Park Güell 01
Parc Güell is where Gaudí turned his hand to landscaping, with spectacular results. The park is laid out on a hill with fantastic views of the city. Huge ceramic benches, giant decorative lizards, ceramic mosaics and pavilions of contorted stone all combine into a brilliant swirl of the imagination. Güell Park occupies two properties in the neighborhood of Gràcia and is one of the most unique of the many works that Eusebi Güell entrusted to Gaudí. UNESCO declared it a universal monument in 1984, along with two more works by the brilliant architect. Gaudi divided the land into 60 plots between 1000 and 2000 square meters in size, and triangular to adapt to the topography of the land. Purchasers of plots had to sign a contract accepting conditions including an absolute prohibition on the felling of trees, a limitation of the size of the house to 1/6 of the total surface of the plot, and a maximum fence height of 80 centimeters. Only three plots were sold: two for the home of the Trias family, which they still own, and another to build the show-home, which Gaudí ended up buying in 1906, and which is now a museum dedicated to the park's architect.
