The Collserola ridge is well known as being Barcelona’s green lung, and standing at 512m is its highest mountain, Tibidabo. It is one of the symbols of the city, and where you can find the expiatory temple of the Sacred Heart and a fun park. 

To get there, you either have to go by car, or follow an entertaining itinerary by tram and then cable car. It was 100 years ago that the pharmacist and investor Doctor Andreu i Grau, promoted the idea of urbanizing the mountain of Tibidabo, thanks to the success of his cough pastilles, and ordered the construction of these two modes of transport to reach it. 

The “tramvia blau” or Blue Tram is so called because in principle all the trams were green, but they were changed to blue because of an accident. It goes from the beginning of Avinguda Tibidabo, next to the Plaça John Fitzgerald Kennedy and although this road was once a torrent of water, today you can see there some of the most magnificent residences, many of them now housing companies. 

Here, you not only find the first funicular in Spain, but a selection of bars and cafés to have a drink while you enjoy the fantastic view of the city until the small hours. 

If you take the funicular, when reach the top you will see a completed part of the Doctor Andreu’s project. He wanted to create a leisure centre for the people of Barcelona, and so in 1899 the present fun park was built. It is thought to be the oldest in Spain and the second oldest in Europe. In 70,000 metres squared the park has managed to preserve some of the most classic, well-known attractions, as well as including new ones. One of the most original and one of the oldest is the aeroplane that imitates the first flight from Barcelona to Madrid in 1928, which allows you to have the city below your feet for a few minutes. 

You can also visit the Robot Museum in the park, located in a theatre dating back to 1909. It houses a collection of antique figures which used to work with coin slots and would be found at fairs all over Europe. This museum is one of the most complete in the world in its specialist area, above all for the excellent condition of its pieces and the curious mechanical toys of the period which make up the exhibition.

As well as the fun park, though, there are a hundred reasons to climb the “magic mountains”, such as enjoying the privileged views from the viewpoint and visiting the basilica of the Sacred Heart. 

In 1896 a clod of earth from Tibidabo was offered to the founder of the Salesian congregation, St. John Bosco to build a temple dedicated to the Sacred Heart. The name Tibidabo is itself the combination of two Latin words – ‘tibi’ and ‘dabo’ – meaning “I will give you”, taken from the gospel of St. Matthew, remembering the third temptation of Christ by the Devil in the wilderness. “"All these things will I give you if you fall down and worship me”. The Geronimo monks thought that the devil could have tempted Jesus by offering him from here all the wealth of Barcelona. 

Initially a small hermitage was built, due to the difficulty at the time of bringing building materials up to the top of the mountain. Later on, a monumental building was erected, which was finished in 1961. Built, in the Neo-Gothic style, its outline is visible from all over the city, even at night. The figure on the top of the basilica is Jesus with his arms open in the shape of a cross in his desire to receive everybody to form a single nation. It is said that in order to sculpt the face, they looked at features from the Holy Shroud. 

The architect was Enric Sagnier, several times winner of Barcelona City Council’s annual award for architecture for the best urban building. When he took on the Tibidabo project he completely dedicated himself to it body and soul and his vision became increasingly spiritual as the years went by.  

There is a lift inside the building in which you can go up to the top of the temple, 575 metres above sea level for an amazing view of Barcelona.