Tibidabo in Barcelona

This Magic Mountain can be seen from many different view points in the city of Barcelona and looks particularly striking at night when it is lit up and shines like gold. The Mountain of Tibidabo is 512 metres in altitude and is the highest point of the Collserola hills. Up until recently the amusement park there was in disarray but has recently been restored by the Generalitat of Catalunya. Famous for its hall of mirrors, it’s old charm and the fact that it was created 100 years ago, Tibidabo amusement park now has new attractions such as; the Plane, the Carrousel, the Automata Museum, the Talaia, the Panoramic and three children's rides Les Llaunes, Pony Rodeo and Río Grande.

There is also a 12minute film, subtitled in Spanish and English in the Cel building which tracks the history of Tibidabo over the years starting from the 1920’s to the present day. It primarily celebrates the 100th anniversary of Tibidabo and shows its close links to the history of Barcelona. The amusement park dates back to 1899, to the founding of the “Tibidabo Company” by the pharmaceutical pioneer Salvador Andreu. One of his aims was for people to have somewhere in the city where they could come and relax and thus created this special recreational area on the hilltop.

After leaving your Barcelona hotel or Barcelona apartment, make your way over to Tibidabo by train (L7) to “Av Tibidabo”, then take the funicular, Tramvia Blau or Tibidabo Bus up to the top. You can also catch the Tibibus from Plaça Catalunya, which runs from 10:30 everyday. The Blue Tram and the Funicular were inaugurated on 29th Oct 1901, and shortly afterwards the first attractions were installed on Tibidabo. The park still conserves some of the most significant ones that have filled it during its hundred years of existence: for example, the Castle of Terror and the Big Dipper. One of its most unusual items is the aeroplane, which dates from 1928 and is a replica of the model that made the first flight between Barcelona and Madrid.

If you want to see a bit more than just the amusement park, Tibidabo is home to other interesting sites such as The Fabra Observatory and the Experimental Physics Museum. As well as this, the two buildings erected between 1901 and 1905: the first by Camil Fabra, the Marquis of Alella, who built the astronomical observatory which bears his name, designed by Josep Domènech i Estapà, and the latter, nearby, in 1905, built by Ferran Alsina; the museum of experimental physics named “La Mentora”, which, due to the great interest of its collection of scientific apparatus of the time, has been conserved to the present day. Finally, in 1908 the slopes of the mountain were converted into a municipal park and it is lovely to take a walk here and leisurely make your way back to your Barcelona accommodation.