Here is a secret spot that is not so secret it seems as two weeks ago it was full of people :).
I was super excited to show this place to my friend. She was on a visit to Barcelona and I wanted her to have an off beaten track experience of the city. I took her here because I had good fun last time I came. This park is a bit outside the city however still within reach of the metro. Tourist books and guides don’t talk so much about it and most people I know who came here are locals (like me!). Today, I want to talk about the Horta Labyrinth.
The Horta Labyrinth is situated in a park close to the Collserola Mountain. For me, the main attractions are located in the neoclassical garden part (there is also a romantic garden!). It has pavillions dedicated to greek Gods and a big labyrinth in the middle – hence the name I suppose.
So as I said, last sunday, the park was full of people. They were having a picnic outside the walls but also were visiting inside. Probably the most surprising moment of the day was when we found Cinderella taking pictures with Prince Charming on the main pavillion in her blue ball dress. Mmmmm…Then Cruella and Snow White walked up to the same pavillions in a very animated conversation. What is going on here? And there there was Tinkerbell taking pictures with some kids on the stairs… No, I did not hallucinate… A group of Disney fans have decided to take over the park for pictures and even adults like me enjoyed it.
Back to the park… I would go on a romantic walk\date here: with all the nooks, the hidden and not so hidden statues, the small bridge over the small river, the fountains and ponds, the domain and the labyrinth itself. At the entrance, on the right hand side of the park, you can see the domain with ivy climbing the walls. Everytime I look at it, I am trying to imagine the life of the family who used to own it, flamboyant parties, dinners and balls. If I were the Town council which now own this property, I would restore it and rent it out for events, especially weddings. It is a perfect setting for that. I particularly like the oriental style windows on the outside building, ready for serenades…
Anyway, the domain is not open to the public it seems. So we watched it through the gate. For me, the best part of this garden remains the big cypress maze in the middle – there is also a small one but less interesting. Don’t get your hopes up, it is not that big, just big enough to enjoy it. I usually start to go through it at the bottom of the pavillions, down the stairs. So my friend and I started to walk wondering at each step what is next on our way. Up to Eros’s statue, in the middle of the labyrinth, it is an easy walk. From the center on, it is another story because there are many options of paths leaving from here. How do we get out?
We tried out a corner till a dead end. So we went back on our steps and tried again. Then when we thought we found the exit, we had to go back again because it was… another dead end. The thing is, at the beginning of the search, we were full of hope and excitment. But then we had to keep on taking turns as each time it was leading nowhere… After a few trials, walking around we started to get desperate. We got to the point when we had that claustrophobic feeling of being trapped and being nowhere close to getting out. And the fact that there were people around in the same situation does not help. You see them as lost and helpless as you are, trying hard to find their way. At least, we are together so when one loses hope the other cheers up. Then comes the moment when we tried to get back to our senses and remain rational and full of hope again. And when we finally thought that we got lost for good and just mechanically followed one corridor, we found our way…This is the same in real life too isn’t it? When you don’t expect IT the least, IT happens.
Well, “finding” the way was more a feeling than a real finding really … because the point of going into a labyrinth is to go into the unknown, get lost and look for the way out. If we knew where the exit was, the whole experience would have been pointless. So when we saw the end of that tunnel…ahem… labyrinth, we felt triumphant…and happy we overcame this small challenge. It is a strange sensation to get lost in this labyrinth. We experimented so many feelings in such a short time. It also felt timeless. We probably only spent 15mn inside, it felt like eternity. A good way to spend a sunday morning.
After that, we deserved a good lunch. The two times I was in the labyrinth afterwards I headed to Paradeta for some seafood and fish. So my next post will be about this restaurant. That was the teaser…
The park is free on wednesdays and sundays. Otherwise the admission fee is 2,23 euros if I recall well (to be confirmed).
Metro: L3 stop Mundet