5 parks in Barcelona to enjoy during Easter Week
Easter week arrives and the people of Barcelona flock to the beach, the snow, or the villages to disconnect for a few days from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Meanwhile, our city has a large number of spaces where you can “get away from the world” without having to leave it. Moreover, thanks to the exodus experienced during these days, the parks of Barcelona become an oasis of vegetation where you can read, walk, play sports, or simply sit on a bench, lose your gaze in an indefinite point and clear your mind with the singing of the birds or the jet of an ornamental fountain as the only soundtrack. Sounds good, doesn't it? Let's review some of the best options to reconnect with oneself.
Collserola Park
With over 8,000 hectares of vegetation, it is the main lung of Barcelona and the central park of the city. At its summit, there is also the Tibidabo Amusement Park and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Collserola Park is a wooded enclave located in the entire western area of Barcelona, between the Llobregat and Besòs rivers, and acts as a natural border between the great metropolis and the surrounding cities, as it extends across nine municipalities. In 2010, it was established as a Natural Park, becoming since then a protected area due to its enormous environmental wealth.
Easily accessible by both road and public transport, Collserola Park is an ideal place to enjoy greenery and wild nature without leaving Barcelona. Hiking, trekking, bike rides or running sessions are just a few of the many activities that can be carried out. In addition, thanks to the numerous picnic areas and common spaces throughout the park, you can make the most of your visit all day long. However, you must bring your own food, either purchased or cooked, as barbecues are prohibited due to the park's status as a Natural Park.
Cervantes Park
A great option to consider now that we are in spring. We are probably in the presence of the space with the highest concentration of roses in all of Barcelona, as the enclosure has an area dedicated to the cultivation of this flower, which adorns and adds color to the space from April until mid-November. In total, it boasts a collection of more than 10,000 rose bushes spread over the four hectares designated for this purpose. There, one can find up to 233 different varieties of rose bushes, originating from all corners of the globe. Among them stands out the Solidarity with Japan rose bush, planted in 2011 by the mayor of Barcelona in memory of the victims of the tsunami that devastated the Asian country. A sign attests to that tribute.
Apart from roses, the park features various grassy areas and small groves, as well as a series of benches on its highest part, from where one can enjoy magnificent views of Barcelona. It also has children's play areas, ping-pong tables, and spaces for picnics. Overall, it is a splendid green space with wide paths, ideal for walkers and athletes alike, who find its slopes to be a very technical circuit for their training.
Maternity Gardens
A place of gardens and flowerbeds surrounded by modernist pavilions that can be admired from any of the park's benches. The space was designed in the 19th century as a promenade for the inmates of the Maternity and the Assistance Center, when Les Corts was still an independent town from Barcelona. Distributed in different modernist-style pavilions, various hospital centers were concentrated, such as the Provincial House of Maternity and Foundlings, of a charitable nature. That is why a landscaped area was also built around the perimeter of the pavilions, so that the sick could leave their rooms, rest, and breathe fresh air without straying too far from their center.
In addition to sculpture, the park encompasses a great diversity of both flora and birds. The park itself becomes a large palm grove due to the number of specimens that can be found in its nearly 5 hectares of surface area. Alongside the palm trees, pine trees, holm oaks, and eucalyptus trees coexist, making the park a space with characteristically Mediterranean vegetation. The excellent combination of plant species results in the park being configured into two distinct areas: the landscaped area, which seeks to improve the habitat for flora and fauna, and a large meadow of 6,000 m2 where various shaded paths with pergolas covered in climbing plants connect, making a walk through the park a refreshing experience to combat the Mediterranean heat on summer days.
Gardens of the Palau Robert
An oasis of greenery in the heart of Barcelona. That's how the gardens housed by the Palau Robert, a neoclassical building constructed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries on the orders of the aristocrat Robert Robert, who chose the bourgeois Passeig de Gracia for his family residence. Like any bourgeois residence, the estate was to have a large garden area where one could enjoy nature. To this end, the municipal gardener Ramón Oliva was hired, who designed a garden with lush vegetation and the palm trees that were used in the Universal Exposition of 1888.
After various uses since the Robert family moved there in 1903, the Generalitat acquired the property of the entire complex, turning the palace into a key place to showcase Catalonia through exhibitions, events, and activities that are regularly held there. With the acquisition of the building, the Generalitat also took ownership of the garden, a privileged space that was opened to the public so that everyone could enjoy it equally. Thanks to this, today it is possible to go from the deafening hustle and bustle offered by two main thoroughfares such as Diagonal and Paseo de Gracia, to the tranquility of a natural space where one can walk, read, eat in the Mediterranean sun, or disconnect from the worldly noise for a while.
