These are itinerary ideas for our Private Barcelona Parks and Gardens Tour.
Final itinerary and timings might vary due to many factors (tickets availability, your location and pace, your main interests…)
HISTORICAL GARDENS TOUR
10AM
- TOUR STARTS WITH A RIDE
While we recommend this to be a chauffeured tour because it is more time-efficient, it can be also done as a taxi tour (although in some areas finding a cab can be tricky, and therefore you’ll be spending less time at the sites).
PEDRALBES ROYAL PALACE GARDENS
Gaudi hidden suprises
10.20AM
- Walk
Head first to the classy uptown district of Pedralbes to walk around the quiet gardens of the Royal Palace, with its fountains, tree-lined boulevards, water pond and two little know works of a very young Antoni Gaudi.
This park features several trees that are over 100 years old: eucalyptus, pine trees, cedars and the only Tetraclinis articulata in Barcelona.
11AM
- Ride
PARK OF THE HORTA LABYRINTH
A decadent aristocracy whim
11.15AM
- Walk
Now cross the city uptown all the way from Pedralbes to Horta, where a nobleman transformed a farming real-state into a garden that is an allegory of Love. The cypress tree maze was its main feature. Water is the other theme that articulates the design of the whole garden through fountains, waterfalls, a canal and a water reservoir.
A hidden jewel, worth venturing beyond the beaten path.
12.15PM
- Ride
CIUTADELLA PARK
The legacy of the 1888 World Fair
12.45PM
- Walk
You’ll now head back to the city center to visit the largest of all the Barcelona gardens.
In 1888 Barcelona celebrated the first International Exhibition, and the premises of the former Citadel of the city where used to host the pavilions. The enclosure was embellished with waterfalls, promenades, sculptures, gardens and even a lake. Many bushes and trees brought from exotic countries were used later on to create the botanical collection of the Park.
2PM
- TOUR ENDS
When the tour is over, if you booked a chauffeured tour, you’ll be dropped off back to your hotel or apartment, or at some local restaurant for lunch on your own.
Or if you booked a taxi tour, your guide can put you on a taxi or give you directions to take the subway or walk back to your hotel, or help you find somewhere for lunch in the area.
MAKE YOUR TOUR EVEN BETTER
Add one extra hour to include the Cervantes Rose Park, one hour to visit the monumental area of Park Guell by Gaudi, or two hours for a complete tour of Park Guell.
MONTJUIC GARDENS TOUR
10AM
- TOUR STARTS WITH A RIDE
This itinerary is best done as a chauffeured tour, although if you are a good walker it can also be done on foot (plus a taxi ride to take you to the first stop of your tour). Just note that in such case you’ll be then spending a bit less time at the sites.
BARCELONA BOTANICAL GARDEN
Treasures of the Mediterranean Flora
10.15AM
- Walk
11.45AM
- Ride (or 10min walk)
LARIBAL GARDENS
From farming lands to garden
11.50AM
- Walk
12.15PM
- Ride (or 20min walk)
MOSSEN COSTA I LLOVERA CACTI GARDEN
Californian landscape
12.25AM
- Walk
2PM
- TOUR ENDS
At the end of the tour, if you booked a taxi tour, your guide can put you on a taxi or give you directions back to your hotel or somewhere for lunch. Or you might decide to stay inside the Sagrada Familia (or last site visited) and continue enjoying it on your own.
If you booked a chauffeured tour, you’ll be dropped off back to your hotel or apartment, or at some local restaurant for lunch on your own.
MAKE YOUR TOUR EVEN BETTER
Add one to two extra hours to include other Montjuic Gardens: Mossen Cinto Verdaguer (famous for its bulbs in the Spring), the Greek Theater gardens (with its roses and some elements inspired in the Alhambra from Granada), the Aclimatation Garden and the Sot de la Foixarda (both with interesting botanical species).
CONTEMPORARY PARKS
10AM
- TOUR STARTS WITH A RIDE
This itinerary is easily done walking with one tramway ride, but it can be done as a chauffeured tour for extra efficiency and comfort.
PARC CENTRAL DEL POBLENOU
An Oasis By Jean Nouvel
10.15AM
- Walk
The working class quarter of Poblenou went through a process of transformation with factories turning into tech and media businesses, but the neighbours also vindicated more nature.
The French architect French Jean Nouvel (also author of the famous AGBAR tower nearby) created a quiet garden that surprises you at every corner. Sustainability solutions where mixed with creative shapes that invite you to dream and relax.
- Tramway (or 15min walk)
DIAGONAL MAR PARK
Taking the neighbors advice
11.30AM
- Walk
When the far end of the city was developed in 2004 to host a big international event, the Forum of Cultures, this new neighborhood needed to be provided with a high quality green space. Architects E. Miralles & Benedetta Tagliabue where in charge of designing it, and they took into account the local’s needs and suggestions.
A sustainable lake articulates the park, that includes some modern homages to Antoni Gaudi’s mosaics.
- Continue Walking
SOUTH EAST PARK (PARC DELS AUDITORIS)
Out of a Transforming International Event
12.30PM
- Walk
Also in the occasion of the 2004 Forum of Cultures, architect Alejando Zaera Polo designed a park of artificial dunes that would connect the main plaza of the Forum with the sea and featured two outdoor auditoriums where concerts and shows would be celebrated.
It’s a good example of how parks can be designed to resist aggressive usage and still be visually pleasant.
2PM
- TOUR ENDS
At the end of the tour, if you booked a taxi tour, your guide can put you on a taxi or give you directions back to your hotel or somewhere for lunch. Or you might decide to stay inside the Sagrada Familia (or last site visited) and continue enjoying it on your own.
If you booked a chauffeured tour, you’ll be dropped off back to your hotel or apartment, or at some local restaurant for lunch on your own.
MAKE YOUR TOUR EVEN BETTER
Add one to two extra hours to include other contemporary parks in town, such as the North Station park with land art by Beverly Peppers, or Coastline green areas created for the 1992 Olympics.
SEE SITES ON MAP
