Cervantes Park – Barcelona’s secret rose garden

I had been living in Barcelona for some time before discovering this beautiful city oasis. I love parks, because they offer a way to escape the city noises, the pollution and the stressful environment without having to go far. Barcelona offers lots of green spots and I have explored many of them. The Cervantes Park though is somewhat different.

The Cervantes Park is a gorgeous rose garden. It is a very quiet park. Due to its location it does not see many visitors.

The park is located at the very end of Av. Diagonal on the outskirts of the city. The garden offers a very green and open space, lots of lawn to relax and pathways, pergolas and other wooden constructions covered with rose bushes.

It is the perfect spot to disconnect one’s mind and to enjoy the colored beauty of the place. In contrast to other parks in the city, this one does not have many trees that offer shadows; therefore, it’s a great place to enjoy the sun during the colder months, ideally, at the beginning of spring when the flowers start to bloom.

I read on the park’s official website that there are approximately 10.000 rose bushes of some 2.000 species. The peak flowering period is between May and July. This is when most of the flowers bloom at a time. All the flowers and plants wear labels with their names.

The Palacio Real

The park is only a 5 minutes’ walk away from Barcelona’s Royal Palace of Pedralbes. If you are visiting the rose garden, it is a good idea to swing by the palace afterwards. In the past the place was used by the Spanish Royal family when visiting the city. Later the building accommodated a museum and was opened to public. However, the museum is closed now and the building seems half-abandoned. The palace is also surrounded by a nice garden with many trees, flowers, and fountains. And the park even has a small bamboo forest.