The Beautiful Gardens of Palau de Pedralbes

Located in the neighborhood of Pedralbes on Avinguda Diagonal, the impressive green space known as the Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes opens to the public every day at 10:00, and closes at different times in the evening depending on the season (the earliest being at 18:00 in the winter and the latest at 22:00 during summer). The closest metro stop is Palau Reial (Line 3); entry is free to the public. The park’s grounds cover 7.28 hectares, making it one of the oldest and largest in the city, as well as one of the most beautiful.

Early History: The Güell Family

What would become the Palau Reial de Pedralbes was built on the site of what was an old farmhouse called Can Custó, owned by Barcelona’s famous Güell family. Later, this parcel of land was expanded dramatically by Eusebi Güell, to encompass an era of approximately 30,000 square meters. Catalan architect Joan Martorell was commissioned to rebuild one of the properties on the land, Can Feliu, and a young Antoni Gaudí was tasked with remodeling the main residence, the Torre Güell, as well as constructing a fence and pavilions at the property gates. Count Güell continued to purchase more property in the surrounding area throughout the next several years, until the property stretched across over 87 hectares.

On Christmas Day 1875, a fire broke out in the Pla de Palau, destroying what used to be the official royal residence in the city; as a result, the royal family no longer had an official place to stay when they visited the Barcelona, and had to make due with accommodations in different official buildings whenever they were in town. Alfonso XIII even stayed at the Hotel Ritz in the early 1920s.

Then-mayor of Barcelona, Count Joan Antoni Güell (son of Eusebi) began promoting the idea that a new royal residence was needed. After the local government demonstrated reluctance to fund the project, Güell offered his estate located near the top of Diagonal, in the formerly independent municipality of Les Corts.

The land Güell offered covered approximately 10,000 square meters, with 4,000 of these reserved for the palace itself. In 1930, architect Eusebi Bona was hired to expand the mansion on-site by adding a massive wing to each side. The work was paid for by private subscriptions from local citizens, but progress was slow due to the local economic downturn in the 1920s. Bona resigned, and was replaced by Frances Nebot. 

King Alfonso XIII and his family were finally able to officially inaugurate the Palau Reial de Pedralbes in 1926. However, five years later, in 1931, Spain declared itself to be a Republic for the second time, and Spain’s treasury minister donated the palace and its surrounding gardens to the Barcelona City Council. 

During and After the Spanish Civil War

When the Spanish Civil War started, the President of the Republic, Manuel Azaña and his council of ministers took refuge in the palace at Pedralbes, using it both as an official seat and as a residence for the President of the Council of Ministers, Juan Negrín. (Azaña preferred to live elsewhere, in Casa Salvans in Terrassa.) In January 1939, Azaña and the rest of the Republican government fled when Franco captured the city of Barcelona, hiding or destroying as many official papers as they could along the way.

During Franco’s time in power, the dictator also used the palace as his official residence when visiting Barcelona. (One of the famous visitors to the Palace during this time included American President Richard Nixon.) After the Franco era ended, the Spanish royal family chose to use the Palacete Albéniz as their official residence in Barcelona, rather than the Palau Reial de Pedralbes.

In 1960, the Barcelona City Council arranged to open the palace and grounds to the public, which meant it served a dual purpose as museum and palace residence. Many art exhibitions, including works by Goya, were later showcased inside the palace. In the years to come, the royal residence was transformed into the Decorative Arts Museum, the Textile Museum, and the Ceramic Museum (with an International Residence for Female Students on the second floor), until these exhibits were moved to the city’s new Design Museum in 2014. 

The grounds also housed the former Carriage Museum from 1970 through 1985 in the space that was once the palace stables; the collection consisted mostly of carriages, uniforms, saddles and other elaborately decorated vehicles and riding paraphernalia belonging to royalty and Catalan aristocrats. Notable pieces included the phaeton in which King Alfonso XII was assassinated in 1879, and a gold- and silver-adorned harness that was a gift from Moroccan King Hassan I to Alfonso XII before he was killed.

In 2004, the City Council passed control of the palace, gardens and grounds to the Generalitat de Catalunya. Since then, the Generalitat has used the building as a sort of second headquarters, and the grounds as a space for official events and ceremonies.

The Gardens: Art and Nature

The gardens were designed by architect, urban planner, writer and journalist Nicolás María Rubió; its geometric layout anticipated modern concepts of sustainability by incorporating a large number of the trees that were already on the land. The pond, fountain and bamboo benches were offset by lighting sources designed by engineer and inventor Carles Buïgas. The impressive wrought-iron entrance gate that greets visitors at the garden entrance leads to an open space with a pool of water in the center, where a statue of a woman (Mediterrània, created by Eulàlia Fàbregas de Sentmenat in 1962) is a silent observer of the passage of time. 

This central avenue is shaded by double rows of lime trees, and gravel paths branch off from the main thoroughfare, allowing visitors to explore different parts of the park. The paths are lined with dense vegetation, and with benches to allow visitors to rest. Walking straight up the pathway will take you into the courtyard in front of the Palau Reial de Pedralbes, at the heart of the gardens; this is adorned with a balustrade decorated with white marble busts of famous figures. Most of the artworks in the gardens date back to the late 19th century or the first half of the 20th century, such as the large sculpture of Queen Isabel II holding her infant son in her arms that dominates the palace entrance; it was created in 1861 by the artist Agapito Vallmitjana i Barbany, whose other outstanding works are housed in museums such as El Prado.

Many notable pieces art are scattered throughout the gardens, including a number of evocative female figures: Nu (Enric Casanovas); Marina (Eusebi Arnau); Figura feminina (Àngel Tarrach); and Nu femení agenollat (Joan Borrell i Nicolau). Other statues represent allegories embodying the spirit of Lleida (Agricultura by Manuel Fuxà), or Tarragona (Al·legoria de Tarragona by Jaume Ortero).

The gardens contains both French and English design elements, and are additionally notable for containing two works by Antoni Gaudí: an arch-shaped pergola or “umbracle” covered with creeping vines, and a fountain called the Font d’Hèrcules, where water spouts from the mouth of a wrought-iron dragon. The small fountain, which was constructed in 1884, was overgrown by bamboo and other vegetation for many years until it was rediscovered in 1984 when the park was being overhauled and cleaned up.

In the 1990s, a wooden structure for children’s activities was added to the garden grounds. This structure may look relatively simple and fanciful, but is in fact based on a complex design for a Kolonihaven by architects Bendetta Tagliabue and Enric Miralles.

The gardens are also  ecologically important for the sheer number of plant species found there; from various types of cedar trees (Himalayan, Atlas, Japanese and several types of incense cedar), to magnolia, sweet bay, orange and lime trees; stone pine, Aleppo pine, boxwood and Sictus trees; Monterey, Arizona and Mediterranean cypress; countless types of climbing vines, most notably white jasmine and brightly-colored bougainvillea. These plants attract a diverse number of species of local fauna, including various species of butterflies.

Nightlife in in the Jardins de Pedralbes

From 2012 through 2022, the gardens were the home of one of the city’s most unique music festivals, the Festival Jardins Pedralbes; the summer-long event lasted through much of June and July, featuring a main stage and two smaller stages. Now rebranded as “Alma Festival,” the festival takes place in Poble Espanyol. This year, it featured artists such as Fito Paez, Chris Isaak, and LP. And on the garden grounds, another concert series has sprung up to fill the void: Les Nits de Barcelona included Melody Gardot, Diego El Cigala, Natalia Lafourcade, Buhos, and others in the 2023 edition.