Parc de la Ciutadella

Parc de la Ciutadella is Barcelona's most celebrated public park, occupying the grounds of a former military citadel that once dominated the eastern edge of the old city. The park took shape in the years following the 1868 demolition of the fortress, and its transformation into green public space was completed in time to host the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Among its landmarks is the monumental cascade fountain, a grand baroque-inspired composition on which the young Antoni Gaudí assisted as a student. The park also contains the Catalan Parliament building, a boating lake, and the city's historic zoo.

Barcelona Zoo sits within the park's boundaries and remains one of the principal reasons visitors make their way to this corner of the Eixample district. The zoo has been part of the Ciutadella landscape for well over a century, housing a wide range of species across its grounds. Tickets to Barcelona Zoo are available here, offering access to one of the city's longest-established wildlife institutions.