Jardins del Palau de les Heures

In the Horta-Guinardó district stands a French 'chateu' that goes by the name of Palau de les Heures. The gardens are divided into three terraces that rest on the slopes of the Collserola mountain range, where the plant life is distributed among flowerbeds that are kept in symmetrical and geometric order. The sunlight here is blocked only by the long but scattered shadows of some trees, among which the tall palms stand out. Around the terraces, the rest of the space is filled with fairly dense forest.

During the Civil War it was expropriated and destined to be the residence of President Manuel Azaña, even though he never lived there. The man who did live there was Lluís Companys, taking cover from the bombings in an underground shelter he built. As of 1998, the use of the gardens was transferred to the Ajuntament (City Council), while the palace currently serves as a training centre for the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, part of the University of Barcelona.