The private house of a wealthy industrialist, Palau Güell represents an early Gaudí commission. A fascinating insight into the lives of the one-percenters of the time – more than any other of the Gaudí attractions in Barcelona, at Palau Güell you can almost imagine how its occupants lived. It is less crowded than the other Gaudí buildings on the tourist trail too.
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Casa Milà, more commonly known as La Pedrera (the quarry), is Gaudí’s last civil work and reflects the influence of nature in his work.
Designed from scratch as an apartment building, La Pedrera still has four private tenants! Still, visitors have access to 4,500 square meters of the building across five floors.
Adult general admission tickets are €25 online.
From Monday to Sunday, and holidays: 9:00 am – 8:30 pm
Sessions night tour: 09:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Closed: Dec 25, and a couple of weeks in January – check the website for details.
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On the surface at least, Casa Batlló is Gaudí at his most imaginative, despite it being a renovation of what was an existing building. Buy tickets in advance – after La Sagrada Familia this is about the most popular tourist attraction in town and there are always queues.
Don’t forget to check out Casa Amatller and Casa Lleó Morera adjacent – part of the “mansana de la discòrdia” or block of discord of Barcelona, named because of the sharply contrasting architectural styles.
Open year-round 9:00am to 9:00pm. Adult tickets online are €25, or €35 to “skip the queue”.
It is, without a doubt, an icon of Barcelona architecture, but there are other options if you want to avoid the crowds.
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