Jardins de Mossèn Costa i Llobera, Barcelona

Mossèn Costa i Llobera Gardens are a botanical garden devoted to cacti and succulent plants, set on the lower slopes of Montjuïc between Carretera de Miramar and Passeig de Josep Carner. The garden covers 3.16 hectares and benefits from a warm, sheltered microclimate. Its collection brings together about 800 kinds of cacti and succulents from across the world, with particular strength in plants from Africa, the Americas, and Australia.

Look among the sculptural forms for an Oreocereus neocelsianus estimated at 200 years old. The planting also includes palms, Mediterranean trees, and tropical species, so the landscape shifts between spines, broad leaves, and dense clustered shapes. The garden opened in 1970, created through the collaboration of architect Joaquim Maria Casamor and plant specialist Joan Pañella i Bonastre.

The garden commemorates the Mallorcan poet Miquel Costa i Llobera; his poem Lo Pi de Formentor inspired a sculpture by Joaquim Ros i Bofarull, titled L’au dels temporals and called el pi de Formentor. La Puntaire, by Josep Viladomat, occupies a mountain outcrop that serves as a viewpoint. The garden endured severe frosts in 1985 and 1987; together they destroyed about 40% of its plant species.