Gaudí Architecture and La Sagrada Família

Explore the Breathtaking Architecture of Antoni Gaudí:

Admire La Sagrada Família and more of creative architectural genius Antoni Gaudí’s surreal works. View some of his finest work at Park Güell. Covering almost 50 acres, the park was built between 1900 and 1914 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. La Sagrada Família is the centerpiece of your tour. You will approach it by foot and be rewarded with remarkable views of its towering, distinctive exterior. Construction began in 1882 and is scheduled for completion in 2026, the centenary of Gaudí’s death. Step inside to marvel at its breathtaking, fantastical sanctuary. Along the Passeig de Gràcia, pass the Casa Batlló, or House of Bones, and the hulking Casa Milà, two impressive Gaudí buildings featuring his characteristic curved facades and “scooped out” windows.

When I thought about visiting Barcelona, Antoni Gaudí was the first thing that came to mind, and visiting his signature works became a priority for me. Since I did want to see a bit more of the city, however, I opted for the overview tour yesterday. Today, however, was a day just for Gaudí. Thank goodness we had two days in Barcelona.

When Gaudí graduated from Barcelona’s School of Architecture in 1878, the institution’s director said, “I do not know if we have awarded this degree to a madman or to a genius; only time will tell.” I think the jury may still be out for some, based on comments I overheard on the tour! There is no question, however, that Gaudí’s extravagant and eccentric style changed the face of Modernist architecture. It certainly changed the face of Barcelona.

Our tour first took us back to La Sagrada Familia, and we were able to spend time inside. I’ll include that visit in a separate blog post.

From there, we drove to Park Güell, which sits on a hill overlooking the city of Barcelona. Originally intended to be an upscale, exclusive neighborhood, but never completed, Park Güell is a whimsical public park and another of Gaudí’s masterpieces.

Plaça de la Natura

Tim and I actually began our visit at the back entrance of the park and arrived at the famous Plaça de la Natura esplanade, known for the undulating benches that surround the space. Brightly colored mosaics, all with different designs, embellish the benches, which Tim found to be surprisingly comfortable. From here, we could clearly see the two fanciful structures on the lower level of the park, as well as views of Barcelona in the distance.

Tim Approved of the Benches

View from the Top

As we walked down the steps, we could catch a glimpse of the gargoyles projecting from the rear of the benches. The path then led us through the Hall of Columns, with its many sunburst mosaics on the ceiling.

Gargoyles

Hall of Columns

Next, we passed what seemed to be everyone’s favorite feature – the mosaic-covered salamander. We also encountered other fanciful sculptures that added to our visual delight in whichever direction we turned. After finally arriving at the bottom of the steps, we could turn around and see the iconic view that most people first encounter when they enter Park Güell.

Fanciful Sculptures

The View from the Bottom

For us, however, it was time to exit the park, which included a walk through a forest of columns that looked remarkably like tree trunks, another example of Gaudí’s integration of art and nature.

A Forest of Columns

I knew that we would not be touring Gaudí’s other works in the afternoon, but I was hoping to at least be able to get a good look at their exteriors. Although we drove by several of his most famous buildings on Passeig de Gracia, the bus could not stop. Our driver paused as long as he could, but the trees along the boulevard ended up blocking most of the views.

Luckily, we were able to clearly see Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera, since it sits on a corner. One of Gaudí’s most recognizable masterpieces, Casa Milà is named after the patrons who allowed Gaudí to create such an avant-garde apartment building in 1910.

Casa Milà

We were also able to glimpse Casa Batlló, whose façade seems to glimmer with its fragments of colorful ceramics. Casa Batlló is part of the so-called Block of Discord, a single block along the Passeig de Gracia. Designed by the city’s most famous architects, the buildings are quite different stylistically. Apparently, local residents could not agree on which was the most beautiful and began calling the block the Manzana de la Discordia.

Casa Batlló

A Pieced-Together Photo Montage of the Block of Discord

Barcelona was a wonderful introduction to Spain, and I’ve already fallen in love with this amazing country. Barcelona is such a beautiful city, with its elegant (and whimsical) buildings and stately boulevards. There is so much more to see here, much more than Gaudí, although I would love to visit the interiors of his other projects. Barcelona is a city where I’d like to return for at least a week.

This evening, I attended another very good lecture by Dr. Philip Lawson entitled “Valencia to Cartagena: Classical Architecture to Modern Art.” Just as he did the night before last, Dr. Lawson gave us more photo tips and what to look for in Valencia and Cartagena, the next two cities on our itinerary.

Another Great Lecture