12 modernist sites and houses that you should visit in Barcelona

One of the great poles of attraction that the City of Barcelona en Catalonia, is its numerous samples of modern architecture whose best and best known reflection are the works by Gaudí.

There are many tourists who travel to Barcelona with the primary objective of visit the Sagrada Familia or other of the most outstanding works of Gaudí, such as the Casa Batllo, but there are many other corners that are worth knowing.

I admit that I am passionate about modern architecture, which has led me to visit make a specific trip to Barcelona to know many of its corners.

12 Best modernist buildings and houses to visit in Barcelona

Below I am going to highlight the main modernist buildings and houses to discover on your trip to the Catalan capital.

Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's great cathedral

It will not be necessary to discover the Sagrada Familia, since it is the main tourist attraction of Barcelona.

This impressive church, whose completion is scheduled for the next decade, is the great work of Gaudí, which has been declared Heritage awarded by the Unesco.

The incredible imagination that its modernist architecture exudes can be found both in its exterior façade and in its impressive interior nave.

This interior has not been open for a long time, since 2010, and just to marvel at the Sagrada Familia worth it travel to Barcelona.

Casa Batlló by Gaudia

Without a doubt one of the great jewels Gaudí Barcelona and most visited places in Barcelona is Casa Batllo.

This is the main building of the so-called Discord's Apple at the Passeig de Gracia, which was remodeled by Gaudí from 1904.

Just by calmly looking at its façade you will surely be impressed, with its combination of ceramics, stone coverings on balconies and windows, and the great color in the glass.

When you visit its interior you will once again be surprised by the great imagination of the Catalan architect in the design and decoration of buildings.

Here you have useful information to visit Casa Batlló, which you can also do using a modern video guide with augmented reality.

• How to visit Casa Batlló

Casa Mila or La Pedrera

Another of the most famous buildings in Gaudí in Barcelona, ​​also in the Passeig de Gracia, Is the Casa Milá, better known as La Pedrera.

Built between 1906 and 1912, it is a residential building with whose structure the Catalan architect tried to give greater spaciousness and luminosity to the spaces.

The result is a very unique building that is now one of the essential visits on a trip to Barcelona, ​​in which you should not leave the roof, one of its most significant and photographed corners.

Also within the set of modernist buildings declared World Heritage, currently it is a place where numerous cultural activities also take place.

• Here is the information you need to know to visit La Pedrera.

Palau de la Música Catalana, headquarters of the Catalan Orfeón

One of the most charismatic places in the modernist architecture in Barcelona is the Palau de la Música Catalana, building built by Domenech i Montaner to be the headquarters of Catalan Choir.

This building too Heritage It is supported by a metal structure covered in glass, and becomes a significant example of the various applied arts that characterize modernism.

Thus, in its decoration, the use of mosaics, stained glass or wrought iron stands out, with sculptures also not lacking.

To learn about this important architectural work, you can sign up for guided tours.

Park Güell in Barcelona

In the upper part of the city of Barcelona, ​​on the slope of the mount carmel, there is a large public park in one of whose areas Gaudí built various architectural elements.

He is known as Park Güell Construction began in 1900, and at that time Gaudí had already built the Güell palace in the zone of The Ramblas, commissioned by a Catalan industrialist to be his new home

He had also built the Colonia Güell church.

The new assignment for Gaudí was Park Güell, with the name in English because it wanted to emulate British residential parks, which was built since 1900.

After the death of the industrialist, in 1926 the park became municipal property and was opened to the public for enjoyment.

Although most of the park is free to enter, you will have to pay to visit its monumental area; here you have information to visit.

Güell Palace, one of Gaudí's first works

As we have mentioned before, the Güell palace It was a commission Gaudí from a Barcelona industrialist to build his new home.

Located in the Nou street, together with La Rambla, in the heart of the city, it is one of the first important works of Gaudí Well, it was built between 1886 and 1890.

When visiting this building you will see the essence of the architecture of Gaudí with an emerging style that combines the most functional aspects with innovation in the conception of space and light.

Hospital – Sant Pau modernist complex in Barcelona

One of the most outstanding corners of the modernism in Barcelona It is the site of the old Hospital de Sant Pau, which I admit that I have not yet had the opportunity to visit and I have it pending for a future trip.

Located in the Sant Antoni Maria Claret street 167, is the most important work of Lluís Domenech i Montaner, one of the most prominent Catalan modernist architects.

El Sant Pau Modernist Enclosure, which is what it is now called, has its origins in a hospital founded in 1401 when it was known as Santa Creu Hospital.

Starting in 1902, an expansion was carried out, a project that was carried out Domenech i Montaner, although the new facilities were not put into use until 1930.

In 2009 the hospital facilities were moved to a new headquarters, after which public visits were launched shortly afterwards.

Here you have the information for visit the Sant Pau modernist site.

Amatller House in Manzana de la Discordia

Next to the Casa Batllo another is located modernist building, the Casa amatller, whose design is the work of the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch carried out since 1898 in a building built just 22 years before.

With a style inspired by Renacimiento, the façade of this building shows elements of other architectural styles such as Romanesque or baroque, as well as the use of sgraffito.

• Here you have information for visit the Amatller House.

Casa Terrades or de les Punxes

In Diagonal avenue, near Passeig de Gracia, you find what, from my point of view, is one of the modernist houses most beautiful in the city.

This sample of modern architecture you find it in the Diagonal avenue, near the confluence with the Passeig de Gracia, in an area where buildings as significant as the Casa Milá (La Pedrera) nor  Fuster House.

You will have no problem recognizing the House of the Punxes, as the four towers with a conical-shaped spire, strikingly red in color, will catch your attention, which are the reason for its popular name.

The building was built in 1905 on behalf of the Terrades sisters with the objective of unifying three properties.

He was the architect Puig and Cadafalch  who proposed a design that emulated a medieval Gothic-style castle.

The result is a truly spectacular design, where construction with exposed brick prevails.

On the façade, the balconies made of stone with the characteristic floral designs of the town stand out. modern architecture.

There is also no shortage of decorative elements with ceramics, as well as stained glass windows.

La Terrades House It cannot be visited as it is a private residential building.

But yes, you can enjoy contemplating its spectacular façade, which due to its orientation, reaches its greatest splendor in the evening light.

Casa Lleó y Morera in Barcelona

Another of the modernist buildings which is part of the aforementioned Discord's Apple at the Passeig de Gracia is Casa Lleó y Morera.

It is one of the works of the architect Domènech / Montaner, who from 1902 undertook the renovation of a previous building.

Its exterior, which is crowned by a small temple, shows extensive decoration, but it is inside where the modernist style is displayed in great profusion.

There, the artisanal works of stained glass, mosaics, ceramics, sculptures, wood, marble and sgraffito stand out, the creation of which involved the participation of dozens of artists.

• Casa Lleó y Morera

Palau Macaya in Barcelona

On Paseo de San Juan 108 During one of my visits to Barcelona, ​​the façade of the Macaya Palace .

It is a building built between 1898 and 1901 by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch commissioned by a Catalan industrialist to be his family residence.

On its white façade with ocher sgraffito, the finishes on the windows and the carved stone ornamentation on the balconies stand out.

Its patio also stands out with a large staircase carved in stone with floral motifs.

Since 2012 the Macaya Palace it has become the EspacioCaixa Palau Macaya, a knowledge and training center that depends on The Caixa.

• Macaya Palace

Bellesguard Tower in Barcelona

La Bellesguard Tower, built between 1900 and 1909, is one of the most unique buildings among those designed by Gaudí.

You find it in the northwest area of ​​Barcelona, ​​next to the Dalt's Round, at the foot of Tibidabo, and it is a building inspired by a medieval castle that was in that place centuries ago, a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

• Here you have the useful information for visit the Bellesguard Tower in Barcelona.