During this 3-hour tour through the heart of Barcelona, you will discover the fantastic architecture of Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona’s most important architect. Besides visiting some of Gaudí’s most important works, this walking tour of Barcelona will look broadly at how the city expanded in the late 19th and early 20th century and became a breeding ground for the modernist movement and, eventually, such luminaries as Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
You’ll take a look at the history of Barcelona and the growth of the city, introducing the urban planner Ildefonso Cerdá whose 'enlargement' (example in Catalan) in 1859 laid out the modern city, as much as Baron von Haussman did for Paris some years later. With this architectural context as a backdrop, you'll walk through the heart of the city to see two of Gaudi's masterpieces: the Casa Batlló on the Manzana de la Discordia and Casa Milá (popularly known as La Pedrera).
During the course of this walk, you’ll also look at the works of some of Gaudí’s followers and rivals, including buildings by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Although few of these artists are known outside of Barcelona, their work had a significant influence on Gaudí and represent the artistic context he was working within.
To get to the final destination, you'll ride the metro together with the rest of the group, trying out Barcelona's dependable, comfortable underground transportation system.
The final stop is Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece and Barcelona’s main landmark: the Sagrada Familia.
As you move through the city, through history and through the aesthetic evolution of Barcelona you'll discover how Gaudí's buildings fight against the modern grid and try to neutralize it in a fantastical way that borders on the absurd. We’ll learn to see his work in a new light and contextualize it within the history of the city.
Official guide
Tickets to la Sagrada Familia and La Pedrera
