Barcelona’s Architecture: A Guide to Art Nouveau and Gaudi with Context

Barcelona is the home of Modernism and Art Nouveau architecture, and the city where these artistic movements flourished from the end of the 1800s. On this walking tour, you’ll dive into this vibrant architectural world with Context Travel expert, Guille Genestar. You’ll learn to identify modernist architecture’s intricate ornamentation, vivid colors, and curved lines inspired by nature, and also to decode its symbolism. Guille will provide valuable insights into local life, transportation systems, and the city‘s unique layout in Barcelona‘s Eixample and Gracia districts while he shows you how modernity and history have seamlessly converged.

Starting in Plaça de Catalunya, you‘ll make your way from the square along Passeig de Gràcia to La Pedrera-Casa Milà, one of three masterpieces by the architect Antoni Gaudi that you’ll see on our tour. As you walk, Guille will tell you about the four main architects of the Modernist movement: Domenech, Puig, Cerda and Gaudi. As you explore the Eixample district, you‘ll see Cerda‘s distinctive grid layout and architectural gems like the neo-medieval stone balcony by Josep Puig i Cadafalch on Casa Amatller, now a historic museum and institute. You‘ll see buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s including Lluis Domenech i Montaner‘s Casa Lleó Morera, Gaudi‘s Casa Batlló, and Fundació Antoni Tàpies, once a publishing house and now a cultural center and museum. After exploring Passeig de Gràcia, you‘ll make your way to the breathtaking La Sagrada Familia, the iconic (and unfinished) basilica designed by Gaudi. By the time our tour reaches an end in front of the basilica, at Plaça de la Sagrada Família, you‘ll have learnt about this monumental structure’s UNESCO World Heritage status, the fascinating details of its construction beginning in 1882, and the plans to complete it in 2033 to mark the 180th anniversary of the commission to Gaudi.

On this 75-minute tour, you‘ll:

• Indulge in tasty tapas from El Nacional, a multispace restaurant offering traditional tapas and dishes from the Iberian Peninsula
• Experience the opulence of Josep Puig i Cadafalch‘s masterpiece, La Casa de les Punxes (the House of the Spikes), which illustrates Art Nouveau’s ‘Horror Vacui’ philosophy, where every space is intricately adorned
• Learn how the urban planner Ildefons Cerda designed new apartment buildings that were bigger, brighter and had better ventilation
• Decode the secrets of Art Nouveau‘s lavish decoration
• See Gaudi‘s innovative use of ceramic and glass, exemplifying his creativity and commitment to sustainability
• Delve into the architectural nuances of Casa Batllo (known as the House of the Bones), where you’ll see Gaudi‘s unparalleled fusion of nature, art, and aesthetics
• Discover how Gaudi worked with wooden scaffolding, without cranes, like a Medieval master
• Find out about the influence that Domenech, Gaudi‘s professor, had on the architect
• Explore the Eixample and Gracia districts, designed in 1859 by the engineer Ildefons Cerda
• Spot the tiny sculpture of a cyclist with a hat outside Palau Macaya, a former palace and now a cultural center

By the end of this tour, you‘ll have a better understanding of Barcelona‘s rich history and vibrant culture, where every corner tells a story of innovation, creativity, and architectural brilliance.