A mountain garden

Acacias, cypresses, lindens, plantains, pines and willows are just some of the hundreds of trees that border the park, offering shade and shelter to visitors. In the centre is a large space with sand pits for children to play in, picnic areas, places for walking that lead to the woodland area of Park Güell or allow visitors to enjoy nature, at the foot of the hills, all in the city centre. This park is partly hidden from view in Vallcarca, an area that is not well known by tourists, behind Park Güell, and serves as a stop along the way to discovering a less well-known part of Barcelona.

Water, nature and art

For many years, Parc de la Creueta del Coll was an old stone quarry in the Coll neighbourhood, in the foothills of Collserola. This urban garden was converted into a leisure area for the public in the 1980s, partly thanks to popular action. It houses an impressive massive sculpture weighing 54 tons made of reinforced concrete suspended over a lake by four steel cables which was designed specifically for the site by the artist Eduardo Chillida. Entitled Elogi de l’aigua, the work is based on the myth of Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection.

But what has won the hearts of the public is the huge lake in the shape of a crescent which was transformed into a pool for use by the public during the summer months, and is surrounded by tiered seating and terraces. A shallow pool that allows you to put up with the heat of the Barcelona summer.

It is also a pool in which to enjoy nature surrounded by art, as apart from swimming, one can admire the different works of art in the park: apart from the Chillida sculpture, visitors have the opportunity to contemplate the work by Ellsworth Kelly entitled Totem or the Sol i Lluna by Montserrat Altet.

Parc de la Creueta del Coll, which has an extension of almost two hectares, is fully accessible thanks to its ramps system, which permits easy access to any part.