It's a long hike up to this park from the metro but well worth it. Take a moment to stop at one of the excellent pastry shops on the way to make the trip more pleasant.

This park feature yet even more of Gaudi's unique architectural style and is another must see. One of the "structures" as a "second floor" you can walk up stairs to. From here is an excellent view of the city stretching all the way to the waters edge. I would leave at least an hour to explore the park and an hour to get to and from the park from the metro!

Put simply, it's a park - somewhere to relax and unwind. Be sure to bring your own snacks.

People from everywhere make a point of visiting Parc Guell - make sure you're one of them.

Parc Güell was originally designed as an English-style garden for 60 family homes. Only two were built, eventually. A visit is like Gaudí 101.

Near the entry is a double staircase leading up to the 100-columnded chamber (only 84 were erected) where the market was supposed to take place. Between the two staircases is the multicolored mosaic-dragon that has become symbol for Gaudí's Barcelona.

Above the column-chamber is the large main square, bordered by the undulating bench covered with mosaics, turning the bench into a massive Impressionist collection. These are the main points of interest in the park, that is a popular place for Barcelonean families to take their Sunday afternoon stroll.

Gaudi's most accessible creation is the Parc Güell, a public garden on Carmell Hill to the northwest of the city. Its colorful fairy tale houses, giant lizards and skew-whiff columns are Gaudí at his most playful. The Banc de Trenadis, is typically Gaudí; its sinuous curves, vivid colored tiles and sheer audacity make it extremely endearing. It's a great place to enjoy the view on a late Mediterranean night as the sun goes down over his city. Go on a clear day -- the panorama from the top over the city and out to the Mediterranean is awesome.

Once referred to as a failure, it has become an UNESCO World Heritage Treasure. Envisioned as a utopian, private residential enclave, it became a city park for the public. Just a few houses were built here, one lived in by Gaudi prior to moving into his studio in Sagrada Familia -- it is now the Casa-Museu Gaudi. Gaudi’s fancy, fun and whim are ever present in their natural surroundings with the sun dancing on the colorful mosaics of glass and tile that make up his fountains, benches, columns.

If you go, take the metro but do NOT follow the street signs when you exit the station. The signs are for vehicular traffic and take you by the longest route imaginable up the backside of the hill. Instead, follow your map and you'll end up at the entrance where the small Gaudi houses sit on either side of the gate, and a large mosaic lizard sculpture fountain trickles water over mossy stones.

Park Guell is now recognized as a Gaudi masterpiece and a UNESCO treasure of Barcelona, but it was not always a rousing success story.

Park Guell was commissioned by Eusebi Guell, the well-known patron of several of Gaudi's notable projects. In 1900, the original concept of the plan was as a residential garden city where the private homeowners would share common facilities like a market, paved streets and public squares. In the beginning, this hilly site atop Muntanya Pelada was rather isolated from the central city (it is at the northern edge of the current Gracia neighborhood, still a bit of a hike from central Barcelona). This perceived isolation was one reason why the park was deemed a failure when it was completed in 1914. Only two houses were ever built in the park, one of which was occupied by Gaudi himself for a number of years and is now the aptly named Casa-Museu Gaudi. Park Guell officially became a public city park in 1923.

There are various ways to approach Park Guell. Perhaps the most appropriate is along the Carrer d'Olot through the main gate, which is flanked by two buildings. The name of the park is spelled out on boldly colorful medallions. From here you can go uphill and follow the natural procession. As you climb the flowing central stairway, meet and greet the lizard beast with colorful scaly mosaics embedded in its surface. At the top of the stairs, there is a classical colonnade with doric-style columns supporting a flowing roof which doubles as a magnificent lookout terrace. Here you will notice the remarkable serpentine park bench, which is said to be the longest bench in the world (who measures these things?). Wander a bit and you will encounter a bizarre cave-like stone colonnade with sloping columns that look like rough palm trees, as if they were outcasts from a certain animated Flintstonian city. You can also enter through other gates and visit the park from top to bottom. However you enter, once you are within the confines of the park and Gaudi's vivid imagination, it did not seem appropriate to restrict myself to any given path because the park is so freely designed. Just meander around and enjoy the gaudy Gaudi show. This urban park is a fantasyland of wild elements, rich in imaginative details and spaces, shiny and rugged, a twisted blend of nature and architecture that will amaze and amuse.

The Casa-Museu Gaudi was the home for Gaudi for many years before he moved permanently into his studio-home at Sagrada Familia. Visiting the museum is more for hardcore fans of Gaudi. There is a garden and a arched pergola outside of the house. I find that your time can be better spent discovering interesting details of the park or surveying the city from its prominent hilltop location.