Jardins del Palau de Pedralbes, Barcelona

These are the gardens of the Pedralbes Palace, laid out as a public artistic ensemble in Barcelona. Their most unexpected survivor is the Hercules Fountain: a curved seat, a water basin, and an iron dragon that pours water from its mouth beneath a bust of Hercules. Antoni Gaudí designed part of these grounds during the Güell family’s ownership, including this fountain.

The dragon vanished into a dense bamboo grove and escaped notice even when the gardens were redesigned; it was found again in the 1980s and restored. Nicolau Maria Rubió i Tudurí gave the wider garden its geometric arrangement between 1925 and 1927, preserving many mature trees and adding a pond with illuminated fountains. The gardens carry the noucentisme label, while this fountain remains the vivid link to Gaudí’s work here.