Barcelona – The Cervantes Rose Garden

After the very last stop on the green metro line, at the end of Avinguda Diagonal that cuts through the city, at the far end where you would think there’s surely nothing worth visiting there’s this beautiful place, the ‘Parc de Cervantes i Roserar’ or the Cervantes Park and Rose Garden.

You look at the two busy roads on the side of the garden and you still don’t expect much. But as you find it lush greenery welcomes you with a sea of colourful roses. You have to stop for a minute to take in the sight.

In its 9 hectares the garden contains an amazing variety of flowers in all the shapes, sizes and colours that you can possibly think of from the four corners of the world. It boasts a collection of a staggering 10000 roses with just under 250 varieties that include wild roses,  old roses, modern hybrids, climbers and a special area that is called the ‘Jardí dels Perfums’ or the Perfume Garden.

Due to the warm weather in Barcelona the grass in most of the parks is treated as a national treasure and it is frowned upon to lie down or even step on it. This is one of the few green places where you are not only allowed but actually encouraged to step on the manicured paths and have a look at the cute little labels of the roses that tell you all you need to know about each certain bush.

The Rose Garden was landscaped on an area that leads you uphill so when you come down you can enjoy not only the garden itself but also the amazing view it offers over the city. There are many grassy bits to put your blanket on or you can choose from one of the well positioned benches to enjoy the peaceful silence, the smell and the vista.

Unfortunately my visit was timed badly for many reasons. The sky looked like it was going to start crying in any minute (it held out until the evening) and, being the end of June, most of the roses had already flowered. The garden however was designed to contain blooming roses throughout the summer so I still had plenty of flowers to admire. I’ll let you enjoy them from my photos.

I have learnt that since 2000, every year at the beginning of May the city hosts a flower competition here, the Barcelona Competition for New Roses. This event attracts participants from all over the world and the winner gets a special place in the garden to display the prized flower for everybody to admire.

The Rose Garden is on the Avinguda Diagonal, 706, after the Zona Universitat metro stop. The entrance is free. It is part of the Cervantes Park that contains a huge grassy area to roll around on.