The back story
Wild Barcelona: Falcons, Wild Boar and the Collserola Hills
Peregrine falcons nesting in the towers of the Sagrada Família, wild boar in the hills of Collserola and birds over Montjuïc: the wild side of Barcelona.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Horchatamivida · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsThe natural side of Barcelona, from the peregrine falcons that nest in the towers of the Sagrada Família to the wild boar and woods of the Collserola Natural Park and the gardens of Montjuïc and the Ciutadella, with a directory of the parks in our guide.
Barcelona lies between the sea and a range of wooded hills, and both bring wildlife into the city. Behind it rise the hills of Collserola, a natural park of pine and oak woods where wild boar roam; above its streets, peregrine falcons nest in the towers of the Sagrada Família.
This is a short, honest guide to Barcelona's natural side: the hills, the parks and the birds of the city. Go early in the morning, bring water for the hills, and check the park's website before you set out.
High in the towers of Gaudí's basilica, peregrine falcons raise their young.
The Collserola hills
The Collserola range covers almost 11,000 hectares behind the city, and 8,465 hectares of it have formed a natural park since 1987: woods, streams and paths with views over the whole of Barcelona to the sea. The Carretera de les Aigües, a track along the slope, is the classic walk or ride.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Enric · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsThe park's best-known animal is the wild boar, which has learnt to come down to the edges of the city; the park keeps its own advice on what to do when you meet one. Birds of prey on migration pass over the ridge, and the park follows their passage.
Montjuïc and the city parks
Inside the city, Montjuïc's chain of gardens, from the Jardins de Laribal to the Botanical Garden run by the Museu de Ciències Naturals, and the old Parc de la Ciutadella between El Born and the sea, with its lake and fountains, are the places for birdsong under the trees. Barcelona protects the nests of its wild birds even outside the breeding season, whether or not they are in use.
Feature: the falcons of the Sagrada Família
In 1999, Barcelona City Council and the conservation group Galanthus Natura began a project to bring the peregrine falcon back to the city. In 2003 a pair of adult falcons settled in the towers of the Sagrada Família, chosen because it was one of the last places in Barcelona where the birds had nested before they disappeared. A webcam in the nest lets the public follow the chicks until they fledge, usually in March and April.
Did you know? The peregrine falcons returned to nest in the Sagrada Família in 2003, at one of the last sites where the species had bred in Barcelona before it vanished from the city.
Our advice
Our advice: check the Collserola Natural Park's website before you go, as access to parts of the park has been restricted in 2026 to control an outbreak of African swine fever. Never feed or approach wild boar, keep dogs on a lead, and take your rubbish home. Follow the Sagrada Família's falcon webcam in spring.
Why it's on our list
- The Collserola hills
- Montjuïc and the city parks
- Feature: the falcons of the Sagrada Família
- Our advice
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyThe Quadrat d’Or, Sarrià and Poblenou: buying in BarcelonaThe Quadrat d’Or’s Modernista flats, Sarrià’s villas and Poblenou’s lofts: where people buy, and the official rules.
The back storyFour day trips by trainMontserrat, Sitges, Girona and the Penedès are all within reach by train: which line to take, and where it leaves from.
The back storyCounter tapas, market stalls and four three-star tables: how Barcelona eatsFour three-star tables, three new two-stars, counter tapas in El Born and the markets that feed them all.