildlife. It is one of the biggest urban parks in Europe. In addition to the different flora and fauna, there are masies (traditional Catalan houses) and archaeological remains here, as well as many of Barcelona’s best biking and hiking trails. On Saturdays from 10:30 am – 1 pm there are organized hikes. Two nights per month astronomical observations take place between 10 pm – midnight.
Neighborhood: Sarrià, Sant Gervasi & Tibidabo
Address: Carretera de Vallvidera a Sant Cugat Km 4.7, Barcelona, 08028
Nearest train: Montbau
Open hours: 24 hours
Jardí Botànic de Barcelona
Mediterranean flora
Barcelona’s Town Hall ordered the construction of the botanical gardens to be built on a former garbage dump. The park takes up 14 hectares of space in the middle of Migdia park on Barcelona’s Montjuïc hill. The gardens are home to the species from the five regions of the world that have a Mediterranean climate. All the plants and flowers are arranged according to their region, habitat, and origin to give you a brief tour of the plant world.
Neighborhood: Montjuïc
Address: Parc de Montjuïc, Doctor Font i Quer, s/n, Barcelona, 08004
Nearest train: Bus: 13, 61
Open hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Jul-Sep: 10 a.m.-3p.m. daily
Jardins Costa i Llobera
Exotic and Mediterranean plants
Located on Barcelona’s Montjuïc Mountain, these gardens span some 60000 m2 and were opened to the public in 1970. They have exotic plants from Kenya, Ethiopia and Mexico, as well as, of course, standard Mediterranean species, such as pines. The gardens are named after the poet Costa i Llobera, who wrote an ode to the Pi de Formentor (a pine tree from the Balearic Islands). This is a lovely place to walk and a good place to take a break on the way up to the top of the mountain.
Neighborhood: Montjuïc
Address: Carretera Miramar, 1, Barcelona, 08038
Nearest train: Drassanes / Paral.lel / Funicular de Montjuïc
Open hours: 10 a.m. – nightfall daily
Tibidado Mountain
Panoramic View
This imposing mountain offers the finest view of Barcelona. A funicular takes you 1,600 feet to the top of the mountain, Barcelona’s highest. The ideal time to visit this summit (the culmination of the Sierra de Collcerola) north of the port is at sunset, when the city lights are on. Barcelona’s oldest amusement park is situated at the top of the mountain. There is also a church, called Temple del Sagrat Cor (Sacred Heart), in the carnival-like setting, plus restaurants and mountaintop hotels.
Getting there:
From Plaça de catalunya, take a bus to Avinguda del Tibidabo, where you can board a special bus that will transport you to the funicular. Hop aboard to scale the mountain. The funicular runs daily from 7:45am to 9:45pm.
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