ESCAPE THE CITY: PARC DEL LABERINT

On a Sunday morning in January, instead of hanging around at the house all day, we decided to go outside and check out the oldest garden of the city: Parc del Laberint d’Horta. Up in the hills, this park is located on the border of the city and therefore less invaded by tourists. An undiscovered beauty, this historical garden blends neoclassical and romantic elements, as well as Moorish and Mediterranean influences. It’s the perfect place to go to if you want to escape the city and breathe in some fresh air!

The former palace of the Desvalls family at the entrance of the park. Unfortunately, it is not open to the public and partly it’s in quite a bad state. This could look so beautiful if it would be renovated!

Beautiful big plants on the way to the park.

A garden museum

Built in the 18^th century, the older part is a perfect example of a neoclassical garden: symmetric, balanced, with classical pavilions and sculptures, enclosing the labyrinth the park is named after. When I first saw the maze, my first thought was: “Is this it!?”, somehow expecting a giant labyrinth in which we could get lost for hours. It’s not too spectacular, and more fun for kids, although I have to admit it took us a little longer than expected to find our way out.

The labyrinth.

At home, I found out that part of the movie Perfume: The Story of a Murderer was filmed here! It does look  a lot more impressive on film, but imagine how creepy it would be here at night… (especially with a crazy person walking around waiting to murder you and extract your scent).  

What I also didn’t know at first is that the labyrinth is not all the park has to offer: the second part is the Romantic garden, dating back to the 1800’s. Surrounded by very large trees, this shaded area of the park is less ordered, the plants and trees are growing more freely and water is streaming through a little canal with ducks and swans. 

How peaceful does this duck look, just taking a bath on his own in this idyllic little pond?  

 

I love these beautiful, tall trees, still colorful in January.

On the third terrace, you can find a pavilion and a big pond. It is such a wonderful place! Sometimes I forget Barcelona isn’t all high buildings, traffic, and annoying crowds. There are actually places where the air is fresh, where it’s almost silent. Wait, do I actually hear birds singing?

I can’t wait to come back here with a picnic basket on a sunny day in spring. And I need to remind myself to go outside the city more often, because there are still so many little treasures to be discovered! Did I ever mention I love living here?

How to get there

Take the green line (L3), get out at Mundet. It’s a five minute walk from there.

Parc del laberint - Jardí museu

Passeig dels Castanyers, 1

08035 Barcelona

Opening hours

From November until end of March, open from 10:00 to 19:00.

From April to end of October, open from 10:00 to 21:00. 

On Sundays, the entry is for free, but because of this it is most likely the busiest day in the week. Best would probably be to visit the park during the week; the entry fee is only around 2 euros.