Until the final decades of the 19th Century, El Guinardó was a rural area consisting mainly of ​​farms and crops. Salvador Riera, who in 1896 initiated the development of the neighborhood, became an important figure in shaping the neighborhood’s history. Until the mid-20th Century, Guinardó area retained its rural spirit, although the construction of middle class rural summer homes also became prevelant. The urban growth of Barcelona and the privileged location of El Guinardó, stimulated real state speculation and began to quickly urbanize.

However, the neighborhood today has a residential spirit, along with a large open green space, the Guinardo Park.

The lower part of the neighborhood (and district) is the Baix Guinardó, with an urban layout similar to that of Barcelona’s “Eixample”: square city blocks and a diversity of uses, with the main one being residences. However, it still retains small corners that recall the time in which the area was comprised predominantly of houses with gardens.

Points of Interest & Landmarks

• Hospital de Sant Pau i la Santa Creu:the hospital was founded in 1401, however not in its current location. In the beginning of the 19th Century, the new hospital was built in this district, thanks to the donations of banker Pau Gil in conjunction with municipal funding. The new hospital is an impressive complex of buildings,  designed by the famous “Modernist” architect, Lluis Domènech I Montaner. (Sant Antoni Maria Claret 167)

• Pavillion of the Republic (Pabellón de la República): replica of the Spanish Republic Pavilion for the International Exhibition of 1937, in Paris; commissioned to architects, Josep Lluis Sert and Luis Lacasa to represent the country during the Spanish civil war. (Av. del Cardenal Vidal i Barraquer)

• Labyrinth Park (Parque del Laberinto): the construction of the oldest garden in Barcelona began in 1794 on the estate of the Marquis of Alfarras; a good example of 18th Century Neoclassical gardens. (Passeig dels Castanyers 1)