Today there is no free area for visitors in Park Güell: in 2020 the regulation was extended to the whole park, forest area included. The general ticket costs 18 euros and lets you explore the 12 hectares. People registered on the padrón of Barcelona get in free with the Passi Verd, as do residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods with their card.
If you search for the free area of Park Güell, you'll find plenty of pages describing it: a wood around the monumental part where you could walk without a ticket. That area did exist, but today the answer is different. According to the municipal company that runs the park, in 2020 the regulation was extended to the whole site and those measures are still in place. This guide explains what changed, what's in the wooded part and who can get in without paying.
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The short answer: there's no free area for visitors today
Barcelona de Serveis Municipals, which manages access, puts it this way: at first the regulation only covered the monumental zone, but in 2020 the regulated area was extended to the whole park, cutting its maximum capacity from 9 million visitors a year to 4.5 million. The official website confirms it: a new management model began on 1 July 2020 and since then capacity has been regulated across the park's whole surface.
In practice, the general ticket, at 18 euros, is what gets you into everything: the website says it lets you explore the park's 12 hectares, with the monumental zone, the green areas and the panoramic spots. Once inside you can stay as long as you like, but if you leave you can't go back in.
Why the free area keeps turning up
Regulation began in October 2013 and for seven years only applied to the monumental part; the rest of the park was open. Many travel guides were written then and have not been updated. Even the official website keeps the odd sentence from that period: in its question about dogs it still refers to the forest area as outside the regulated zone.
When in doubt, go by the access and ticket information, which is what applies at the gate. If someone tells you that you can walk up into the woods without a ticket, check on the official website first that nothing has changed.
Who gets in free
People registered on the padrón of the city of Barcelona don't pay: they book the Passi Verd each day on the official website. Nor do residents of the six neighbourhoods around the park, La Salut, Vallcarca-Penitents, El Coll, El Carmel, Can Baró and Baix Guinardó, with a free-access card, or the school communities nearby. Children aged 0 to 6 don't pay either, though they need a ticket.
For someone coming to live here for a few months, the way in is the padrón: we explain it in our guide to free Park Güell for people registered in Barcelona, including the time slots reserved for residents.
What's in the wooded part
The official website distinguishes two large zones: the monumental one, of 12 hectares, and the adjacent forest area, of 8 more hectares. That forest area is known as the Vallcarca wood. It covers the shady side of the park and resembles a Mediterranean forest, with stone pine and Aleppo pine woods. Further into the valley there are also carob, olive and almond trees.
For a long time it was dry farmland, with vines, olives and fruit trees, and near the Turó del Carmel some terraces still recall that. Many of the pines were planted in the sixties, giving the park its current wooded look. Near the Coll del Portell entrance there is a 195-metre biodiversity trail, through a wood of around one hectare, away from the usual tourist circuits.
Gaudí's paths also run through this upper part. The Middle Viaduct makes room for a carob tree and the Upper one has benches and planters with agaves. At the highest point, 182.30 metres, is the Turó de les Tres Creus, where the estate's chapel was to go: instead, three stone crosses were put up to suggest a Calvary. The park is part of the Tres Turons, together with the Creueta del Coll and La Rovira hills.
Entrances, opening times and closed paths
The park has nine access points: four only for local residents and citizens, four mixed for visitors and citizens, and one exit-only gate onto carrer d'Olot. The residents-only entrances include the Forat del Vent, Can Xirot and the Casa Trias, which is still a private home.
From 1 September to 24 October, the last time slot with tickets on sale is 19:30; from 25 October to 31 December, it is 17:30. The park has no artificial lighting, so its hours follow the daylight.
Drainage and lighting works will last 18 months. According to the official website, updated on 12 October 2026, the path between Coll del Portell and the Forat del Vent staircase is closed, as is the path between the Forat del Vent and the Casa Trias. From 25 November, maintenance will be carried out on the stair-ramp between the Marianao entrance and the Lower Bridge, for about 8 months.
Rules worth knowing
Dogs can come in on a lead, except in the Plaça de la Natura, the Hypostyle Hall, the dragon staircase, the Austrian Gardens and the Laundress Portico. Cycling is not allowed, except for residents during their reserved slots, on signposted paths and at no more than 10 km/h. Picnics are only allowed in designated areas, and the park asks visitors not to smoke because of the fire risk.
Checked
Data checked on 15 October 2026 on the park's official website (parkguell.barcelona): the 2020 management model, area, entrances, seasonal hours, disruption from works, groups with free entry, description of the forest area and rules; on Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (bsmsa.cat) for the 2020 extension of the regulation; and on Barcelona City Council's website for the residents-only entrances. Conditions change: confirm them before you go.
Quick questions
Is the Park Güell forest area still free?
No. According to Barcelona de Serveis Municipals, in 2020 the regulated area was extended to the whole park and those measures are still in place.
What is there in the Park Güell forest area?
The Vallcarca wood, with stone pine and Aleppo pine woods, a 195-metre biodiversity trail and, at the top, the Turó de les Tres Creus, at 182.30 metres.
Who gets into Park Güell for free?
People registered on the padrón of the city of Barcelona with the Passi Verd, residents of the six surrounding neighbourhoods with a card, the nearby school communities and children aged 0 to 6, who need a ticket.