Pathways through Parc Guell
After our fantastic stay in Madrid, we had high hopes for Barcelona. And, yes, we did find a few great pet-friendly parks but, for the most part, we found Barcelona to be more difficult for the dogs than Madrid.
Partly, this was because Barcelona is a much bigger city than Madrid, meaning that driving was more difficult and parking far more expensive (about 40 Euros/day). It was also because Barcelona doesn't have quite as much green park space as Madrid since much of it is on the beach, and dogs are not allowed on the beach. Lastly, the Old Town area in Barcelona is paved with cobblestones rather than sidewalks with greenspace.
Nonetheless, we found a few great parks for the dogs while we were in Barcelona.
Parc Guell
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Chewy and Abby at Parc Guell
Beautiful Parc Guell , one of the most unique parks in the world and one of Barcelona's best attractions, is also dog friendly. Chewy and Abby loved checking out the famous mosaic-tiled benches and the tall pillars.
Lizard at Parc Guell
Because Parc Guell is such a huge tourist attraction and packed with people, we kept the dogs on leash at all times, though we saw a few Spanish dogs walking off-leash. Parc Guell juts into the wooded Parc Carmel and we let the dogs run off-leash through the forest there.
Parc de la Barceloneta
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Parc de la Barceloneta
Parc de la Barceloneta is directly across the street from the Barceloneta beach and is a lovely green place to walk with dogs. There is a very large fenced-in off-leash dog area in one corner of the park and Chewy and Abby met many, many Spanish dogs while there. (Of course, this being Spain and Europe in general, all of the dogs walked off-leash even outside the fenced area but the fenced area had nice benches and water fountains for dogs who like to play with other dogs.
Parc Collsera
Views from Parc Collsera
Parc Collsera is a green oasis just outside Barcelona. It is the largest metropolitan park in the world --- over 20 times larger than New York's Central Park --- and is mostly just undeveloped woods with hiking trails and a few picnic areas.
Abby at Parc Collsera
It's a great place to breathe in some oxygen and let your dogs wander --- though, remember to keep a close watch on dogs, because many of the paths are quite steep.
