Exploring Barcelona's Beautiful Ciutadella Park

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Hello again, photography community! We are getting near the end of our Barcelona chronicles, there is only one additional posting that will be about random shots from the city streets. Here we are exploring the beautiful Parc de la Ciutadella - a complex of greenery and magnificent architecture in the heart of the city.

After we finished exploring the Picasso museum we headed towards the park which is 10 minutes of walking distance. Entrance is free so everyone can come in and explore its marvels. It is a vast area of sandy roads, flowerbeds, green parks and more. There is a man-made lake where you can rent paddle boats which adds to the diversity of the place. Around it there is the museum of modern art as well as the palace of Catalunya.

Few hundred meters from the park, the pedestrian road leads to the Triumphal gate, a beautiful structure which you can in the two street photos I captured.

And the main attraction of the park is of course the citadel (Ciutadella) itself - it is a mesmerizing structure of baroque and classical style with many sculptures decorating its walls. On the top you can see the golden chariot pulled by four horses, representing the birth of Venus. Below are sculptures of more deities and mythological creatures. From the citadel, a waterfall drops the turquoise water below and in the small pond you can see ducks swimming freely. One of them was quite feisty and looking for battle so it attacked the unaware golden retriever which thought it would be a friendly encounter (you can see the "attack" in the three photo story).

I explored different angles to try and capture most of its beauty, potentially with some interesting subjects in front. Later I decided to do a round of Tai Chi at the foothill of the citadel, it's just a next-level experience when practiced in front of such historic structure. And I got few claps from the passers-by on the stairs so that was nice. :) Photos taken with Fuji X-Pro2, 35mm F/2.

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