Parc Samà, Historical garden and tourist attraction in Cambrils, Spain.
Parc Samà is an expansive park featuring a colonial mansion, pathways, artificial lakes, grottoes, and fountains surrounded by a diverse collection of Mediterranean plants. The grounds cover about 14 hectares and blend natural landscape features with constructed water elements.
Salvador Samà i Torrens, Marquis of Marianao, promoted the park on the site of a small farmhouse; planting began in 1881 and works lasted until 1887. The master builder Josep Fontserè i Mestre, author of Barcelona's Parc de la Ciutadella, designed the gardens, lake, neo-Gothic tower and cages, possibly with help from a young Antoni Gaudí. The palace was built by an unidentified French architect, and in 1939 the architect Desbrosses restored it after damage in the Civil War.
The park reproduces the setting of colonial Cuba, where the Samà family had made its fortune; the Catalan Wikipedia notes that this fortune came from the slave trade. Josep Fontserè i Mestre, author of Barcelona's Parc de la Ciutadella, designed the gardens, lake, neo-Gothic tower and cages, possibly with help from his then-pupil Antoni Gaudí. The Marquis of Marianao kept a private zoo here, and the limestone cages with iron-sulphate mortar imitate 19th-century water features.
The park lies 5 km from the Mediterranean coast in the municipality of Cambrils, next to Montbrió del Camp, at 85–90 m above sea level. The main access is on the Vinyols road at the south side, framed by two pilasters and a wrought-iron gate; the enclosure has five crossing points. An entrance fee is charged.
The lake, covering one hectare with three islands linked by bridges of cement imitating wooden trunks, is fed by a waterfall supplied by a 5 km underground channel built for this purpose. On the central island, the Gruta del Pirata is a grotto with a landing stage, topped by a viewpoint with a small temple.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,611 contributors worldwide.