Spring in the Parc del Laberint in Horta (Barcelona)

 

This park is the oldest in Barcelona , and so far my favorite between all parks I've visited here. Works began in 1791 when marquis Joan Antoni Desvalls i d'Ardena, owner of the lot, created the design of a neoclassical garden in collaboration with Italian architect Domenico Bagutti. There are huge trees, pools, water canals, a waterfall different terraces with flower beds and of course the labyrinth. You also have the sea view , and the view of Barcelona from an unusual angle. You have to pay to enter the park , but only 2,23 euros, and on Wednesdays and Sundays it is free  but they only let in 750 people a day. With the green metro line you have to take off at Mundet and walk a bit, basically the park is behind the Velodrom of Horta which also deserves a short visit I think. Secretly I can tell you that I like this park better than Park Guell, it is not so crowded and the vegetation is much nicer and mature with real trees, much more romantic.

Daytrip to Banyoles and Besalú in La Garrotxa

These places are beautiful in the autumn , I really recommend to visit them if you have a free day! The quickest option to get to Banyoles or Besalú by bus, is with the Teisa company. They have their bus stop near Plaza Catalunya, on Carrer de Pau Claris 117, also there is the ticket office but it is written on it " Garrotxa Express" instead of Teisa. The ticket from Barcelona to Besalu through Banyoles is quite expensive for what it is, almost 25 euros for a return ticket , but the journey takes only one and a half hour like this. You can also go by train to Girona and from there by bus, but like that you would only save around 4 euros and the journey would take more than 2 hours each way. If you like cycling you can also take your bike, cause there are plenty of bike ways around that area. Originally we wanted to go to Banyoles by bus then walk to Besalú and come back to Barcelona from there by bus, but finally we ended up taking the bus to Besalú from Banyoles , cause there wasn't any signed paths to walk there at all. At the local Tourist information office in Banyoles they have a map about the footpaths of the area , but none of them is too long, so the longest is 2 hours if you are very slow. We choose the path around the lake of course, which took one and a half hours and it is very smooth. If it would have been a bit warmer we would loved to jump in the lake cause it looks soo clean and inviting, but unfortunately it was a cool october day. The walk is really nice and romantic, absolutely ideal for a picnic, the landscape is beautiful. The old town of Banyoles is medieval and beautiful as well. Besalú is a typical picturesque medieval village by a small river….just like from a postcard. There are more hiking ways go through Besalú, you can check it here: http://en.itinerannia.net/route-planner/. There is also short path by the river with some picnic areas and playgrounds. You can see it on the pictures it is very nice and romantic as well but i think is is absolutely enough to spend here 2 hours maximum, and walk out from town to the mountains. The Camino de Santiago also goes through this little village, although it is not very popular to do it from this route. There is also a mediveal jewish bath a synagogue, for further details you can check out the website of Besalú.

The Estany lake in Banyoles

Path around the Estany

Besalú

Train and cycling to Santa Perpetua de Mogoda and a Mango Outlet

It is a 20 minutes journey with the train from Plaza Catalunya to Santa Perpetua de Mogoda, and costs 2,20 euros each way. When you come out of the train turn right and then follow the main road which also has a bike lane on it. Following the bike lane till the river you'll get to a bridge where you need to cross the river , and on the other side follow the bike lane which goes more or less by the river. It is a very strange place , one side is with parking trucks and industrial buildings , the other is green hilly natural golf field type of landscape with a small river, destroyed by huge electrical poles. It is a straight road for quite a long while , on one point you can already enter the fenced off park or you can continue on the bike lane on the sidewalk. I f you go on the sidewalk soon you'll see a sign for the Mango Outlet, so if you want to do little shopping in the industrial zone before the picnic in the park , just follow those signs. Otherwise just go a head till you see the main entrance of the park , and check out the circle shaped fenced off, depressing lake and enjoy yourself in this place which looks like an illustration from the seventies, pretty surreal. There are many other people doing the same , enjoying the green grass, pine trees, mini railway, small river, geometrical landscape having some sandwiches. I wouldn't say it is a very beautiful place but this mixed atmosphere of the industrial zone, the super tidy park and the downtown-like shopping possibility is pretty inspiring.

Circle shaped lake , near Santa Perpetua de Mogoda

On the way back we stop in Figaro. This village lies in the valley , just on the border of the Montseny Natural Park. I totally recommend the "platos combinados" in the first bar on the main street, it was cheap and delicious. Now just follow the river direction to Vic and you get to the beginning of a nice little path on the right of the street. This path is very romantic with blooming trees, small waterfalls on the cute river, friendly dogs, bees, green hills around, playing butterflies, just what i needed! Unfortunately the path is not too long,the walk to the old church at the end and back , can be done in an hour. From Figaro it takes about an hour to get back to Barcelona, there is no timetable or ticket office at the station so you can buy your ticket on the train. There are a couple of other tracks going out of Figaro which can be interesting, i hope i'll have the possibility to discover those as well, later on.

Montseny Natural Park