My boyfriend always jokes about being scared that I’m going to run off with a Spanish guy. (No clue why this fictitious, seductive man is Spanish, but apparently he is.)
And I’ll admit that I DID have a certain Spaniard on my mind when I decided to finally visit Barcelona.
But it wasn’t a young, hunky footballer or flamenco singer or anything like that that I was dreaming about. The guy on my mind was a dead one: Antoni Gaudi.
Gaudi practiced a form of architecture known as Catalan Modernism, which is an Art Nouveau-style architecture that is influenced by nature and the natural shapes and forms found in the world around us.
Many of Gaudi’s most famous works can be found in Barcelona — and I wanted to see as many of them as possible.
On my very first morning in Barcelona, I hopped on the metro to Passeig de Gracia to join a free Gaudi walking tour with Discover Walks Barcelona. We started in front of the iconic Casa Batllo — but we didn’t talk about this Gaudi work right away.
First, we got a little history lesson about modernism in Barcelona. Back in the late 1800s, the area where Passeig de Gracia is today wasn’t even part of Barcelona; it was a village of its own, connected to Barcelona by road. But, as the city got more and more crowded, wealthy citizens began moving further and further out so they could build bigger homes.
Today, the block on which Casa Batllo sits is actually home to three major modernist works, all built in the early 1900s.
There’s Casa Lleó Morera (designed by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner), with its floral designs. There’s Casa Amatller (designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch), designed for a famous chocolatier to loosely resemble a Flemish house. And there’s Casa Batllo, designed by Gaudi.
Casa Lleó Morera
Casa Batllo
Casa Batllo is one of the most recognizable Gaudi works in Barcelona. It was originally built in the 1870s, and then Gaudi was hired in the early 1900s to redesign it by the Batllo family, who wanted the tallest, most noticeable house on the prestigious block. The result is a house that certainly is eye-catching, with oval windows, mosaic details, and a tiled roof that looks like the back of a dragon. In fact, Casa Batllo is often called the “Dragon House,” or the “House of Bones” because of the skeleton-like exterior.
Inside, Casa Batllo is just as interesting as it is outside. The rooms contain very few straight lines. In the middle of the house, a tiled “light well” pulls sunlight down into the lower floors in a pretty genius design. On the roof, you can see the dragon’s back, as well as the home’s interesting chimneys.
Even though the other Modernist homes on the block are impressive, this one is hands-down my favorite.
IF YOU GO
Address: Passeig de Gràcia, 43 (near Passeig de Gracia metro stop)
Website: https://www.casabatllo.es/en/
Price: 21.50 Euro per adult (ticket includes free audio guide and augmented virtual reality device, which lets you see what the house would have looked like when people lived in it)
Website: https://www.casabatllo.es/en/
Price: 21.50 Euro per adult (ticket includes free audio guide and augmented virtual reality device, which lets you see what the house would have looked like when people lived in it)
TIP: Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid long lines at the house, or book your ticket in advance online.
Yes , The architect in Barcelona is awesome ! also Antoni Gaudi was one of Catalunya’s most famous architects. In fact, I would argue that VILLA DESIGN IN AL AIN one of the most famous modern architects! Thanks !
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