Barcelona: Parc Guell

Along with La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell is one of Barcelona's main tourist attractions; but more importantly it is another example of Barcelona art and culture.  The original intention of this site in Barcelona was thought up by Count Eusebi Guell.  He wanted to make a housing location for the upper class residents of Barcelona--the location of Parc Guell was above and away from the industrial towns of Barcelona and therefore provided fresh air and an incredible view of the city.  This idea, however, failed and never became a reality.  Once again, famous local architect Antoni Gaudi was asked to design this housing development.  Though today this is a very cool and interesting park to walk around, it failed as a residential area because the upper class of Barcelona thought that Gaudi's designs and architecture for it was simply too weird to be living in.  Only two houses were built in Parc Guell, the Lerrard House and a show house; neither houses were designed by Gaudi.  Guell lived in the Lerrard House and Gaudi lived in the other.  The other house was built originally to be a show house, and once it was completed in 1904 it was put up for sale; however, nobody bought it and so Gaudi and his family moved into it in 1906 and lived there until 1926.  In 1963 this house was transformed into the Gaudi Museum (Casa Museu Gaudi) and in 1969 it was declared a historical artistic monument of national interest.  This allowed Barcelona culture to be further showcased to the world.

When I visited Parc Guell the first thing I saw was the famous dragon on the entrance steps to the park.  The curvature, bright colors, and unique tile design was a style of art that I had not been familiar with and it gave me a sense of what the rest of the park would be like.  This park is not only a lot bigger than I thought, but also a lot prettier than I thought.  The landscape and creativity used in the park was beautiful to look at and it also showed me another side of Gaudi's imagination.  This park is more expressive of Barcelona culture in general and is complimented perfectly by the amazing view of the entire city.  I thought that the Gaudi Museum was also very cool to see and walk around.  To be able to be in the same house that the genius architect once lived in was an incredible experience.  Not only did I get a sense of how he lived  his last 20 years of his life, but also I was able to see where he drew up designs for his other famous works such as La Sagrada Famila.  Visiting Parc Guell gave me a feeling that I had fully experienced Barcelona culture.  The art and design of the park expresses a fun and different way of life, and this is noticeably reflected by the people of Barcelona which I think is very cool and unique.  Not every city has a landmark that correlates so closely with the lifestyle of its people, but Barcelona does with Parc Guell.