Parc de la Ciutadella
When Barcelona picked the losing side in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), the victorious Felipe V repaid the city by leveling a neighborhood to erect a citadel. The fortification proved of little use against Napoleon, and the fort was torn down in the mid–19th century. Lakes, gardens, and promenades fill most of the park that took its place, and admission to the park itself is free. The park hosted the 1888 World’s Fair and some early Modernista structures created for it still stand, notably the Hivernacle botanical greenhouse, beautifully restored in 2023, and Domènech i Montaner’s Castell dels Tres Dragons. The large green patch is also the site of the Zoo de Barcelona, which covers 13 hectares (32 acres) and is home to more than 300 species. Animals run the gamut from lumbering hippos to jumpy Saharan gazelles, from western lowland gorillas to Komodo dragons.
When Barcelona picked the losing side in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), the victorious Felipe V repaid the city by leveling a neighborhood to erect a citadel. The fortification proved of little use against Napoleon, and the fort was torn down in the mid–19th century. Lakes, gardens, and promenades fill most of the park that took its place, and admission to the park itself is free. The park hosted the 1888 World’s Fair and some early Modernista structures created for it still stand, notably the Hivernacle botanical greenhouse, beautifully restored in 2023, and Domènech i Montaner’s Castell dels Tres Dragons. The large green patch is also the site of the Zoo de Barcelona, which covers 13 hectares (32 acres) and is home to more than 300 species. Animals run the gamut from lumbering hippos to jumpy Saharan gazelles, from western lowland gorillas to Komodo dragons.
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