In this article, we will show you the most important art nouveau buildings in Barcelona, including all of Gaudí’s heritage in the city.
In two days we could visit all these places, including entering Palau Güell, La Pedrera, Park Güell and Hospital de Sant Pau. We couldn’t visit Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló due to COVID-19 restrictions, so we’ll save them for our next visit.
The art nouveau tour in Barcelona is expensive, but they are certainly the most unique sights in the city and you definitely should enter a few of them, because in many cases the most beautiful is inside.
We have ordered the sights chronologically so tell you the history of art nouveau in Barcelona. Here are some tips to help you organise your visit:
- Palau Güell is very close to La Rambla so it makes sense to visit it while in the old city (Barrio Gótico & Raval). Check out this post about the old city of Barcelona!
- Casa Batlló and Casa Milà (La Pedrera) are in Paseo de Gracia (one of the main arteries of Eixample), just within 500 metres.
- Hospital de Sant Pau is just a 10-minute walk from Sagrada Familia. Don’t miss it when you go visit Gaudí’s masterpiece!
- Castell dels Tres Dragons is by the Western entrance to Parc de la Ciutadella, near Arc de Triomf, one of Barcelona’s symbols.
- Park Güell is far from the rest of the places and the city centre. If you don’t have enough time to visit it, don’t worry, other art nouveau monuments are more interesting, even if not so famous.
The origins: 1888 Universal Exposition
In 1888, Barcelona hosted the Universal Exposition – a great event that profoundly transformed Barcelona.
The restructuration and mediaevalisation of the Gothic Quarter started then (as we explain here), while Barcelona entered modernity: the last mediaeval walls were demolished and wide boulevards with monumental buildings took their place.
Passeig de Colom (Columbus Boulevard) was built on the place of the old sea wall and today is the neoclassical façade of the old city in front of the sea.
It becomes Passeig de Isabel II, after the elegant Pórticos de Xifré from 1840, and arrives at the Citadel (Parc de la Ciutadella) – a park that took the place of an 18th-century military fortress and now hosts the Catalan Parliament and the city zoo. Art nouveau was still not there, but it would be born soon.
Castell dels Tres Dragons (Three Dragons Castle) stands on one of the corners of the Parc de la Ciutadella. Lluís Domènech i Montaner – one of the most influential architets of Catalan art nouveau (modernisme català) – designed it for the 1888 Universal Exposition.
Castell dels Tres Dragons strats abandoning the more formal neogothic and neoclassical and kickstarts modernisme, still with obvious mediaeval and mudéjar (Spanish Muslim architecture) influences. Gothic architecture was one of the main sources of inspiration for Catalan modernisme, because it was being promoted as the real traditional Catalan style.
Arc de Triomf
Barcelona’s Triumphal Arch (Arc de Triomf) was built as the main entrance to the 1888 Universal Exposition. It was designed by José Vilaseca, also with mudéjar influences, in the dawn of art nouveau.
The wide boulevard that joins Arc de Triomf to the Citadel, called Passeig de Lluís Companys, is lined by the famous art nouveau street lamps, designed in 1905 by Pedro Falquès. You can find similar ones in Passeig de Gràcia.
Hospital de Sant Pau: the largest art nouveau ensemble in the world
Hospital de Sant Pau i la Santa Creu is claimed to be the largest art nouveau ensemble in the world. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with Palau de la Música Catalana. Both are the work of Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
This architect is considered one of the most infuential of Catalan modernisme, both because of his buildings and his theoretical work. He started building this hospital in 1902. Later, his son Pere was in charge of finishing the work between 1920 and 1930.
If you need another reason not to miss Sant Pau, it is just a 10-minute walk from the Sagrada Familia, through pedestrian Avinguda de Gaudí.
One of the most striking things of Sant Pau is that it continued working as a hospital until the early 2000s. The infrastructure was outdated and couldn’t provide what a proper 21st-century hospital should.
Then, a new Hospital de Sant Pau was built just behind it and the original one was renamed as modernist ensemble (Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau).
Arriving in Recinte Modernista Hospital de Sant Pau
The historical art nouveau Hospital de Sant Pau is around 900 metres North of Sagrada Família, taking Av. Gaudí, that cuts through the Eixample‘s grid.
Metro: Sant Pau | Dos de Maig (L5) is just next to the recinte modernista de Sant Pau. Station Guinardó | Hospital de Sant Pau (L4) is by the new hospital, a 10-min walk away.
Price and opening hours of Recinte Modernista Hospital de Sant Pau
Recinte modernista de Sant Pau opens every day: 10 am to 2:30 pm Mon-Fri and 10 am to 5 pm Sat, Sun and bank holidays.
You should arrive at least 30 min before closing time, but we recommend you to arrive at least 1 hour before so you can visit it calmly.
The entrance ticket costs 15 €, 20€ if you want a guided tour (in Catalan or Spanish). There is a 30% discount if you buy your tickets online.
If you are going to visit La Pedrera, then it’s worth buying a combined ticket La Pedrera + Hospital de Sant Pau for 30 €.
Visiting Recinto Modernista Hospital de Sant Pau
If you are not making the full visit, at least cross the gate and enjoy the main building, which hosted the hospital administration.
Unsurprisingly, the art nouveau style of Sant Pau Hospital takes a lot from Gothic. Its façade is decorated with mosaics that tell the hospital’s history, going back to the origins of the old Hospital de Sant Pau i la Santa Creu, established in 1401, until the construction of the current hospital.
If you decide to visit the ensemble, you will first go through a hypostyle hall onto the main courtyard.
There stand the eight hospital pavilions, organised in two symmetrical rows. In the middle, the surgery pavilion (casa de operaciones). Behing, the monastery, pharmacy and kitchens.
The tour takes you first through some of the hospital pavilions, where there are exhibitions about the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner and the history of the building as a hospital, including original decoration and beds.
If you don’t have much time, we recommend you not to spend much time in these pavilions, because the most beautiful and interesting comes at the end: the architecture and decoration of the administration building.
The Adminstration Building has a beautiful decoration of ceramic and tiles it its domes and walls.
If you look closely to its details, you will see several referentes to Pau Gil, the hospital’s patron – his initials P and G all over the place, or even the coat of arms of Paris, where he lived. Other details are about the building construction and the emblems of Barcelona and Catalonia, as well as other typical art nouveau elements.
The mudéjar-style auditorium ceiling is beautiful but the highlight comes with Lluís Domènech i Montaner Hall. This was used as conference hall.
Don’t miss the monumental staircase that will take you back to the main hall at the end of their visit. Don’t miss the ceiling decoration and the stained glass windows – art nouveau that reminds to mediaeval palaces.
And then came Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí was the architect who made Catalan modernisme shine as the most popular of European art nouveau styles. Still today, his creations make up the most iconic and attractive tourist destinations in Barcelona.
As all Catalan modernisme, Gaudí was clearly influenced by Gothic, but he took architecture several steps further. Thanks to his creativity and his incredible sense of volume and geometry, Gaudí created a new unique style that, according to him, was fundamentally based on the forms of nature.
Thus, Gaudí was not really an art nouveau architect – or one that could be adscribe to one certain style, for that matter. His style also evolved greatly – some of his works are canonically art nouveau, some are very close to neo-gothic, with oriental and mudéjar influences… but by the end of his career, Gaudí was simply Gaudí.
He was a genius for death too – on 7th June 1926 a tram ran over him, and he passed away 3 days later. As he usually wore rags, he was mistaken for a beggar so it took too long for him to take medical care.
Now we will visit the 5 main works of Gaudí in Barcelona, all of them part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.
We should warn you that visiting Gaudí’s works is very expensive. If you can’t spend more than 100 € per person, you will have to choose – and we will try to help you with that.
Palau Güell
Palau Güell was the second work of Gaudí in Barcelona, after Casa Vicens. It was built between 1886 and 1890 as the residence of Eusebi Güell, one of the most important members of the Catalan industrial bourgeosie, who owned a textile business. This was the first of the three great projects he would entrust to Gaudí.
Palau Güell is the best example of Gaudí’s orientalist period, heavily influenced by the art of Al-Andalus, as well as Asia. He also experimented with some novel geometries.
The best of Palau Güell is its interior decoration, so it is really worth visiting it. And it is one of the cheapest Gaudí in Barcelona.
Arriving in Palau Güell
Palau Güell is in the old city of Barcelona, in Carrer Nou de La Rambla 3-5, a backstreet of La Rambla.
Metro: Palau Güell is between Drassanes and Liceu stations (both in L3), although slightly closer to the former (around 350 metres).
Bus: lines 59 and V13 drive down La Rambla and take you very close to Palau Güell.
Price and opening hours of Palau Güell
Palau Güell opens Tuesday to Sunday. In summer (apr-sep), it opens 10 am to 2:30 pm & 3:30 to 8 pm (last entrance at 7 pm). In winter (oct-mar), it opens 10 am – 1:30 pm & 2:30 to 6 pm.
Palau Güell closes on Mondays (except bank holidays), 25-26 Dec, 1 & 6 Jan and the 4th week in January.
The general ticket is 12 € (5 € during the pandemic). Also, entrance is free on the first Sunday of each month, as well as during local and regional holidays (12 Feb, 23 Apr, 24 May, 11 & 24) and 15 Dec.
Visiting Palau Güell
The tour of Palau Güell starts in the garage, where its dwellers and guests arrived in their carriages. Then, you can take the stairs down to the basement, used as a stable. Its structure is based on mushroom-like columns, typical of modernisme, that increase available space.
Go back to the entrance hall and go up the main staircase to the first floor, the main part of the house.
The most interesting hall in Palau Güell is definitely its central hall, the real axis of the dwelling. It has square shape and it extends up to the ceiling. There are balconies facing it in the higher floors. Its dome has a central hotel for ventilation and smaller holes to allow for more light.
As its dome has great acoustics, the central hall staged concerts and even operas, as well as many other social events. Actually, the hall has an organ.
Next to the hall is the chapel. During religious services, the doors of the central hall were opened to join it with the chapel.
The second floor was a more private area of the house, where the bedrooms are. Eusebi Güell and his wife Isabel López each had their own bedroom, joined by a short corridor. Don’t miss the original arches in front of the windows! The bedrooms have a gallery looking on the central hall.
Finally, you will arrive in the attic, from which you will enter the rooftop terrace.
Like in La Pedrera, the chimneys and ventilation outlets have original shapes, some of them covered with colourful trencadís, the first by Gaudí.
Trencadís is a coating made with small pieces of tiles of different colours, very common in the work of Gaudí and other Catalan art nouveau architects (and a very original way of reusing materials).
Unfortunately, these chimneys were abanadoned for decades so they needed a full restoration in 1992. The most colourful ones, facing the street, are actually a modern reinterpretation, because they had lost all their trencadís so the original couldn’t be recovered.
In the middle of the terrace, you will see a 15-metre spire. This is the dome of the central hall. Its coating is made of vitrified limestone, a waste material of the Güell family’s lime ovens.
Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló is a building from 1877 that was completely renovated by Gaudí. He created a new interior design as well as its famous fairytale façade.
Casa Batlló shows clearly Gaudí’s naturalist ideas that would reach its climax in La Pedrera. But Casa Batlló is also extremely colourful and romantic.
As many other art nouveau buildings, Casa Batlló was not well received by most when it was finished.
Interestingly, Casa Batlló is located in a block of innovative and provocative buildings, known as the block of discord (Manzana de la Discordia).
Just on the left of Casa Batlló, Casa Ametller, by Puig i Cadafalch, is also surprising ¡but Gaudí went much further in his Casa Batlló!
How to arrive in Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló is in Passeig de Gràcia, 42, the main commercial street of the Eixample quarter. La Pedrera is on number 93 of the same avenue, around 500 metres away.
Metro: Passeig de Gràcia (L2, L3 y L4) is just by Casa Batlló. This station also has a connection with the suburban railway (Rodalies).
You can also arrive with bus lines H10, V15, 7, 22 y 24.
Price and opening hours of Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló opens every day from 9 am to 6:30 pm (las entrance at 5:30). There is also a special tour called Magical Nights Tue-Sat from 6 to 8 pm.
Casa Batlló holds the honour of being the most expensive Gaudí visit: the new 10D Experience costs 35 € (49 € for Magical Nights). There are good discounts for Spanish residents.
The interior decoration of Casa Batlló is richer and more interesting than that of La Pedrera, but its rooftop is not as cool.
Unfortunately, in our last visit, we didn’t have the change of visiting Casa Batlló, because the opening hours and capacity were restricted and tickets were been sold out.
Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera due to its shape (“the quarry“, in Catalan), was Gaudí’s last civil building, erected between 1906 and 1910.
The house was an order by Pedro Milà Camps and his wife Roser Segimon, a couple of the high Catalan bourgeosie.
Pedro had several businesses, including Barcelona’s bullring, while Roser was a rich widower, and she used the fortune of her deceased husband to build luxurious Casa Milà.
La Pedrera is considered one of Gaudí’s most important works. Gaudí’s naturalist ideas find in La Pedrera its most complete and perfect realisation. La Pedrera is quite far from typical art nouveau, and you won’t find any neogothic nor oriental influences in it.
In La Pedrera Gaudí gives expression to his most personal style and uses original shapes inspired in his observation of nature.
Arriving in Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
Casa Milà is in Passeig de Gràcia, 92, forming the chamfer between the main commercial street of the Eixample with carrer de Provença.
Metro: Diagonal (L3 y L5) is approximately 100 metres from La Pedrera. You can also go to Passeig de Gràcia (L2, L3 y L4 y Rodalies), in front of Casa Batlló, 500 metres from La Pedrera.
Price and opening hours of Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
La Pedrera opens every day from 9 am to 6:30 pm.
La Pedrera offers 4 different tours:
- La Pedrera Essential: is the basic visit including the rooftop terrace (the really interesting part), the courtyard and the apartment with contemporary furniture. It costs 24 € and includes a good audioguide.
- The Unseen Pedrera: guided tour (in Catalan, Spanish or English). They show you a couple of extra parts (which are not so special). 28 €
- La Pedrera Night Experience: night visit that includes only the rooftop and the courtyard. 34 €. It includes a glass of cava. Only available Thu-Sun 9-11 pm.
- La Pedrera Premium, 31€. The only extras are: you enter through the front door and don’t have to wait the line, and dates are flexible.
If you love so much La Pedrera you want to visit it by day and night, there is a combined ticket for 43 € that includes the essential tour and the night experience.
Furthermore, there is a combined ticket that includes, La Pedrera Essential + Hospital de Sant Pau for 30 €. When we visited Barcelona, it was actually 20 €!
While you certainly miss a lot if you only visit La Pedrera outside (as you can’t really see anything of the rooftop), 24 € to visit the rooftop and courtyard (the apartment is not so interesting) seems a bit too much… but that’s how tourism in super-trendy Barcelona and Gaudí works.
If you are low on bugdet, you may consider visiting Palau Güell instead of La Pedrera (especially if are in Barcelona when entrance is free), and save that money for Sagrada Familia.
The Warrior Rooftop
The rooftop is certainly the most important part of the tour, so take your time here.
Its most unique features are the original shapes Gaudí gave to the chimneys and ventilation outlets.
Some say they look like mediaeval warriors (hence the rooftop name), but they also have a futuristic look.
Some of these structures have trencadís, and La Pedrera introduces a new variant: one of them is made of pieces of cava bottles. Don’t miss it!
The Whale Attic
The Whale Attic takes its name from the original shape of its ceiling, reportedly inspired by the skeleton of a whale.
You should admit they’ve come up with some original names to make the tour more appealing…
The Attic includes a permanent exhibition about Gaudí, including 3D models of all of his works.
The Tenant's Apartment
The tour continues with one of the flats in the building (which is not that of the Milàs). The furniture of the early 20th century has been recreated (but it’s not really the original). You can also see Gaudí’s interior decoration, doors, ceilings, windows…
There is also a video explaining the building of La Pedrera and its context in early 20th-century Barcelona and some vintage ads to add some atmosphere.
The Flower Courtyard
This is how they call Casa Milà’s courtyard. It is interesting tosee the building inside from the ground, after seeing it from the rooftop. Its oval shape is very aesthetic and great for photos!
In some of the premium visits, they show you some other parts of the building, like the rear façade or the garage.
Park Güell
Park Güell was the fifth and last work of Gaudí for Eusebi Güell (we have talked about his second, Palau Güell) and the last work of the Catalan genuis before devoted all his time to Sagrada Familia.
Park Güell was planned as a high-end housing development with the latest technology, Gaudí’s unique design and a built natural environment on a slope of Mount Carmel, with a marvellous view of Barcelona.
As a real estate investment, Park Güell was a total failure. The project included 60 dwellings, but only 2 were sold: one was Gaudí’s home (now Casa-Museo Gaudí) and the other one was purchased by a friend of Güell and Gaudí, a lawyer called Martí Trias. The high prices and its location far from the city centre made it unattractive…
However, Park Güell had an instant success as a public park and tourist destination. Even before works had finished, it was very popular and entrance was paid. It also hosted several events since its early days.
Arriving in Park Güell
Park Güell is far from the city centre and other places of interest, on a hill and public transport connections are not great.
The closest metro stations are Lesseps and Vallcarca (L3), and Alfons X (L4), 1 km from the park entrance. From the L3 stations, there are escalators to reach Park Güell. From Alfons X, you will have to walk uphill (or take a bus).
Some bus lines take you closer: V19 (from Barceloneta) and 24 (from Pl. Catalunya) stop 200 metres from the Eastern entrance (Carretera del Carmel). 116 stops by the main gate.
Price and opening hours of Park Güell
Park Güell became a public park, so until quite recently entrance was free… but now it costs 10 euros! Residents in Barcelona can still enjoy the park for free.
Honestly, 10 € is very overpriced, and you spend some time in arriving and going back to the city centre… but most visitors think “how can I go to Barcelona and not visit Park Güell?” – so that’s the reason for its price!
Park Güell opens for tourists every day from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm (last entrance). After 7:30, entrance is restricted to residents.
Visiting Park Güell
In Park Güell, Gaudí shows freely and with a lot of imagination his naturalistic side. Park Güell’s curves inspired in a detailed study of nature will remind you to La Pedrera. Also, Gaudí takes the use of trencadís to a new level here.
Its design has important references to two very important ideas for Güell and Gaudí: el Catalan nationalism and Catholicism.
Park Güell is quite large, but the most interesting areas are quite close from each other.
First, the iconic pavilions on either side of the main gate (the one of the right is known as the Guard’s House).
Then, the main staircase, with its famous trencadís dragon takes you to the hypostyle hall.
The columns of the hypostyle hall support the famous terrace (Plaza de la Naturaleza) with its elegant curves and colours of trencadís, the favourite place of most visitors. From there, you will enjoy a fantastic view of the two buildings at the entrance… and all Barcelona.
From this main terrace, there are several paths that take you to the different parts of the park. One of the most interesting features are the viaducts, that blend fantastically with nature.
High up on a hill in Park Güell is Casa Trias (it seems the lawyer did like living outside of town). You will find Gaudí’s house, now museum, walking towards the Eastern gate.
In a hillock on the left of the park (leaving the city on your back), stands the Monument to the Calvary.
Sagrada Familia
Sagrada Família is the greatest and most complex work of Gaudí. He devoted a large part of his life to building this basilica. it seems the young Gaudí was anticlerical, but later he became a practising Catholic, even attending church every day.
As a matter of fact, Gaudí was not the first option to design Sagrada Família. But as other architects declined, he became the chief architect of the new temple in 1883, at age 31. If it were not for this unlikely decision, probably Sagrada Família would be just another neogothic church and not one of the most visited in Europe nowadays.
From 1914, Gaudí only worked in Sagrada Família, until he was killed by that tram in 1926.
Sagrada Família is like a summary of Gaudí’s work: it has quite something of his naturalistic side and unique fantasy, but there is also a noticeable neogothic influence, making it closer to other Catalan art nouveau works.
Sagrada Familia has two grand façades on either side, called the Nativity (East) and Passion (West) façades. Gaudí started building the Nativity façade, but he only lived to see the left bell tower completed. This is the most famous and beautiful façade of Sagrada Família.
The Glory façade is still pending, and this will actually be the main entrance to the temple.
On the opposite side, the Passion façade is more controversial. Its construction started in 1954, following the drawings and instructions left by Gaudí. The bell towers are like those of the Nativity façade, but then start the differences. Gaudí wanted to inspire fear in the beholder with this façade.
However, many don’t really like the sculptures by Josep Maria Subirachs (1986)… What do you think about them?
Unfortunately, we couldn’t enter Sagrada Família because it was still closed due to the pandemic. We leave it for our next time in Barcelona.
Arriving in Sagrada Familia
Metro: Sagrada Família (L2 y L5) is just next to the entrance.
Several bus lines also stop in the area: 19, 33, 34, D50, H10 stop very close, in carrer de Mallorca.
Price and opening hours of Sagrada Família
Sagrada Família opens every day: Mon-Thu 9 am to 3 pm and Fri-Sun 9 am to 6 pm.
Prices are similar to other works of Gaudí in Barcelona: 26 €, including an audioguide, and 27 € for a guided tour. Comparing it to La Pedrera or Casa Batlló, it certainly looks like better value for money.
You can easily visit all these places in 2 days. Remember that Palau Güell is in the old city, so you can visit it along with the Gothic Quarter and La Rambla.
Except for Park Güell, all the other sites are not far from each other and well connected by public transport.
If you are planning a trip to Barcelona, we recommend you to check out our walking tour of the Gothic Quarter and Born: partly mediaeval and partly fabricated.
