Visiting Spain: Gaudí’s Top 10 Buildings and Masterpieces

Including a few of his lesser-known works

You can’t visit Barcelona without seeing some of the mastermind Antoni Gaudí’s works of art. I wrote about his top three designs in my post, Visiting Spain: Barcelona. Below is an extended list of Gaudí’s most famous buildings as well as a few that don’t normally make it into the guidebooks. If you’re looking for a tour guide to show you some of these wonderful Gaudí buildings, book a private tour of Barcelona’s Modernist architecture.

1. La Sagrada Familia: Gaudí was, in fact, a very religious man and partook in a daily ritual of attending confession. It’s not surprising then that many say this cathedral is his most important work of art. The artist knew he would die before it was finished and so he left a set of very detailed plans and instructions allowing future architects to pick up from where he left off. Thus, La Sagrada Familia has taken more than 100 years to build and its construction is still ongoing. It is expected to be completed by 2026.
2. Park Güell: Barcelona’s iconic Park Güell was originally designed to be a housing development, not a park. In 1900 Gaudí’s patron, the industrialist Eusebi Güell commissioned him to build a community where residents could have access to fresh air and nature, but still live in proximity to the city. The project was inspired by the British “city garden movement,” hence the English spelling of “park” with a “k”. Barcelona had just undergone its industrial revolution, and although the city benefitted tremendously in terms of economic growth, it suffered from the boom’s negative externalities, such as pollution and overpopulation. Güell and Gaudí were hoping the project would mitigate these effects.
3. La Pedrera: Formally known as Casa Milà, this sandy colored, curvaceous building was once an apartment building. Its owners, the Milà family, lived on the first floor and rented the upper floors out to other tenants. Back then, it was considered more privileged to live on the ground floor, as walking up stairs or taking a slow elevator was a nuisance. Nowadays it is a museum, though there is still one woman residing in one of its apartments. When it was first constructed, the design was perceived to be so obtrusive that many Barceloneans began referring to it as La Pedrera or “the quarry.”
4. Casa Batlló: Just a few blocks down from La Pedrera you’ll find Casa Batlló, at Passeig de Gràcia, №43. You really can’t miss this one — it’s a rainbow edifice whose façade almost resembles that of a house from Candyland. Its multicolored tiles glimmer in the light and some of its balconies might remind you of a skeleton’s ribcage, emblematic of Gaudí’s constant use of natural forms. Just next door you’ll be able to see Casa Amatller designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Don’t mistake it for a giant gingerbread house— it’s not edible. They do sell chocolate inside, though!
5. Casa Vicens: Prior to 2017, you might have missed this spectacular, lego-like mansion on your visit to Barcelona. This was the very first house that Gaudí built, originally as a summer home for the Vicens family in the 1880s. It remained private property until 2017 when it finally opened to the public as a museum. Recognized as one of the Art Nouveau movement’s first buildings, it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is some mystery surrounding its patriarch, Señor Manuel Vicens i Montaner. Records indicate that he was a professional stockbroker and currency dealer, though many historians have referred to him as the owner of a tile factory. Given the tiles ostentatiously engulfing the exterior of the building, the latter is certainly plausible.
6. Palau Güell: The Palau Güell was built between 1886 and 1888. Like Casa Vicens, Casa Batlló, and La Pedrera, it was also a mansion for one of Barcelona’s industrial tycoons: Gaudí’s good friend, Eusebi Güell, whom he had built Park Güell for. It’s important to remember that during this time, most of Gaudí’s work was being funded by wealthy industrialists and not public funds. Located on Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in Barcelona’s Raval neighborhood, it gives off an intimidating appearance, with cast-iron bars and spikes on its windows and doors. Interesting fact: in 1936, with the outbreak of the Civil War, the mansion was seized and used as a police barracks.
7. La Colònia Güell: (This familiar surname, once again, belongs to Gaudí’s pal Eusebi.) A small industrial colony designed with a utopian vision in mind is located in the municipality of Santa Coloma de Cervelló, in the suburbs of Barcelona. As with Park Güell, Eusebi wanted better working and living conditions for his workers. In addition to spaces for factories and workers’ housing, he had Gaudí build a hospital, inn, schools, shops, theaters, cooperative and church. The church now stands unfinished, though you can visit the chapel inside and sit on innovated church pews designed by Gaudí himself.
8. Gaudí’s Lamp Posts in the Old City: Some of Gaudí’s earliest work goes unnoticed by many a passerby. These are his lampposts which can be found in Plaça Reial or just beside the Barceloneta metro station.
9. Casa Calvet: You definitely won’t find this one in most guidebooks. Casa Calvet is one of Gaudí’s earlier buildings, done in a much more conservative style before he had developed his more avant-garde techniques. Like El Born’s Santa María del Mar church, its stones came all the way from a quarry in Montjuïc. At the moment it is a private residence (yes there are real people living inside) so you cannot access its interior.
10. Torre Bellesguard: This “tower” is more than a stone’s throw from Barcelona’s city center. However, if you want to see one of the city’s more local neighborhoods (and avoid the long lines at Gaudí’s more popular buildings) then head up to Sarrià-Sant Gervasi on the commuter rail. Gaudí built the Torre Bellesguard between 1900 and 1909 using rectilinear forms rarely seen in his other work (notice how his other buildings are much more “fluid” and without corners). He was inspired by the property’s former medieval castle, that of Martin I, also known as Martin the Humane, the last king of the Catalan dynasty of the House of Barcelona. To revive it, Gaudí blended Art Nouveau and Gothic style and restored the ruins of the medieval palace, which are now part of the estate’s grounds.

Want to get personal with Gaudí’s most important buildings, plus some of the eras other leading architects? Check out Gaudí & Modernism — Private Walking Tour in Barcelona on toureaux.com.