Barcelona's parks and gardens: the green city guide

Roughly a tenth of Barcelona's surface is park, and the range is absurd for a city this size: a neoclassical maze, a Gaudí landmark, botanical collections from five Mediterranean climates and a forest ridge big enough to get genuinely lost in.

This guide walks through the major parks, the quiet gardens the neighbours keep to themselves, and how to fit more than one into a day without wearing everyone out.

• Parc de la Ciutadella

  The city's front room: a cascade, a lake and the zoo on one flank.

• The gardens of Montjuïc

  Two hundred green hectares of themed gardens above the port.

• Park Güell

  Gaudí's fairytale park: a ticketed core and free outer paths.

• Laberint d'Horta

  The city's oldest garden and its one true hedge maze.

• Collserola

  Eight thousand hectares of forest beginning at the last tram stop.

• Parc del Guinardó

  Three stacked levels: city below, garden between, forest above.

• Hidden gardens

  Small green surprises that mostly belong to the neighbours.

• Seafront and beaches

  The promenade as the city's most-used linear park.