Barcelona’s name is synonymous with Gaudí’s magnificent creations. I visited his most famous buildings, and this report is about them!
In part 1, I presented general information and museums, and in part 2, public buildings and parks!
Table of Contents
Casa Vicens
I came here first, which gets less attention but deserves more. It’s located in a narrow side street, interesting how this colorful building stands among regular houses.
It consists of only two floors and a few rooms, but its interiors and balconies somehow increase its value. There’s a café in the courtyard, worth spending some time there.
With the entrance ticket, you get a 3 euro coupon that can be used in the local gift shop. Buying online is cheaper, but we can easily buy tickets on-site as well.
Casa Battló
One of Gaudí’s most famous residential buildings, always crowded whenever we go. Despite this, I was able to book online easily for the 2:30 PM slot at 2:22 PM. Plus, the ticket is more expensive on-site.
Visitors are admitted in stages to avoid crowding inside. At the entrance, they give you an audio guide, and in the rooms, the appropriate text starts automatically (available in several languages, unfortunately not in Hungarian). We can stay inside for as long as we want.
I won’t write separately about the wonderful interiors because you have to see them in person. For me, perhaps the most beautiful part is going down, the chain section by the stairs. It’s incredible how creative Gaudí was!
And at the end comes the Gaudí Cube. Visitors are led into a room where we can watch a few minutes of 3D presentation. This must be experienced, it’s such a great experience!
What also needs to be highlighted is that in the evening, every half hour, they project a few minutes of colorful show on the building facade. You must watch it once, it’s very spectacular.
Casa Milá
I went after Casa Batlló, bought the ticket online a few days in advance. There are fewer people here and it doesn’t give as much of an experience after Batlló. Although I don’t mean to say it’s not worth coming!
Here too we get an audio guide, which we start based on room numbers. The building can be freely explored, and since there’s no crowd, you can easily spend time everywhere.
Here, the rooftop terrace is what makes the entrance fee most worthwhile. We can see various shapes from the chimneys, and there’s even a great view of the Sagrada Família.
Palau Güell
It’s at the beginning of a side street off La Rambla, easily incorporated into any program. And it’s not necessary to buy the ticket in advance, I bought it on-site.
Similar to Casa Batlló, this also impressed me. Especially the main hall, where everyone stood for several minutes and stared at the tall, domed room. And let’s look above our heads too, because the ceiling is wonderful in several rooms: the carvings and decorations are magnificent.
The roof, like other Gaudí buildings, is ornate and we can see various shapes.
Güell Park
It was the last sight on the last day, a walk in the park was just right as a cool-down.
I bought a timed ticket here (2:30 PM), but they let me in easily 10 minutes before. Many people only look at the two houses at the entrance level and the lizard stairs, maybe the viewpoint above. But the park is huge, you can walk several kilometers and see special structures everywhere.
I went all the way to the top, where there’s a great view from the Casa Trias building. It’s worth spending a few hours in the park and wandering around.
Torres Bellesguard
Perhaps this is the least known Gaudí building, as it’s on the edge of the city, close to CosmoCaixa. However, these two together are definitely worth the time.
There’s a guided tour of the building every 30 minutes, you can only visit with a guide. Of course, I arrived at 10:35, so I had to wait. The park part is, to put it mildly, not impressive, but the interior of the building and the rooftop terrace make up for it.
We get an audio guide, which we start at specific locations, so the guide is mostly just a supervisor. 🙂
Sagrada Família
And I saved the most beautiful for last. Actually, it was my second to last sight: I deliberately bought a ticket for a nice weather day to ensure the view from the tower would be perfect.
There’s always a huge crowd, and at the entrance, there’s an airport-like security check. After that, we can go anywhere inside and stay as long as we want. It’s magnificent from the outside, but the inside! I spent a lot of time inside, even sat on a bench for about 15 minutes to enjoy the view.
There’s a regular ticket, which is only for the church, and there’s a ticket that includes a visit to one of the towers. We can choose between two towers: Nativity and Passion. I was in the former, fortunately there was a smaller queue there. Because you can go up with a small elevator for a few people, I waited about 20 minutes, and in an extremely drafty place. It’s not a bad idea to bring a sweater, quite a few people were shivering while queuing.
After getting off the elevator, you have to go down individually, meanwhile you can take your time and stare at the church’s decorations and the view through the openings.
It’s worth buying tickets at least a week in advance because there are hardly any free slots in the days before. You need to choose separate times for entering the church and the tower.
