Updated Mar 08 2024

El Carmel is one of the most beautiful, remote and charming spaces in the city. We are talking about the viewpoint at the Bunkers del Carmel, located on top of Turó de la Rovira (in the Guinardó Park) a place from where you definitely get the best panorama of the city.

All the information about the Bunkers del Carmel and the Turó de la Rovira viewpoint

Open 24 hours a day 365 days a year, Turó de la Rovira belongs to the city heritage of Barcelona and is one of the bases of MUHBA, the History Museum of Barcelona. This does not mean that its access is restricted or that you have to pay, as entry is open and free.

Details and basic information to visit the Carmel bunkers


Summer schedule: From 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Winter schedule: From 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Price of admission: Access is free.

How to get: All information here.

Ostracism, abandonment and fame of the Carmel Bunkers

The remote location where you find the viewpoint has suffered an important change over the past few years, especially among the city’s residents and largely due to the spectacular photos that people have taken there and shared on social media.

Word of this wonderful viewpoint has spread and was significantly helped by the fact that it has been featured in some well-known film scenes (for example “Tengo Ganas de Tí”, starring the famous actor Mario Casas) as well as the endless television adverts and advertising of all types.

All of this has made it essential to go up to the heights of Turó de la Rovira and enjoy the spectacular 360 view of Barcelona, both for residents of the city and, more and more, tourists spending a few days here.

Not only the fantastic 360 views are the main star of the show at the top of the hill but you also you find some bunkers here, used as anti-aircraft battery and built during the Spanish Civil War with the aim of defending the city against attacks.

sunset Turó de la Rovira

As the war ended and the years passed, the area surrounding the bunker was used to build barracks, which ended up being known as Barri dels Canons (area of the cannons), and cannons which were there until the early 1990s.

How to enjoy the Carmel Bunkers viewpoint at its best

The top of the viewpoint at Turó de la Rovira is not a shaded area so if you go during some of the hottest months we recommend that you go late afternoon, when the heat has started to die down a little.


Also, this way you can enjoy the viewpoint in one of the best possible ways, seeing the sun set over Barcelona whilst seeing how the buildings and most iconic places in the Barcelona skyline glow with red tones.

Iconic places visible from the viewpoint

Collserola Tower
Besós thermal power plant

Another option we recommend, only reserved for those who don’t mind waking up at the crack of dawn, is to go up to the viewpoint when it is still night time to enjoy a beautiful sunrise.

views of Sagrada Familia

If you are a keen photographer, be sure not to forget your camera, in order to capture the beautiful view as the hours pass and the light changes – there really are few places in the city where you’ll get such an experience.

We have uploaded some pictures that we took ourselves from the viewpoint on to our Facebook page, that you can see here.

Picnic

And now we have managed to convince you, or at least done our best to make you stay to see the sunset, why not make a picnic for dinner?


It is the perfect experience, both with friends or for something more intimate and romantic as a couple. And if you haven’t had time to prepare a picnic we recommend you to go to the bar-restaurant Las Delicias, where you can buy something to take away (you must order their patatas bravas).

As we have mentioned before, entry to the Turó de la Rovira viewpoint is free and is not restricted by any opening hours (it only has a predetermined hour for visiting museum spaces) so the only thing you have to worry about is checking the weather forecast to go on a day where you can enjoy clear views of Barcelona.

Recommendation

If you only want to enjoy the views and don’t want to visit the museum spaces (accessible Saturdays and Sundays 10am to 3pm) we recommend, if it is possible, to go to Turó de la Rovira Monday to Thursday to avoid the weekends and public holidays, as during the week there are less people and you can enjoy the views and surroundings more peacefully.

Exhibition and Museum Space MUHBA Turó de la Rovira

Since 2015, after a series of reformations completed by the City Council of Barcelona with the aim of creating museum spaces, you can visit the inside of different bunkers: the Officials’ Pavilion, the Troop’s Pavilion and the place of Command of Battery.

Inside you can find various informational panels that tell the history of the bunkers as well as how it was used by troops and how they lived in them during the Spanish Civil War.

Visit details

From May to October
Wednesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
From June to September
Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Information and bookings: en reservesmuhba@bcn.cat / +34 93 256 21 22.
Closed: 1st January, 1st May, 24th June and 25th December (only the museum space).
Entry price: Free visit.

You can also visit the exhibition “Barcelona to the limit” which explains how people lived around the bombings that the city suffered as well as the evolution of the area after the end of the war, where many families without a lot of resources lived in slums.

Photo gallery

Map, and how to get there

Even if its location makes access to the viewpoint difficult, the truth is that it is not as difficult as it first seems, as you can get there by public transport or private vehicle, or motorbike or car.

By public transport

Buses
Lines 22, 24, 86, 119 and V19.

Metro
Guinardó i Hospital de Sant Pau (Line 4) or El Coll / La Teixonera (Line 5). The metro takes you to Turó de la Rovira but it will not take you very close so if you choose to go by metro you should continue a while on foot or take one of the buses. (Line 4) or El Coll – La Teixonera (Line 5).

Going by public transport, we suggest at irBarcelona to take the bus, as it leaves you closer to the viewpoint than the metro.


View larger Map

By Taxi

In private vehicle

Info
It is relatively easy to park near the viewpoint in car or motorbike, what is difficult however is getting there without getting lost. So we have highlighted a route from the centre of Barcelona to the Carmel viewpoint.

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