Page 184 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

182  BARCEL ONA

8 Cosmocaixa – (see pp144–5) most colourful
Museu de la Ciència cre ation. He was commissioned
in the 1890s by Count Eusebi
Carrer Isaac Newton 196. Tel 93 212 Güell to design a garden city
60 50.  Avinguda del Tibidabo, then on 20 hectares (50 acres) of the
Tramvia Blau. @ 17, 22, 58, 196. Open family estate. Little of the grand
10am–8pm Tue–Sun (daily Jul–Aug & design for decorative public
public hols). Closed 1 & 6 Jan, 25 Dec.
& (free 5–8pm Tue–Fri, 6–8pm Sat, buildings and 60 houses
Sun & public hols, first Sun of every among landscaped gardens
month). 7 became reality. What we see
today was completed between
This excellent science museum 1910 and 1914, and the park
is located in a striking Modernista opened in 1922. The so-called
building. Exhibits include the “Monumental Area”, home to
Flooded Forest, which allows most of Gaudí’s surviving
visitors to explore the Amazonian creations in the park, requires an
rainforest both above and below admission ticket, but the green
Merry-go-round, Tibidabo the waterline. A science lab is one expanses around the edge of
of several great areas for children. this area are free to explore.
7 Tibidabo The Room of a Hundred
Columns is a cavernous hall
Plaça del Tibidabo 3–4. Tel 93 211 79 9 Park Güell
42.  Avda Tibidabo, then Tramvia of 84 crooked pillars that is
Blau or Bus 196 & Funicular. @ 111, Carrer d’Olot. Tel 010 (from Barcelona). brightened by glass and ceramic
T2A from Plaça de Catalunya.  Lesseps, Vallcarca. @ 24, 32, 92, H6. mosaics; it was intended as
Amusement Park: Open variable – Tel 90 220 03 02. Open Nov–Feb: the marketplace for the estate.
check website for times. Closed 8:30am–6:30pm; Mar: 8:30am–7pm; Above it is the Gran Plaça
Oct–Jun: Mon–Fri. 7 Temple del Apr, Sep & Oct: 8am–8:30pm; May– Circular, an open space with
Sagrat Cor: Tel 93 417 56 86. Open Aug: 8am–9pm (last adm: 1 hr before a snaking balcony of coloured
10am– 8pm daily. 7 ∑ tibidabo.cat closing). & timed tickets only. 8 7 mosaics that offers stunning
Casa-Museu Gaudí: Tel 93 219 38 11. views of the city and is said to
The heights of Tibidabo are Open Apr–Sep: 10am–8pm daily (to have the world’s longest bench.
reached by the Tramvia Blau 6pm Oct–Mar). Closed 1 Jan. & can Two pavilions at the entry are
(Blue Tram) and a funicular be combined with the Ruta del by Gaudí, but the Casa-Museu
railway. The name, inspired Modernisme. ∑ parkguell.cat Gaudí, a gingerbread-style
by Tibidabo’s views of the city, house where Gaudí lived
comes from the Latin tibi dabo A UNESCO World Heritage Site, from 1906 to 1926, was
(I shall give you) – a reference the Park Güell is Antoni Gaudí’s built by Francesc Berenguer.
to the Temptation of Christ
when Satan took him up a
mountain and offered him
the world spread at his feet.
The hugely popular Parc
d’Atraccions first opened in 1908.
While the old rides retain their
charm, new ones have been
added over the years, including
the thrilling Dragon Khan
rollercoaster. The hilltop location
at 517 m (1,696 ft) adds to the
thrill. The Museu d’Automates is
a display of automated toys,
jukeboxes and gaming machines.
Tibidabo is crowned by the
Temple Expiatori del Sagrat
Cor (Church of the Sacred
Heart), built with religious zeal
but little taste by Enric Sagnier
between 1902 and 1911. A lift
takes you up to the feet of an
enormous figure of Christ.
Just a short bus ride away
is another viewpoint worth
visiting – the Torre de
Collserola (see p181). Mosaic-encrusted chimney by Gaudí at the entrance of the Park Güell
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp564–5 and pp586–8

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