Castelldefels 10th Century Castle museum and parkland

About Castelldefels Castle and park

Castelldefels Castle is on the coastal plain between the Garraf massif and Barcelona city. The church inside dates from the 10th century and is the oldest part of the castle built on Iberian and Roman remains.

The Castle served for centuries for the territorial and defensive control of the city against Arab invasions, and between the 16th and 17th centuries, against the attacks of Barbary pirates.

In 1897 Manuel Girona, a Catalan banker and politician, bought and restored the Castle, which was in a state of ruins. During the civil war it was used as a military training center by the republican authorities and, later, the church became a barracks for international brigade members and a prison for deserters.

Main Rooms and Spaces of Castelldefels Castle

• The Santa Maria de Castelldefels church: Documented for the first time in 976, constitutes the oldest space in the whole of the Castle. Count Sunyer entrusts it to the monastery of Sant Cugat, at a time when Castelldefels was a border land with the Muslim Caliphate of Cordoba. Built on Iberian and Roman remains, it contains graffiti on its walls of the witnesses of the military prison of international brigade members during the civil war.


• Models Room: Next to the church is filled with eight models of the castle transformations from the 14th century to current day.


• The noble floor: Made up of different rooms occupied by the wealthy family of the castle.


• The Institutional room or Noble room: The most remarkable room in the castle and preserves the appearance of its last restoration in 1897 by architect Enric Sagnier under the orders of Manuel Girona when he acquired the castle. The noble room was used for festivals and celebrations of the Catalan bourgeoisie of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The room include a stone and plaster fireplace decorated with plant motifs, wooden wainscoting reminiscent of medieval times and high ceiling with wood carving decorations.


• The Fencing room: Decorated with paintings from the 18th century and restored at the end of the 19th. It has a large window with views of a tower from 1734 and the Garraf Natural Park. The room is decorated with popular phrases.


• The Dining room and kitchen: Is where the Noble family dined. The Kitchen contains a coal fired Range oven.


• Roof terrace viewpoint: Is the last space on the tour route and has wonderful views of the coast, Town of Castelldefels, Barcelona and Garraf Natural Park.

Image Gallery for Castelldefels Castle and park

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Visiting Castelldefels Castle and park

The church is an audio visual display space that details the history and motive for building a castle at this location. Also explained is the use of the castle as the barracks for the international brigade (foreign soldiers) that fought on the side of the Government during the Spanish civil war of 1936 to 1939.

Also on the ground floor is a series of rooms dedicated to an audio visual walk through exhibition of the barbery pirates that raided the coastline taking slaves and plunder.

TIP: Take headphones with 3.5mm jack to best enjoy the audio comentary.

Castelldefels Castle Tickets

Castelldefels Castle Opening Hours

• Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00h to 19:00h
• Closed: monday's

Accessibility, mobility & Clothing for Castelldefels Castle and park

Access to the castle is via a paved and gradual incline path. Inside the castle all floors are accessible via an elevator.

There are no bicycle anchorage points near the castle but I think that bycicles could be chained to a metal handrail in the castle garden.

Large rucksacks and bags will have to be left in reception to visit the interior of the castle. I was allowed inside with my small 10L museum rucksack.

Day Trip Rucksack

Small 10L day trip and museums rucksack

Convertible Trousers

Lightweight convertible trousers that zip down to shorts

Mid layer Top

Light weight cotton quick dry T-shirt

Trail shoes

Lightweight comfortable trail shoes

Summer socks

Ankle spring/summer socks

0.8L water bottle

Reusable, refillable 1L water bottle.

Fleece jacket or Jersey

Light weight warm fleece

Emergency Poncho

Small folded lightweight Water proof poncho for emergencies

In Ear Headphones

With 3.5mm jack. For running and for museum visits that have an audio guide. Museums don't provide headphones since Covid.

Getting to Castelldefels Castle and park

Address: Plaza del Castell 1, Castelldefels. 08860

To get to Castelldefels use the Renfe RODALIES service catching a R2 or R2 Sud train From Barcelona-Estacio de França, Barcelona-passeig de Grácia or Barcelona-Sants.

Because it is Zone 1, use 1 trip from the T-casual Zone 1 travel Card or the Hola BCN card.

Documents for Castelldefels Castle and park

Click on any one of the 2 PDFs to view in full screen and download.