Barcelona and Gaudí

Barcelona and Gaudí

Park Güell, Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera… What is there to see in Barcelona? We recommend a route around the buildings created by Gaudí

Barcelona cannot be properly understood without Antoni Gaudí. The city is full of buildings with his particular architectural style. Gaudí’s influence on Barcelona is so great that it has become one of the city’s main tourist attractions.

 

Here we will provide you with details of Gaudí’s greatest buildings and recommend a route to ensure you don’t miss out on anything created by one of the most important architects in Catalan Modernisme.

Antonio Gaudí

Antonio Gaudí

Antoni Gaudí was a Catalan architect born in Reus, a Catalan town 130 km from Granollers, who became one of the main promoters of Catalan Modernisme thanks to his visionary idealism of shape, volume and geometry in architecture. Gaudí believed that Gothic architecture reflected artificial values and completely rejected the vision of straight, perfect lines found in buildings until then.

 

For this reason, Gaudí always looked to nature in designing his buildings. Driven by the idea of eliminating Gothic architecture’s straight lines, his buildings started to incorporate curves and waves. This particular view of architecture, realised in world-famous buildings such as the Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera and Park Güell, has become internationally synonymous with Barcelona and Catalonia.

 

Most of these buildings by Gaudí can be found in Barcelona, just 30 minutes from Granollers. Granollers is therefore the perfect place to enjoy the peace and quiet outside the bustling city of Barcelona while also making day trips to the capital.

 

Granollers has a wide range of accommodation and can also help you to prepare your visit to Barcelona. Below you can find information on Gaudí different buildings in Barcelona, just 30 minutes from Granollers:

Gaudí

La Sagrada Familia Gaudí

Sagrada Familia

Building work started on the Sagrada Familia in 1882 and is still continuing today. The 19th of March 2017 was the 135th anniversary of the laying of the first stone for the church. Work is expected to be completely finished by 2026.

 

This remarkable building is one of the most-visited basilicas in the world, second only to the Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

 

Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia is Gaudí’s jewel in the crown as he considered it to be his most important work. Over the years, the construction work on the basilica has been carried out in different phases due to its complexity.

 

It’s an obligatory stop on your tour of Gaudí’s buildings as the basilica has become one of Barcelona’s most emblematic buildings.

La Pedrera Gaudí

La Pedrera or Casa Milà

La Pedrera or Casa Milà was a commission by a family in Barcelona to create a building to be used as a home. Gaudí, remaining faithful to his architectural style, designed the building using his now-famous curved lines.

 

Although the resulting building was criticised at first, today it has become one of the most beloved buildings in the whole of Barcelona – and one of the cheapest to visit.

 

The Casa Milà is located in the Eixample district, in the centre of Barcelona.

 

The construction of this building lasted about 6 years (1906-1912) and it attracts thousands of tourists and visitors, all fascinated by Gaudí’s creative ability.

Parque Guell Gaudí

Park Güell

The Park Güell is the epitome of Gaudí’s imagination and creativity, symbolising Gaudí’s style in terms of decoration and ornamentation.

This remarkable park is located on the hill of Turó del Carmel, in the upper zone of Barcelona, and provides some unbeatable views.

 

Park Güell was originally designed as a high class residential area but the project failed and it became a park open to the general public.

 

Watching the sun set from this magical park is one of the best experiences in Barcelona.

Casa Batlló Gaudí

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló was a remodelling project carried out by Gaudí. It’s one of the most colourful buildings in the whole of Barcelona, its façades reflecting the fight of Saint George (the Patron Saint of Catalonia) against the dragon.

 

The inside of the building is full of brightly illuminated rooms, with the sensation of being at the bottom of the sea thanks to the aesthetic design by Gaudí.

 

Casa Batlló is located on Passeig de Gràcia, one of Barcelona’s busiest streets.

La Cripta de la colonia Guell

The Crypt at the Güell Colony

The Güell Colony Crypt is a church that was never finished. The project was commissioned by the entrepreneur, Eusebi Güell, to build a church. However, when Güell died his children gave up the project and the church remained merely a crypt.

 

The Güell Colony Crypt is not located in Barcelona but in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, about 40 minutes from Granollers.

Palacio de Guell Gaudí

Palau Güell

Palau Güell was the first important commission by Gaudí for the entrepreneur Eusebi Güell. Its façade is an example of Gaudí’s early work, when he was particularly influenced by oriental art. For this reason, the building’s façades are reminiscent of the Nasrid art of the Middle East. The building provides a different view of Gaudí’s artistic tastes.

 

Palau Güell is located close to Las Ramblas, one of Barcelona’s most frequented sites. The chance to visit this mansion should not be passed up.

Torre de Ballesguard

La Torre de Ballesguard or Casa Figueras

Torre Bellesguard, also known as the Casa Figueres, is a house in the form of a castle located in the outskirts of Barcelona. Until 2013 it couldn’t be visited as it belonged to a family. Now you can enjoy having a look around this impressive building.

 

Torre Bellesguard comes from Gaudí’s neo-Gothic period and you can notice a significant change compared with other works, such as the Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.

 

Granollers is the ideal place to relax, recharge your batteries and then continue visiting the works created by Catalonia’s most famous architect, Antoni Gaudí.

Gaudí Barcelona

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