5 lively and beautiful parks in Barcelona

There used to be a citadel here, a muchhated military fortress, meant to keep the rowdy city under control. It was gleefully demolished to make space for the 1888 World Fair, after which this zone became a park. It’s big, central and beloved by the locals. The city’s zoo is at the far end of the park, and the Catalonian parliament is here as well.

The city’s biggest park, open since 1978. It gets its name from the Oreneta Castle, the ruins of which are still visible in the park. The park borders on Collserola hill, where you can go for longer nature walks.

The park is surrounded by new skyscrapers, which gives it a bit of a Central Park feeling. The contemporary art sculptures are a bit ridiculous, but the park has a big lake and the beach is close-by.

Admittedly the Tamarita gardens are a bit further away from the centre, but this is an enchanted place. Only one half of it is designed with classic splendour; the other half is more spontaneous, with nature overgrowing the stones, greenhouses and ruins. To top it off, one of the trees here is a true fossil: the Wollemia Nobilis tree grew on this planet 200 years ago. They grow in Australia these days, but there are just a couple of dozens, and in Europe they’re even rarer.

This terrain used to belong to a textile factory, one building of which has remained. The park, rather beautiful, is best known for The dragon, a work of art by Basque artist Andrés Nagel.